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Navy OCS-First Salute

wink

War Hoover NFO.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
HAHAHAHAH!!! Know how to drive an airline capt crazy? Throw 4 pennies under his seat and tell him there are 5. Cheap bastards! (A4's notwithstanding)
I didn't say they would buy the good imported brews.

"A round of PBRs for my crew and bring us a full basket of that free popcorn and the newspaper at the end of the bar" ;)
 

mastbump

I live vicariously through myself.
pilot
Who gives a shit? $30 per coin...for two people. $60. How much are you willing the throw down at that the bar each weekend? And I know someone will probably say "Well I never spend that much at the bar"...well whatever your vice is then (probably dungeons and dragons or gay porn if i had to guess...ribida (just kidding man)).

You will get commissioned once, and get your first salute once. Why not just pony up the money? It is a cool tradition...screw the new rules.
 

Godspeed

His blood smells like cologne.
pilot
Anyone that doesn't pay for a couple REAL silver dollars is straight up a cheap bastard. Your Gunny and Chief put wayyyy more blood, sweat, and tears into making you into an officer than they are compensated for. They work A LOT more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. And they work weekends (Black Saturday anyone?).

Not only do they work more than most in the military, but it is HARD work. We're not talking about a desk job here. To those that have been through OCS, think about it; how often your DI was there. Every morning he was there to wake you up (and when you woke up, you looked like a can of smashed a$$holes, he was pressed and dressed, and had probably been up hours earlier). Every night he brings the pain until lights out. OCS was hell to everyone that went through it, something we'd never want to repeat, but for them, it's their JOB (granted, they don't crawl through the mud with you, but they are there for the whole d*mn thing). They teach you drill for HOURS a day on top of everything, and when your class is gone, he has to do it all over.

I think the passing of the silver dollar means something different to everyone, but to me it meant: "No amount of money I could give you would ever repay you for the traits you've instilled in me and what you've helped me become, but here is a token of appreciation, signifying my thanks for all of your hard work"

If you haven't gone through OCS, you have not the slightest comprehension of this ritual's meaning or importance.
 

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
I think the passing of the silver dollar means something different to everyone, but to me it meant: "No amount of money I could give you would ever repay you for the traits you've instilled in me and what you've helped me become, but here is a token of appreciation, signifying my thanks for all of your hard work"

+1 to Godspeed.

To the OP: Suck it up and don't cheap out on the silver dollars. You are going to spend much more than the cost of these coins on buying rounds at the O'club.
 

Spekkio

He bowls overhand.
Not only do they work more than most in the military, but it is HARD work. We're not talking about a desk job here. To those that have been through OCS, think about it; how often your DI was there. Every morning he was there to wake you up (and when you woke up, you looked like a can of smashed a$$holes, he was pressed and dressed, and had probably been up hours earlier). Every night he brings the pain until lights out. OCS was hell to everyone that went through it, something we'd never want to repeat, but for them, it's their JOB (granted, they don't crawl through the mud with you, but they are there for the whole d*mn thing). They teach you drill for HOURS a day on top of everything, and when your class is gone, he has to do it all over.
Starting at week 5, I saw my DI for 1 hour a day, 2 on a 'good' day. He took leave during week 8 (for good reason). From week 9 on, I only saw him during all-hands grad practice. Oh, and he trashed the Navy at every waking opportunity, which gave us all the impression that he was training us simply because that's what he was ordered to do.

Lotsa blood, sweat, and tears going into that one.

I can see your point about the values these men instill in us. However, your argument that these men deserve $30 silver "dollars" simply because they work long hours is moot. Everyone in the military ultimately has a job that requires long hours and weekends.

EDIT: Aside from that, who are you to pass judgement on people for how much they spend on a gift to a third party? That kind of attitude is exactly what justifies the only $1 coin policy.
 

tjp2008

New Member
From what I understand at OCS, your class DI and Chief Petty Officer give you your first salute at graduation. I was prior enlisted and have several enlisted members who I served on several deployments with that I would like to attend. I was wondering if you are able to include additional members on your first salute, or is it restricted to your DI and Chief. Any experience and knowledge from OCS regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


In skimming through this thread I don't know if the original question was answered. After the graduation ceremony you line up in height order to take your class picture. Then you line up in alpha order for your first salute. They guys who had other people they wanted to receive a salute from did so while waiting in this second line. The line moves pretty slow so it wasn't a big deal to step out of line receive your first salute then get back in line. If your last name is Aaron or Abe it might be a little trickier.

