OCS advice for significant others

[candycane]

So, my boyfriend just left Saturday for OCS and I need a little input. I never recieved his class number before he left and I want to send him a letter. Should I send it without including the class number? I am getting very anxious. I'm sure he's probably very busy. He just kept telling me to start sending letters right away and I want to support him as much as I can. We both have a lot to keep us busy and I think I will be okay. I'm just starting to realize he is not just a phonecall away and I can't tell him about every little detail in my life right now. We went from being together 24/7 to this. Hearing a little reassurance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[skim]

You will not hear from him until Sunday. That is the first call home. He is EXTREMELY (emphasis on EXTREMELY) busy. He is constantly being marched around and kept in the group. The first week is by far the roughest. You will get his class info when you talk to him. Also, you will not recognize his voice because it will be wrecked. You and he will survive. I and many others did.

 

[bizlake]

Most classes are allowed to call home after their first week but a class while I was there wasn't allowed to use the phone until after their seventh week. Depends on the DI. Some DI's say that they like to train the families as well. Good luck though! Hopefully you will talk to him this week.

 

[candycane]

You will not hear from him until Sunday. That is the first call home. He is EXTREMELY (emphasis on EXTREMELY) busy. He is constantly being marched around and kept in the group. The first week is by far the roughest. You will get his class info when you talk to him. Also, you will not recognize his voice because it will be wrecked. You and he will survive. I and many others did.

Okay, this is exactly what I figured. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Even if I send a letter right away, he probably won't even have time to read it. Hopefully he has a good DI and a good class and won't have to wait weeks to call or send class info. Thanks for the input.

 

[chelley]

Even if you managed to get one in to him right now, they would hang on to it until his class has earned the right to send and receive mail. My then-boyfriend, now-husband got like 7 of my letters all at once maybe two weeks into OCS. I got his letters all at once too. Just be patient. He's thinking about you ALL the time, trust me.

 

[HeyJoe]

Just be patient. He's thinking about you ALL the time, trust me.

Recommend you watch An Officer and a Gentleman and you'll get a Hollywood version of what's keeping him from being able to call or even write right now. Anyone else have any suggestions (of movies)?

 

[chelley]

Recommend you watch An Officer and a Gentleman and you'll get a Hollywood version of what's keeping him from being able to call or even write right now. Anyone else have any suggestions (of movies)?

Full Metal Jacket? Only the first half of course. Good stuff.

 

[el douge]

My DI didn't let us make calls until Monday or Tuesday. It was Sunday's after that.

As others said, you two will be fine. My gf and I made it through without a fuss and there were plenty of times that the "one phone call" on Sunday got us through the next week.

I had a lot of the same problems as chelley with receiving letters. I got 3-4 at a time and it took a month for my gf to receive any of my letters. So hang in there and remember that no news, is good news.

PS: Be careful of what you send him in the letters, a lot of DI's will make their class open there mail in front of them, or at the minimum see the size of the packages and/or envelopes. pm me when you know who the DI is and I can maybe help you out..but then again, things change by the day there. Best of luck!!

 

[hanletj]

Whatever you do do not send a musical card. I was on my face pushing to some jimmy buffet song and singing the lyrics. I hindsight it was hilarious, but at the time, during week one, I was not happy with my mom. My girlfriend and I also made it through on the Sunday calls.

 

[rdraider04]

Wow OCS I went through it with my boyfriend at the time and now husband in 2004. I wrote a letter every day to help me feel connected to him and to tell him all about my day. It also helped me get through OCS easier. I would wait until you have his class number before you send an letter to be sure he got it. Also be sure you don't put anything in there you don't want anyone else to know because they can be read out loud like someone said. I do know he didn't have time to read all of them but it did help him get through. Just realize if you do end up marrying your boyfriend OCS is a true test of how life as an Navy wife will be. I went through already an 6 month deployment and being pregnant, and my husband meeting his son at 3 months old. I also knowing it won't be the last time being apart that long. OCS gives you the test being away from the person you love and can handle it. I know you guys will be fine and just think there are other couples going through the exact same thing! If you have any questions let me know! Good Luck and you will do great!

