sTUPID qUESTIONS aBOUT ocs

[Unforgiven33]

Ya we didnt have to eat by the number but i watched the videos of it and i can probably understand the point of it as just another one of those things to get you in the military mindset. I am glad I will not have to do that, that's fantastic news. But I am prior so I suffered my amount of awkward and uncomfortable stuff. Is there anything like trying to make the walls sweat with PT?

 

[LFCFan]

Is there anything like trying to make the walls sweat with PT?

My class had a 20+ minute session** once indoors (IIRC in most of our winter gear: NWUs, parkas with liner, etc). I was sweating so much afterwards that it was dripping heavily from the tip of the brim. Alas, the room that this took place in was in old Nimitz and new Nimitz lacks an equivalent so a lot of the shenanigans people worry about can't quite happen as much anymore.

You'll probably have a few sessions in the various sand pits around the command.

**as timed by our section leader, not a dramatic overestimate by folks there

I think the comparison to enlisted boot camp depends on when you went, as I've heard some priors say boot camp was worse and some say it was easier.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Is there anything like trying to make the walls sweat with PT?

Class team dependent. I know one or two of them who were notorious for their RPT sessions, especially in the first week. But that's just the luck of the draw (or lack thereof), so not a lot you can do there except hope for the best and plan for the worst.

That said, the policy is that they're not supposed to RPT you for more than 10 minutes per hour, but there have been some cases where they "threw away the watch," so to speak. But for the most part, they stick to that policy. They're there to make you stronger, not to break you.

 

[Spekkio]

so not like boot camp where they give 10 minutes to shower? you actually get a normal part of life to use the bathroom? this brings up an interesting topic, so what are some of the daily things that sucked in enlisted boot camp but are better in OCS or are same at OCS? like 5 minutes to pump and dump? 10 minutes to shower? i think i read somewhere that they make you drink a ton of water in OCS like boot camp was?

You won't have someone forcing you to take a 10 min shower after the first week, but you generally won't have the time for lolly-gagging. When I was there, most people hopped into the shower at like 2100-2200, only because you were supposed to be asleep after 2200.

I'm not sure if you guys had "eating by the numbers" at boot camp, or if that was purely an OCS invention, but that's gone now.

This was purely a Navy OCS invention as far as I can gather. No one else I've ever encountered in the military had to eat by the numbers with their weak hand in initial training for 10 weeks, which is probably why someone got smart enough to say enough already.

I saw a Marine OCS video where they don't even call the GySgt's "sir," which was a bit surprising but also very sensible when you think about it -- no newly minted 2nd Lt is going to slip up and say it in the fleet, nor will he call 'attention on deck' for a CPT.

 

[LET73]

You know, part of me thinks that all of this is sensible. What's the point of communal showers or eating by the numbers? Military indoctrination, sure, but how does clutching a giant spoon in your weak hand to eat ribs prepare you to be a naval officer? On the other hand, you get used to the mass showering situation pretty quick, and eating by the numbers gives you an entertaining story to tell people. I think the broader point of all that, and the point behind a lot of OCS training, is to teach you that you're actually perfectly capable of getting through shitty, absurd situations after too much physical exertion and not enough sleep. You can make it more like college and provide all the practical leadership training you want, but a new ensign is a new ensign, and he's going to have to learn from experience when he gets to his first command. I guess ultimately I think OCS should suck; otherwise a) everyone would want to do it and b) we'd basically be the Air Force.

 

[Spekkio]

I agree that being put into stressful situations and learning to do things properly, even if it's as simple as eating, is an integral part of training, but once OCS decided to stop allowing class team members to kick over your gatorade/water or make you eat by holding your tray out for doing the eat-by-numbers thing wrong (thankfully not something I had to deal with), it lost its purpose. It's just a ridiculous exercise in stupidity.

It wouldn't be terrible to keep it around for the first month or so as part of the initial indoctrination, but eating by the numbers 2 days out from candio phase when everyone is focusing on the junior class was fairly stupid.

You also missed the part where I said no other commissioning source does this -- Navy or otherwise. I'm fairly sure they find plenty of ways to put their OC/Midn/Cadets into stressful situations regardless.