We were all pretty disappointed about the silver dollar policy. For a while we thought it was just "what they tell you" until on a couple of occasions we were told by our CPO and CDI separately that we WILL NOT spend any more than $1 on our first salute coins. It sucks to lose a part of that tradition, but it does help to reduce the already ridiculously high cost of OCS (ie the $40 officer candidate shoulder boards worn once the entire 12 weeks).
 

BigRed389

Registered User
None
Starting at week 5, I saw my DI for 1 hour a day, 2 on a 'good' day. He took leave during week 8 (for good reason). From week 9 on, I only saw him during all-hands grad practice. Oh, and he trashed the Navy at every waking opportunity, which gave us all the impression that he was training us simply because that's what he was ordered to do.

Lotsa blood, sweat, and tears going into that one.

I can see your point about the values these men instill in us. However, your argument that these men deserve $30 silver "dollars" simply because they work long hours is moot. Everyone in the military ultimately has a job that requires long hours and weekends.

If you think your DI sucked, it's reflected in your gift/lack thereof.

Our class gave our DI and other class staff some damn nice gifts...lot of thought went into it...but that's because we thought they presented great examples of what a Marine SNCO, Navy Chief, and Naval Officer should be.
 

Spekkio

He bowls overhand.
If you think your DI sucked, it's reflected in your gift/lack thereof.
Not when the guy handling the gift detail liked the DI. It was more of "we're getting him this, cough up $X"
 

picklesuit

Dirty Hinge
pilot
Contributor
My DI and Chief were some of the best guys I have come across in the military. They went out of their way to teach us, mentor us, and set us on the path to being a good officer. They put more time/effort into us than we probably deserved and the coins had nothing to do with thanking them for that. They were tradition. Pure and simple. The tradition I knew and had gotten passed down from other OCS grads before me was silver coins.

They were not a form of gratitude...the gratitude I will show those guys is through service honoring their effort. That means doing my best at everything, and not being a shithead to the enlisted who I work for.

The coins are up there with Shellback ,Blue-nose, and Chief's initiation for me...(none of which I have partaken in): Tradition.

So fuck the instructions, get yer DI/Chief some silver coins, and move on.
 

Insomneo

New Member
There was a big discussion on the issue of the silver dollar at OCS. It even came to the point where it pissed our CDI off that he had to tell us about it. Basically you can't give anything worth more than 1$ to your CPO and CDI. Apparently this came from the higher ups at OTCN.

Our CDI said that he doesn't give a damn about any coin given to him. Could have just been the way our CDI was, as we weren't allowed to have streamers on our guide. His point was that you don't need flashy coins or streamers to be proud of of an achievment, which is something I completly agree with.
 

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
So fuck the instructions, get yer DI/Chief some silver coins, and move on.

+1, picklesuit.

In the immortal words of a retired CPO I once worked with: "Bubblehead, you are not in the Navy, you are in what I call the wine-cooler Navy."
 

swerdna

Active Member
None
Contributor
I worked at a bank and I can tell you that banks (Federal and private) will only buy coins and currency at face value. What this means is that if you pay $999 for a silver dollar, the face value is still only $1. So no matter how much you pay for it, you can still give it to your DI as long as the face value is $1.

So I guess that it's up to the candidate to decide how much/little to spend on the dollar coins, as long as the face value is $1.
 

sna_gf

New Member
How do you order a silver dollar if the Mint doesn't make it anymore? And I find it hard to believe that a jewelry store could obtain enough dollars for everyone in OCS class (at least 2/person). Perhaps there's a special around Officer Training Command base????

Also the only dollar coins now in production are the Presidential coins honoring past presidents... Do those work too? Or does it have to be white medel with silver in it? :confused:
 

CIWSGOD

Registered User
pilot
You can give what ever kind of coin you want to. If you want to spend a dollar or give some rare coin that has a collectible value of 300 dollars that is up to you and how you feel your DI/Chief did. To me it's almost like tipping a waitress, you don't have to spend the extra money if you don't feel like they earned it. When I went through some were awesome and some fell short. My coins reflected this since I gave one of them the better coin and one the 1 dollar coin.
 
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