And that shows just how bad it is. Today’s Navy OCS is nothing physically compared to the past, especially AOCS.
In the AOCS days, the recruiters made damn sure that anyone applying and going knew that they better be in top condition. And they gave PR test to everyone before they signed their contract (at least both my recruiter and my brother’s did). Day 1 of AOCS was a PT test to include pull-ups. The AOCS PT test was a lot harder than the rest of the Navy’s. Plus there were the obstacle and cross country courses you had to complete within a certain time. AOCS had more stringent PT requirements than Aviation Indoctrination that the Academy and ROTC guys had, but they too had to do pull-ups and the obstacle and cross country courses.
The Marine DIs used to like AOCS better than Marine OCS. At Quantico that had rules such as only so many push-ups the first week, so much time, etc. At AOCS they had no rules and no limits. Quantico had rules on cussing, etc. the DIs had to follow. At AOCS they were free to use their imaginations....
I said earlier that AOC DIs would get in trouble if they did today what they did then. I take that back - they would be in jail. It was also right out in the open for the whole world to view. The Aircrew Candidate school was across the street and they were absolutely floored by the antics they say on the other side of the road. Officers go through AI to include Marines straight from TBS were amazed. Dependents would come to watch. Families got to see it all during outposting which was held every week right after the commissioning parade.
The sad part is that today it is seen as hazing, harassment, brutality, etc. “How dare they treat candidates like that?! They should be in jail the monsters!” Yet almost everyone who commissioned through AOCS believes it was it shaped them and prepared them for anything the military or life could throw at them. They wouldn’t change it if they could.
Ill grant you it was certainly harsher in the past and to some degree more physically demanding, but it isn't like the hardest thing you'll do in Newport these days are a PFA to the minimum passing standard (not withstanding the "sharking" practices that go on) . In fact that's barely a taste of what is to come in the next 11 weeks.
Chiefs and DI's have rules on them, because everyone should have oversight. They aren't allowed to use profanity with candidates, do they? Of course they do, hell even some of the officers up to and including the Director of OCS swore at and in the presence of candidates while I was there. About the only form of verbal abuse not common is anything that would constitute discrimination against a protected class, and even that limit was tested right up to the edge by some of the more daring RDC's or DI's.
Obstacle courses? Now they just don't have anything tall for us to fall off of, but you bet we spend our fair share of time in/out of the sand crawling, running, jumping, doing exercises and other monkey games and most fun of all carrying heavy things for the fun of it to make up for lost climbing. As for a time limit? Fast cruise has a cutoff, don't make it to the door before it closes? Too bad, try again in three weeks.
As for harassment and brutality, I've seen candidates including myself pushed up to the point where they cant move by a DI who wants to make a even a minuscule point by bringing them to the breaking limit and stopping only when they're satisfied they wont reel in another DOR and there's nothing left in the muscles left for the offender to give. There's both time and occurrence limits to beat sessions but those rules were bent on a non infrequent basis. One candidate with a troubled training history was called out daily at REG PT in front of everyone by one RDC to DOR because she would never make it though and it was pointless that she remain because it only served to waste everyone time.
Hell, on graduation morning I was told by my DI and class O that my family was ashamed of me, and that I would be a garbage officer while being beat for about an hour to the point of vomiting in front of my entire class and any other candidates or staff to see. My infraction? Not having shaved the day earlier, while possessing a current and valid no shave chit. When I brought that to light I was now "insubordinate" and "extremely arrogant and disrespectful". Hours later I was told by the DI "I didn't mean anything by it Sir".
Public spectacle? Just about the only place someone couldn't watch the training going on would be inside Nimitz hall. Beyond those walls, anyone with base access could watch whatever was going on pretty much daily.
OCS in its current form isn't some worthless, new age PC cupcake camp compared to the AOCS of old. Easier to some degree I'm sure and ill be the first to blame some members of my approximate generation of being soft, but when leaving upon commissioning the old man said what he saw there during the day or two leading up to graduation didn't hold a candle to his boot camp experience circa 1986 and was more brutal than anything he had seen in his following 30 years of service.
Stress cards? Occasionally heard of it, never seen one.
Then again, some people throw themselves into it and maximize the experience to make themselves stronger and and others shrink from any form of attention are deaf to the process just trying to make it through under the radar. Personally, I'm glad it struck me the way it did, it's unfairness and disregard for contempt for even the slightest comfort taught me lessons that I never would have imagined up to that point and can only better equip me on the path ahead.
