How is a class number read?

[CEC-MS]

I was going through my OCS flashcards, and now that I know my class number (at least I think I do, I was verbally told my OCS date but still waiting on finsel), I can practice my responses with the actual class number. Which got me to thinking, how is it read?

For example, if I'll be in class 17-14, is it read, "one-seven-tack-one-four" or "seventeen-tack-fourteen" or some other way?

Maybe it's nit-picky preparation, but I like to practice exactly the way I need to perform. One less thing for me to stumble on when I'm actually on the spot. Thanks!

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

In your case it'd be "class one seven one four." And if your class is big enough, it'll be followed by your company.

Example: "Class One Three One Three Hotel Company, upon receiving the command of execution 'March,' you will half-step up the ladderwell and reform at the door!" (I was in 13-13H)

 

[LET73]

In your case it'd be "class one seven one four." And if your class is big enough, it'll be followed by your company.

Example: "Class One Three One Three Hotel Company, upon receiving the command of execution 'March,' you will half-step up the ladderwell and reform at the door!" (I was in 13-13H)

Just curious, how big was your class? We started with ~75 and finished with about half that, but never got split into companies, and neither did any other classes while I was there. ("H" was just for the holding class.)

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Just curious, how big was your class? We started with ~75 and finished with about half that, but never got split into companies, and neither did any other classes while I was there. ("H" was just for the holding class.)

H-class and Hotel Company are two different things. When they split a class up, they cycle through A-H. For example, Class 08-13 was split up into Golf and Hotel companies, 09-13 was split into Alpha and Bravo, 10-13 Charlie and Delta, 12-13 Echo and Foxtrot, and 13-13 was back to Golf and Hotel. And H-class is always just called "H-Class," not Hotel or anything like that. Coming from someone who was in both H-Class AND a Hotel Company.
We graduated 47 in our company, probably about as many in our sister company. I originally checked in with 11-13, which I believe was about 60-ish at check-in, and they didn't get split up. But I was told that it was close to being big enough to being split up, they ideally like to have groups of 50 or so. And then 16-13 came through. I have no idea what they were doing with those guys (I wasn't indoc staff), but it was a huge group, at least 80 candidates, and they didn't split it into companies. They did have two DI's, though, one of whom was new. My understanding was that the reason they did it that way was to show the new DI the ropes.
We didn't lose nearly as many people as you guys did. DOR's were fairly rare, and we had about as many people roll out to a later class as rolled in from an earlier class (myself included), so that was a wash. The big killer for us was NPQ's unfortunately, but since most of them happened in candio phase, we had a handful of people graduate/commission who then stuck around in student pool waiting to either redesignate or separate.

 

[LET73]

explanation

Interesting. We lost and gained almost everyone in the first three weeks (PRT failures, injuries, DOR, NPQ, etc. A lot of times people would just disappear--we'd show up somewhere to muster and someone just wouldn't be there, and most people in the class wouldn't know why. I know that previous classes got split into companies, so maybe none of us did because the DIs were starting to move from Pensacola to Newport. We were actually pretty low on DIs by the time I commissioned.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Interesting. We lost and gained almost everyone in the first three weeks (PRT failures, injuries, DOR, NPQ, etc. A lot of times people would just disappear--we'd show up somewhere to muster and someone just wouldn't be there, and most people in the class wouldn't know why. I know that previous classes got split into companies, so maybe none of us did because the DIs were starting to move from Pensacola to Newport. We were actually pretty low on DIs by the time I commissioned.

Interesting, we had a bit of a staffing issue when I commissioned too. A handful of DI's were rotating out with not as many expected to replace them. At one point, all four classes had two companies each, meaning eight DI's and eight RDC's were pushing the classes through at that time. Which might be another reason they didn't split up 16-13, they were probably trying it out to see if they could do more with less.
They also tried having the candio class and indoc class share a class team. When 12-13 Echo and Foxtrot became candios and started checking in 15-13 Charlie and Delta, the class team for each candio class company also became the class team for the respective indoc class company. It's not easy to describe without using their names. But anyway, it didn't work out all that well, since the candios still had to prepare for pass-in-review and graduation, so the class team was stretched pretty thin.
As far as losing people (in the literal sense), it seems like they learned their lesson. They have the section leader, which is a rotating role (different one every day), keeping track of everyone, they'd have to know where everyone was at any given moment. And the class President reports every morning to the DI to say if anyone was LLD or going to medical, so they're keeping pretty close tabs on people now. Plus there's door-body procedures, meaning you basically have to count off every time you walk through a door as a class. Plus they're now super-anal about safety to try to keep injuries to a minimum. Things like tucking in your shoelaces so you don't trip, taking the stairs one step at a time, pivoting on the outside foot so you don't twist your ankle, not pivoting or running in shower shoes ("go-slowers"), etc etc.

