View of Officer Candidates

[Single Seat]

Huh? Please tell me why I'm wrong. Granted, this is the only part of military I have any real knowledge of, but I've spent 3 years in an ROTC unit so I kind of know how it works.

Do you think E-1 outrank OCs?

Oh, well... hell. What was I thinking? Holy hell man you could probably teach me a few things.

You know what the difference between a Seaman and an Ensign is? The Seaman has already been promoted twice.

An OC is paid more than an E-1, and that's about where it ends. They're both equally stupid. It's all about knowing your place in any given situation. Does being an OC warrant a salute from an E-1? No. Did the E-5 that beat my ass in SERE school out rank me? No. Did it stop him from kicking my ass?

 

[corvettetimmy]

Words.....
I just want to know if others out there are being treated as poorly as I have been, and what your view on the subject is.

I felt the same way when I first checked into the ROTC unit in 2005. It all started with CAPT "Dubbs" (CO) Telling me that he never had a good impression of prior enlisted officers.:icon_rage (for training purposes probably)

I think ROTC is a humbling experience for a lot of OC's. Especially if your unit does some sort of freshman orientation and you have 2nd year midshipmen setting you straight for 16 hours a day the first week. That puts the humility right back in you . And if it doesn't and you don't submit, then the 3 years in ROTC will be extremely painful.

Just go with the flow because by the "end" you will definitely be equal to those midshipmen who surround you whether you believe it now or not.

Good luck.

 

[statesman]

Renegae One said it nicely. I'll say it like this... You sound like you're whining. It's 13 damn weeks. It's OCS and the way it is, if you don't like it, DOR. If not, pray your DI and class staff aren't reading this (I would bet they are).

Oh yeah, it's "Marines" not marines.

I get the impression that he is a STA-21 not an OCSer. Could be wrong, just my guess.

 

[Gatordev]

Renegae One said it nicely. I'll say it like this... You sound like you're whining. It's 13 damn weeks. It's OCS and the way it is, if you don't like it, DOR. If not, pray your DI and class staff aren't reading this (I would bet they are).

Oh yeah, it's "Marines" not marines.

He's not in OCS, he's a prior enlisted ROTC member, who go by the title of OC. It's a different environment than what you experienced in OCS.

 

[SDNalgene]

I think ROTC is a humbling experience for a lot of OC's. Especially if your unit does some sort of freshman orientation and you have 2nd year midshipmen setting you straight for 16 hours a day the first week. That puts the humility right back in you . And if it doesn't and you don't submit, then the 3 years in ROTC will be extremely painful.

Just go with the flow because by the "end" you will definitely be equal to those midshipmen who surround you whether you believe it now or not.

I definitely agree.

While in ROTC I thought the best MECEPS and OCs were the ones who recognized that one of the most valuable roles they could play was being a good follower when the situation dictated. For mids, leadership billets in ROTC are a vital way of gaining experience in an environment where mistakes aren't very costly. The prior enlisted that recognized this and played the game by being good followers, letting the mids screw up a bit, and offering advice to the mids in private were far more effective in molding mids into officers than those who took the, "well, we don't do it that way in the fleet you 19 year old P.O.S," attitude. By the end everyone is an O-1 and the sooner those with prior enlisted time recognize that fact the better off everyone is.

If you aren't getting the respect you are due then correct the individual in question. If he or she isn't open to the idea and you indeed are being treated unfairly then most likely the offending party is a tool. In that case it is a fact that is most likely not lost on the rest of the people in your command as well. Suck it up and deal; you will be out of there in a few years tops and what you are moving on to is definitely worth swallowing your pride.

 

[lmnop]

words..

You're on some of the sweetest and most sought after shore duty there is, and at the end of it you get a commission. Don't waste your time worrying about petty bullshit.

You know what the difference between a Seaman and an Ensign is? The Seaman has already been promoted twice.

I used to think that was a great line too....when I was a Seaman.

 

[Zissou]

"It is mostly the marines that piss me off."

I stopped taking you serious right there ^

 

[Spekkio]

I have found the advice a retired friend of the family gave me to be quite useful thus far: In this business, never let anyone piss you off, and never let anyone make you happy.

Seriously, it sounds like you're being petty. Do what you need to do to graduate, and stop worrying about whether or not a PFC thinks he outranks you.

 

[Sub King]

Hey BOCOD may I ask what your rate was as an enlisted? Maybe you wrote it I just didn't catch it.

 

[Lustrante]

There needs to be some education on the officer programs for people to understand the difference.

Dude, no one gives a sh*t. Especially the e-dawgs.

 

[hornsfan]

In two years I won't have to deal with it anymore.

I think you just answered your own question. Plus, when you are on your mid cruises you wont be treated like an E-1, youll be treated like a future officer. And your prior experience will be respected. And shoot man, right now, youre in college, life is good.....

 

[jbuck387]

I think you just answered your own question. Plus, when you are on your mid cruises you wont be treated like an E-1, youll be treated like a future officer. And your prior experience will be respected. And shoot man, right now, youre in college, life is good.....

OC's is STA-21 do not participate in mid cruises as per 1420.1A

 

[S.O.B.]

I keep being told that everyone including an E-1 outranks me. It is like everything I have done in the Navy is worth nothing anymore. I have also been told that I am not enlisted anymore.

If people are telling you this then you are projecting some sense of entitlement. In my opinion it is this type of attitude that prevents some priors from assimilating into the wardoom. You're not an LDO, and were not selected for your prior experiences. The fact that you have them is great but don't wear them on your sleeve.

I just want to know if others out there are being treated as poorly as I have been, and what your view on the subject is.

If your worried about being treated poorly then the TRACOMs an FRS are really going to piss you off.

Let it go........ you choose not to become a chief. I know the type of JO that you're on your way to becoming and he's typically a tool.

 

[ELT(SS)]

When I start getting annoyed about wearing a Chief Halloween costume and not having a rank, I laugh a little bit, and then think to myself that I work 19 hours a week. Then it makes it all ok. It does get a little annoying, but the work output is worth the annoyance.

 

[cyristvirus]

I must say in the guy’s defense that I kind of do know how he feels. The unit that I am apart of seems to kind of be the same way. I care less about the rank and getting called whatever the hell they want to call me but it’s the transition that’s a killer. It’s really hard not to crush some of these tools at 0530 when they are acting like doing pushups is going to change the world and release communist Russia into our homes! I want to go up to some of them and slap them in the face and tell them that they need to stop acting like idiots and focus on what’s important in life and for the Navy. Maybe this OC guy is getting the same feeling a little, maybe he sees those MIDN growing up and becoming tools like himself… who knows