 

[BigRed389]

I agree that being put into stressful situations and learning to do things properly, even if it's as simple as eating, is an integral part of training, but once OCS decided to stop allowing class team members to kick over your gatorade/water or make you eat by holding your tray out for doing the eat-by-numbers thing wrong (thankfully not something I had to deal with), it lost its purpose. It's just a ridiculous exercise in stupidity.

It wouldn't be terrible to keep it around for the first month or so as part of the initial indoctrination, but eating by the numbers 2 days out from candio phase when everyone is focusing on the junior class was fairly stupid.

You also missed the part where I said no other commissioning source does this -- Navy or otherwise. I'm fairly sure they find plenty of ways to put their OC/Midn/Cadets into stressful situations regardless.

I didn't really get it then either. Now I actually don't think that part of it is about stressful situations, at least not focused towards people functioning under pressure. I think it's more about seeing how people deal with monotonous frustrating bureaucratic crap...something everybody runs into eventually. That and general unpleasantness. Day in day out grind of seemingly pointless admin, whether it's filling out mission reports, engineering logs, etc.

Regarding other commissioning sources, I think climbing up a greased up pole with your classmates is the height (no pun intended) of exercises in stupid.

 

[BusyBee604]

I think the broader point of all that, and the point behind a lot of OCS training, is to teach you that you're actually perfectly capable of getting through shitty, absurd situations after too much physical exertion and not enough sleep. You can make it more like college and provide all the practical leadership training you want, but a new ensign is a new ensign, and he's going to have to learn from experience when he gets to his first command. I guess ultimately I think OCS should suck; otherwise a) everyone would want to do it and b) we'd basically be the Air Force.

Concur, a basic tenet in effective leadership, is that you learn to accept and follow orders before giving them effectively. Regarding the new Ensign's continuing leadership training at their first command, it also prepares them to gracefully accept polite guidance from their (technically 'junior') "Goat Locker", who are normally tasked by the XO, to assist in the leadership & technical training of newly reporting inexperienced JOs.

Also, comparing OCS to Enlisted Boot Camp, is as apples v oranges. The former is training to familiarize and lead; the latter to fam and follow. Both programs are dynamic, and cyclic!
BzB

 

[Unforgiven33]

So another stupid question after looking at this sheet of stuff, we really got to bring briefs (tightie whities) or can we sport boxer briefs? Will it matter for RLP?

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

They'll issue you tighty whities whether you want them or not. It's not inspectable anymore for RLP, so wear what you like. I'd still wear briefs for PT though. Compression shorts may stick out below the PT shorts during stretches and whatnot, and boxers could be even worse.

 

[LFCFan]

. I'm fairly sure they find plenty of ways to put their OC/Midn/Cadets into stressful situations regardless.

This is true about comparing any accession source, whether it is within or between branches or over time. It frustrates the hell out of me to talk to friends and family that don't get it and think that just because I didn't have "four basic responses" or *insert unpleasant rule or evolution here* that OCS must have been a cakewalk.

 

[Crewguy02]

They'll issue you tighty whities whether you want them or not. It's not inspectable anymore for RLP, so wear what you like. I'd still wear briefs for PT though. Compression shorts may stick out below the PT shorts during stretches and whatnot, and boxers could be even worse.

so can you not wear compression shorts during pt? it does make things a lot easier and comfortable

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

so can you not wear compression shorts during pt? it does make things a lot easier and comfortable

To be honest, I'm not really sure how they feel about it there, but I was told tighty whities only when I went (although the only time they might ever be visible is in the PTU). If you wanna be on the safe side, you could go with black compression shorts so it looks like the built-in underwear for the PT shorts.

 

[Unforgiven33]

What about bringing my NWU's? Is there a place to keep them, any other priors on here that wish they would have brought more or less? Should I just bring digi's or bring boots too? Or just say screw it and pay the boatload of money for the uniform issue?

 

[navy2014]

I say this because it looks like SWO/Supply/Intel have all become quite full.

I realize this thread isn't exactly the place to ask questions about this particular thing you wrote, but since it's already in this thread--what exactly does this mean? If SWO is as full as Intel, then is there no point in a person who thought Intel would be his first choice to put SWO first instead due to the difficulty of selection / wait-time of Intel? And one thing I've never really been clear on, no matter whether we're talking about a "quite full" intel or SWO, is what is the worst-case scenario for wait-time, assuming a person is pro-rec'd Y the first time he's considered? 1 year? 2 years? (i.e. will I age out of this no matter what I do?)