 

[mad dog]

I was going through my OCS flashcards...

OCS flashcards = "Poopie Gouge"?



mad dog
AOCS Class 41-86

 

[LFCFan]

So they have started splitting classes into companies with one DI per class vice two per company. No idea why they are doing it that way now.

Interesting. We lost and gained almost everyone in the first three weeks (PRT failures, injuries, DOR, NPQ, etc. A lot of times people would just disappear--we'd show up somewhere to muster and someone just wouldn't be there, and most people in the class wouldn't know why.

Pretty true still. The only loss we had after the first few weeks was someone with a prior injury that acted up again, and she ultimately was NPQed and left the Navy.

As far as losing people (in the literal sense), it seems like they learned their lesson. They have the section leader, which is a rotating role (different one every day), keeping track of everyone, they'd have to know where everyone was at any given moment. And the class President reports every morning to the DI to say if anyone was LLD or going to medical, so they're keeping pretty close tabs on people now. Plus there's door-body procedures, meaning you basically have to count off every time you walk through a door as a class. Plus they're now super-anal about safety to try to keep injuries to a minimum. Things like tucking in your shoelaces so you don't trip, taking the stairs one step at a time, pivoting on the outside foot so you don't twist your ankle, not pivoting or running in shower shoes ("go-slowers"), etc etc.

I think you misunderstood LET73. People do disappear, you just don't know what happened to them until later. When someone DORs they vanish right away. The Candios know about it, so if the count is *actually* off you will be...informed. I think they were always keeping close tabs, the thing is that during indoc week, you as Indoc Candidate Schmuckatelli have no way of actually knowing what is going on around you.

For example, if I'll be in class 17-14, is it read, "one-seven-tack-one-four" or "seventeen-tack-fourteen" or some other way?

While it is correct to say "tack" instead of "dash," you, don't need to overdo it. For example, saying "DDG-1000" for the USS Zumwalt or the FA-18 as the "DDG tack one thousand" and "FA tack 18" isn't how it is said (Just DDG one thousand or F A eighteen). You'll figure out when it is appropriate to omit the tack. And in most situations that don't have a "script" you'll just say "Alpha Company" or whatever provided that you are split. And if your class has a zero in it, you'll say zero and not "O."

OCS flashcards = "Poopie Gouge"?

Poopie suits are gone, sadly.

 

[Spartan43]

So they have started splitting classes into companies with one DI per class vice two per company. No idea why they are doing it that way now.

They were doing 2 companies per class with a DI assigned to each company. Manning cuts lowered that to 1 DI per class.
Because of this, Drill Comp isn't a competition between companies anymore, just an evaluation.

I don't know how it is for classes beyond 12-14 but they were a small class and not split into companies.

 

[LFCFan]

They were doing 2 companies per class with a DI assigned to each company.

Yep, that's how I had it.

Manning cuts lowered that to 1 DI per class.
Because of this, Drill Comp isn't a competition between companies anymore, just an evaluation.

Which is too bad. I hope it changes.

I don't know how it is for classes beyond 12-14 but they were a small class and not split into companies.

This is actually pretty common. About two or three classes per year don't get split.

 

[LET73]

Yeah, our drill comp was just an evaluation, rather than real competition against anyone. Classes that got above a certain score got "gay little ribbons" (as our DI put it--we didn't meet the threshold...) on their guidon and points towards being an honor class.

 

[Hozer]

OCS flashcards?......holy shit.
Class 15-96, yut.

 

[CEC-MS]

There were a couple questions about my flashcards in this thread. I was just taking everything I could find that needed to be remembered in OCS and put it down on there. It's basically the same process I did before I went to Great Lakes RTC. It helped me out quite a bit.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Yeah, our drill comp was just an evaluation, rather than real competition against anyone. Classes that got above a certain score got "gay little ribbons" (as our DI put it--we didn't meet the threshold...) on their guidon and points towards being an honor class.

That was our class too. Frickin' Golf Company kept getting all the damn banners, and all the priors in our company were like "So what, we're all getting butterbars anyway." I wanted the drill banner, at least. We lost by less than 2 points, just couldn't get Inspection Arms together because we had some weak-ass candidates who couldn't get the bolt back on their 40-year-old rifles. But I'm not bitter...

 

[mad dog]

...the damn banners...

I wonder if the "Party Banner" is still awarded. We "hooked up" or USMC DI (as well as a few of the other USMC DIs) at our class party at the AOC Club at NASP...so we subsequently were awarded the "Party Banner" which was of an orange and black tiger stripe configuration with "PARTY" lithographed on it. We (AOCS Class 41-86) were mighty proud of that banner...yes, we were.