Looking for a female perspective on OCS

[Spekkio]

Not a female, but having been through OCS:

1. How many women attend NAVY OCS?

You can typically expect a handful in each class...usually less than 5 though.

2. How different is it for men and women?

The training is exactly the same for men and women. I can't speak on any other existential differences because I'm not a woman, and women aren't men.

3. What is expected of you physicaly? - How bad is it?

It's expected that you put 110% effort into everything you do, just like the guys. How bad it is will depend on how fit you are when you show up.

4. I know very little about the military and its terminology, rankings, everything - Do they teach you this or should I read up before going?

You get a little gouge book where you will have to memorize the name, description, and paygrades of all USN and USMC ranks for your week 4 and 7 inspections. Since this is available to you on the OCS website, it would be beneficial to start familiarizing yourself with them now.

5. I have looked everywhere for a list, but haven't found one yet - what programs are available for specialization? - Not sure if this made sense, let me know :S

Everyone goes to OCS with a specific designator, ie SWO, pilot, NFO, subs, etc, etc. Military officers are generalists by nature, though.

6. This is a crude question, but how are relationships between men and women?

If you are asking about hooking up: it is strictly forbidden. Won't say I haven't heard of it occurring, but your head will roll if you get caught.

The rooms at OCS are dorm-style, 2 to a room. Women usually get the first few closest to the door to the main hallway.

Aside from that, every class will bond differently, so it's really impossible to give a blanket statement about the relationships between men and women.

7. For those of you who have finished - how does it feel to know you had/have what they are looking for?

Pretty damn good.

less personal - what kind of sacrifices are commonly made?

Pretty new at this, so not too many other than not being able to routinely see friends and family I grew up with.

10. Did you enjoy it? Would you take it back? Would you do it all over again?

In retrospect, some parts of OCS were "fun" in a sick sorta way. Yes I'd do it over again if I had to. [/QUOTE]

 

[P3 F0]

what sacrifices have you had to make? - or less personal - what kind of sacrifices are commonly made?

From a guy's perspective as far as females go, I think the biggest sacrifice you'll make is your family. It's much harder for a woman to find a man who will follow her around. On top of that, it's much harder for a woman to have a kid. Of the females (both O and E, who have been operational) I've known who've had rugrats--I honestly just don't know how they've managed it. When I was single with only a dog to take care of, it was hard to deal with those short-notice TAD's.

And then you have the real lunatics who marry within the Navy. I'd guess 90% of those relationships are doomed from the beginning. Bottom line--if you're a female, best to forget about any family plans you may have until you get out.

ETA: Not saying marrying within the Navy is wrong, just that it's a bit masochistic.

 

[utak]

Marrying within the Navy is much like walking into a checkride brief with The Skipper without bothering to know any of your boldface EPs. More then likely, you're doomed to inevitable failure, the way you fall on your face will be Oscar-winning dramatic at best, everyone is going to hear about it and let you know about how AFU you are, and you will have follow-on consequences (instead of of pink sheets and IPCs, you simply have lawyer fees, wasted time, and involuntary money "donations" from your paycheck).

 

[KLT]

ETA: Not saying marrying within the Navy is wrong, just that it's a bit masochistic.

... and I ask. what's wrong with that?

problem is, when you're a girl in the Navy, I imagine it's gonna be hard to marry a civilian and find him 'manly' enough

 

[MasterBates]

The problem with a dual-mil couple, on the Officer side is that colocation is hard/impossible for a lot of the time, unless one takes the career grenade orders for colocation.

A helo pilot and VP NFO couple I know were able to pull the VP-Jax/HSL-Mayport deal out of flight school and do shore tours in the DC area, but that and VP-Hawaii/HSL-37 are the only sea colocation choices they really have.

 

[AlexandraRoca]

Thanks for all your answers... I have been reading up and doing a lot of research, so now I have just a few more questions to ask. PS- I asked all these to my recruting officer and he never answered, so if you can help it would be greatly appreciated.

1. Does your score determine what school you go into? Can you choose what you want to do? If it does, what's the ave. score requirement for aviation?
2. I have been told that NAVY pilots have to be the best of the best, so they are harder on everything - school, physical fitness, etc... is this true? If so, how hard is it?
3. How long is the Aviation School?
4. Do you choose what aircraft you get to fly, or is this chosen for you?

Thanks for whatever help you can offer!

Alexandra

 

[AlexandraRoca]

Officer recruiter, and he still hasn't answered any of my questions...

 

[Spekkio]

1. Does your score determine what school you go into? Can you choose what you want to do? If it does, what's the ave. score requirement for aviation?

The first step in the application process for most communities is to take the ASTB. A higher ASTB score will make you a more competitive applicant for all communities. Having said that, what constitutes a competitive score depends upon the community, the number of applicants, and the phase of the moon. The Navy has published minimums, but if you're competing for an aviation slot you should strive to do much better than that.

