Writing a book about Navy OCS - The Pensacola Years 1994 - 2007

[First Sergeant]

John Crouch
First Sergeant, USMC retired
423 - 620 - 5399 Cell
Call 0800 - 2300 EST
navyocs.stories@gmail.com


SKYPE - fsgtcrouch

Below is what I have been sending to other Navy OCS Warriors for triggers and explanation of what I am doing

·I am writing a book on Navy OCS covering the years 1947 – 1994 from the Pensacola location.

· Please indicate your class number and Drill Instructor name and rank for all content you submit for inclusion in this book I am writing.



Please share with any other Navy OCS Pensacola grads that you know of.


·Here is an example of the layout for the book on AOCS that I am writing. I don’t expect you to read what I sent but I wanted you to see the format I was going with. Please take some time in the next couple months to write me your memories of your time under the tutelage of a Marine DI at Pensacola. I will also be writing a very comprehensive chapter on the course of training, requirements, nuances and changes throughout the decades.

·Some stories may be in a chapter all by themselves such as RLP’s and INDOC.

·I am arranging the book front to rear by the decades in order of date of service regarding assignment to Navy OCS as a Drill Instructor. I will of course have a very lengthy chapter at the beginning covering the reason why Marine DI’s were assigned in 1947 and continued to be assigned throughout the decades as well as the changes that occurred in the training program.

·I will be glad to assist you in any capacity necessary to get those stories of trials and tribulations of life under the Marine Drill Instructor’s hammer as he shaped you into an officer.

Thanks so much for the stories some of you have sent and the forthcoming stories.

NAVY OCS​

THE PENSACOLA YEARS​

1994 - 2007​

A COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORIES ​

FROM THE MARINE CORPS DRILL INSTRUCTORS ​

&​

THE AVIATION OFFICER CANDIDATES THEY TRAINED​

I am soliciting stories, short and long, paragraphs to multiple pages and unique photographs you might want to have included in the book. Here is a list of possible triggers to spark those long suppressed memories of Navy OCS Pensacola. I would love very much for you to send me an E-mail with your stories attached. It will not be any one single story that makes the book a hit, it will be the collaborative efforts of all you Warriors and the Drill Instructors who trained you that will define the legacy of the book I will publish on your behalf. Drill Instructors, your stories are just as valuable so please share them Marine. I know that not everyone has time to type so I will gladly arrange a phone call with anyone to get the story and write it down myself and send to you a copy for final editing if you like. Please send E-mails to navyocs.stories@gmail.com and feel free to call me at the above number at listed times.

Here is a link to who I am. These videos were shot in 1997 at Pensacola. http://www.youtube.com/user/crouchje Class 19-97 Introduction also shows the chow hall procedure for that first meal.

1. The first time I met my DI
2. What was INDOC like
3. Revile and the terror / chaos that often ensued
4. Taps
5. Hygiene inspection
6. Mail Call
7. The glory of having an M1-Garand rifle and learning the hard way how damn heavy it could be
8. Close order drill and the idiots who could not march
9. Close order drill and the sound of my drill instructors voice that I can still hear to this day
10. Welcome aboard by upper classmen
11. Chow hall procedures and the ensuing screw-ups we all experienced
12. Chow hall is not very relaxing time with Drill Instructors present
13. Getting your ass wore out in the rose garden, the black hole or the pit
14. Chrome Dome helmets and sweaty green uniforms
15. The consequences of failing to lock your wall locker or rifle up

a. What a RLP (Room Locker Personnel) inspection was like. Later years it changed names to MTT (Military Training Test).
b. My drill Instructor had a sense of humor, some examples are….
c. My drill instructor went the extra mile to ensure our success such as the time he….
d. About those other DI’s who would torture us for no other reason than the desire to perform a random act of violence
e. Teamwork between the classes was key in getting through the Navy OCS experience
f. Surviving Poopie Week
g. Roommates, some good / some bad
h. Discovering your room has been trashed
i. The creative ways the DI’s would trip you up
j. The funny side of the DI’s
k. Unique techniques my drill instructor used to teach a lesson
l. The DOR (Drop on Request) process and funny stories leading up to them
m. The silver dollar salute with the DI
n. When candidates tried to outsmart the drill instructors
o. Liberty as a candidate
p. Running into a DI when on liberty
q. The obstacle course
r. Formation runs
s. Morning PT
t. Mess night or Dining In as a candidate
u. Skits that were acted out about Navy OCS life
v. Standing watch as a officer candidate
w. What it was like at the end when promoted to Candidate Officer and treated like a human for the first time
x. What lessons stayed with you all these years when you reflect on the whole experience of going through Navy OCS
y. I am sure there are other things that could be said to spark a memory of a story that needs to be told, but I need your stories to save for the preservation of the Navy OCS legacy.
​

1973 Original Pressure Point, DI is SSGT David Penn later to become LTCOL Penn
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=196017

1990 Remake of Pressure Point – DI is SSGT S.C. Holt

1994 remake of Pressure Point. Renamed “OCS – A Commitment to Excellence” DI is SSGT David Erwin & Class CPO is CPO Morales

Part II

 

[First Sergeant]

Correction on dates

I inadvertantly left the dates of the other book I am writing concerning AOCS 1947 - 1994 imbedded in the text of the original post for the Navy OCS book covering the years 1994 - 2007. Please take note of this error, I owe all you a hundred hops and pops and a thousand word essay being that I was a Drill Instructor and I made a mistake that cannot be hidden inthat editing of original postings does not seem possible 48 hours later.