 

[Angels]

So, my boyfriend just left Saturday for OCS and I need a little input. I never recieved his class number before he left and I want to send him a letter. Should I send it without including the class number? I am getting very anxious. I'm sure he's probably very busy. He just kept telling me to start sending letters right away and I want to support him as much as I can. We both have a lot to keep us busy and I think I will be okay. I'm just starting to realize he is not just a phonecall away and I can't tell him about every little detail in my life right now. We went from being together 24/7 to this. Hearing a little reassurance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My bf (now hubby) and I were joined at the hip as well prior to him leaving for OCS. I just had a mindset to expect the worst (no phone calls or letters for a long time) and then was always pleasantly surprised when I did. He was able to call that first Sunday. We had the same thing happen with the letters. A few at once. I did send him several musical cards and nothing happened to him. I guess it depends on his DI. I also didn't send them the first week though, it was much later. I remember there was a big to do in his class about sending them care packages with junk food. Don't do it! Unless he tells you to. And yeah, the days do go by super slow but the weeks fly by! If that makes any sense! It helped me to be just as busy as he was. I did overtime at work, got a personal trainer and took bowling lessons so that I could kick his ass at something when he was done! You should check out the Private Spouses Corner on here. It is filled with a ton of great advice! Good luck!

 

[Angels]

Wow OCS I went through it with my boyfriend at the time and now husband in 2004. I wrote a letter every day to help me feel connected to him and to tell him all about my day. It also helped me get through OCS easier. I would wait until you have his class number before you send an letter to be sure he got it. Also be sure you don't put anything in there you don't want anyone else to know because they can be read out loud like someone said. I do know he didn't have time to read all of them but it did help him get through. Just realize if you do end up marrying your boyfriend OCS is a true test of how life as an Navy wife will be. I went through already an 6 month deployment and being pregnant, and my husband meeting his son at 3 months old. I also knowing it won't be the last time being apart that long. OCS gives you the test being away from the person you love and can handle it. I know you guys will be fine and just think there are other couples going through the exact same thing! If you have any questions let me know! Good Luck and you will do great!

Agreed. I wrote letters every single day. They were more for me then they were for him! I know my husband liked it because in his class there was a friendly competition as to who received the most. He tied with another dude. I saw that the movie Officer and a Gentlemen was recommended. I too was told to watch it. I will probably get neg rep for saying this but I do not recommend it! I thought it was a horrible little movie!

 

[The Renegade]

I never recieved his class number before he left and I want to send him a letter.

Aug is the first classes for the FY-10 and your boyfriend's class is the first class for the FY! If your boyfriend reported to OCS with the 9 Aug class, his class number is 01-10... I know a few people in that class. I report 30 Aug and my class number is 04-10.

If you write a letter now he should be able to read it... Sunday's are down time, at which time they can write/read letters. Send it now, he'll get time to read it eventually...

 

[nikiterp86]

I saw that the movie Officer and a Gentlemen was recommended. I too was told to watch it. I will probably get neg rep for saying this but I do not recommend it! I thought it was a horrible little movie!

I didn't like it either, but if you haven't seen it yet and you'd prefer to find out for yourself, it's on at 11:30 EST on CMT haha

 

[Dvo919]

Sunday Phone Calls

Hi everyone. My boyfriend just finished his first week at OCS and was able to call me for all of 1 minute. I had mistakenly hoped he'd have a bit more time than that to chat, as I still have no idea what's happening with him (other than the fact that he is obviously exhausted). Is that what i should expect every weekend, or will he get more than 1 minute to talk in the upcoming weeks?

He also said that they weren't being given their mail yet - is there a certain time around which they start receiving/sending mail (like the ~9 weeks for cell phones) or is it more random?