2. I have been told that NAVY pilots have to be the best of the best, so they are harder on everything - school, physical fitness, etc... is this true? If so, how hard is it?

Queue USN vs. USAF argument...

3. How long is the Aviation School?

Depends on what you will fly. Search this forum, there's plenty of information on this.

4. Do you choose what aircraft you get to fly, or is this chosen for you?

A little of both.

 

[MellieM]

"Fifi" here. I finished OCS exactly one year ago. OCS is not that hard. Marine DIs are big on PT, so just be a rock star at that and you'll do just fine. Many women have gone before you and many more will follow. Stay with it, you are all going through the same crap, male or female. It's really not that big of a deal if you're a chick going through OCS. My class had 6 fifi's and one of them was actually our Vice Prez.

you'll never really know what its like until you go through it, no matter how much advice you receive on this or any other site. Beware of bad gouge too.

 

[60flyer]

Hello,

I am interested in joining the NAVY OCS program when I graduate next summer. I am terrified. I was hoping maybe someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

1. How many women attend NAVY OCS?
2. How different is it for men and women?
3. What is expected of you physicaly? - How bad is it?
4. I know very little about the military and its terminology, rankings, everything - Do they teach you this or should I read up before going?
5. I have looked everywhere for a list, but haven't found one yet - what programs are available for specialization? - Not sure if this made sense, let me know :S
6. This is a crude question, but how are relationships between men and women?
7. For those of you who have finished - how does it feel to know you had/have what they are looking for?
8. For those of you who dropped out or left - what happened?
9. I started reading older posts but stopped when I read the third page dedicated to whether or not cutting your hair was a sacrifice or not, what sacrifices have you had to make? - or less personal - what kind of sacrifices are commonly made?
10. Did you enjoy it? Would you take it back? Would you do it all over again?

Thanks for any help you can offer, have a nice day!
Alexandra

I'm gonna make an observation and you can take it or leave it. With these questions....you seem like a pretty timid individual. I am a female who's gone through OCS and has gone through flight school. You will always be in the minority. You will always be competing with the guys. And if you don't thrive on that...if you don't just absolutely love it when you compete against guys and can kick their ass at stuff....then this isn't for you. On my first deployment I was on a USNS and the only female on the ship besides two enlisted maintainers and a cleaning lady - that's just how it goes sometimes. In general I get along better with guys, but I also have a personality where I take absolutely nothing personal - they don't hold anything back just because I'm female.

I'd be more than willing to answer any questions you have if you PM me...but if I were you I'd do a gut check to see if this fits your personality. I'm not gonna lie - sometimes it can be lonely as a female.

 

[Aggie08]

Honestly, this thread just needs to stop. Being a female isn't usually an issue until you make it one. You just did that. No one was sitting around thinking about the differences between men and women until you went and made a thread about it. You basically said "I'm so different I need a whole thread of advice just for me, because my experience will be DIFFERENT". Want to blend in? Don't call attention to your differences. There are plenty of OCS advice threads, why did you need a seperate one? To help you "fly under the radar" :0) That worked well.

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

^^^I second that. And does anyone else think its retarded when females refer to themselves as "Fifi's"? Thats retarded. Quit.

 

[nursesoon]

Being a female isn't usually an issue until you make it one.

When you're going into a male dominated enviroment it could become one. No harm in asking.

 

[BACONATOR]

^^^I second that. And does anyone else think its retarded when females refer to themselves as "Fifi's"? Thats retarded. Quit.

I didn't know what the hell she was talking about with "fifi"... NEVER heard that at OCS when I was there in pcola. That's about the gayest thing I've ever heard.

"SHIT, no! I reckon you'd get your ass kicked for sayin' something like that!"

 

[60flyer]

Honestly, this thread just needs to stop. Being a female isn't usually an issue until you make it one. You just did that. No one was sitting around thinking about the differences between men and women until you went and made a thread about it. You basically said "I'm so different I need a whole thread of advice just for me, because my experience will be DIFFERENT". Want to blend in? Don't call attention to your differences. There are plenty of OCS advice threads, why did you need a seperate one? To help you "fly under the radar" :0) That worked well.

I mostly agree....but I've seen females wash out....and I've been in a squadron where one performed so badly (when there were just two of us) that it felt like I had to pick up the slack. This isn't a career for everyone. People have asked me many times what it's like to be a female pilot. LOVE IT! And they've asked me if I've gotten treated differently (good or bad). And the answer is no. I show up. I do my job. And I tried to be the best. End of story. But if you get scared having to perform up to guy's standards - get out now. I personally think there shouldn't be any difference in any standard - but that's a different soapbox. You can't be scared or intimidated. You can't say "well I'm a girl". Screw that. You're not a girl. You're a pilot.