Monster Marine OCS thread: stupid questions answered here!

[Zilch]

I'm seriously considering a rubber name stamp from Office Depot for next time, also. I was only two weeks in when my stamp from the kit they give you totally fell apart. Oh, and a sharpie with a much wider tip might shave some time off of your hours of labeling. And one of those gay-looking headlamps might be handy. I swear they gave me "refurbished" batteries or something. They died after two nights of filling out chits.

You probably thought of this stuff already, but your post got me thinking about the next round of OCS. Good times...well, sort of.

 

[MasterHaynes86]

I never used that danged stamp... never found a full kit to put together... lol... i got ahold of the ink and used it with my stencil and it worked NICELY

and OD stamp might be worth it. I'll get a price at work. What was it, 1/2 in lettering with a plain Arial font? Same for a 1inch lettering. I cannot remember the size of the stencil letters

before I go back I am gonna laminate my old stencil...

 

[Herc_Dude]

I'm seriously considering a rubber name stamp from Office Depot for next time, also. I was only two weeks in when my stamp from the kit they give you totally fell apart. Oh, and a sharpie with a much wider tip might shave some time off of your hours of labeling. And one of those gay-looking headlamps might be handy. I swear they gave me "refurbished" batteries or something. They died after two nights of filling out chits.

You probably thought of this stuff already, but your post got me thinking about the next round of OCS. Good times...well, sort of.

Gay looking headlamps are good-to-go. They will last much longer than the issue 'moon-beams' as well as not break like all moon-beams will. Make sure it has the red light & white light function. Not to mention the hands-free use is the best part. Fatty sharpie will be great for making those pt shirts look spiffy, go for it. When any of you think about studying OCS knowledge, go for a run instead. Trust me, you will be much happier you did. Best of luck and s/f.

 

[theblakeness]

I went to Potomic Mills on my first Libo. BIG MISTAKE!! It cost a fortune to get there and the meal was only slightly better then the crap i ate in Q-Town.

After that I ate in Q-Town or Bobo's and slept in the squad bay every night. I didnt think the squad bay was that bad on Libo. The staff wasnt there and you could sleep in.

 

[NapalmRat]

Ok, I've been to OCS and I'M GOING BACK

But I have some questions from prior experience

1. I've started to run in my boots (both pair) and the ICB are hurting my knees. They are my crap pair I do stuff like the Quigley in. Should I continue to get them to a point where I wont blister as easily in them? I dont run on concrete either. And its more discomfort than pain. Suggestions? Comments? Rude remarks?

2. The long humps (last two) during Jrs rubber my legs raw, more so Sule I. The question is, can... no should I take underarmour, tight fitting spandex (olive green of course) for the sole purpose of the humps?

3. Any suggestions for avoiding blisters. My feet held up well last time, they blistered twice, but each time I was numb to the pain Would under armor-type socks help reduce the point-friction due to the boots rubbing?

4. My only REAL problem, physically, was I developed DEEP SET corn type blisters on my feet. Physically it felt like my skin had been cut open, a piece of corb or marble was placed a cm or two in, and it was the sealed shut. It was like walking on rocks attached under my skin. Typically formed on my heels, occasionally on the front pads of my feet. Any advice for avoiding this?

5. Last time at OCS I never left base because the process was one more thing to think about. So what is outside of Q-Town? lol...

6. Is the entry test still in place for returning Srs? If so, I will be needing to devote MORE time to OCS Study material.

7. Anyone know where I can get a CD with some run cadences on it so I can lead more runs... I remember the poor sap that was always first to lead our squad runs SIMPLY because he knew alot of cadence due to knowing a prior service member...

8 I retained much of my small and large bag issues, what gear should I take back to OCS with me? How many pairs of boot socks, running socks, skivvies, ect should I take? Should I buy some more pt shirts?My old stencil is salvageable, should I laminate it and take that?

9. Where can I get some of that NEAR PERMANENT ink they give you in the bag issues... I marked one shirt with it and it was the only one that didn't fade.

I cannot wait! I report date for 1st INCR PLC is May 27. I've already purchased running shoes that i will run about 10 miles in prior to gettin on that plane to go to OCS. I kind of got a handle on all my personal trash and what I'm gonna take and preventing injury, I just need some more light to be shed on some of this... PLEASE add anyting extra you think will help.

I'm running 23 minute 3 mile in my boots with strep throat and an upper respiratory infection... im keeping the miles low to maintain a state of readiness... any suggestions to avoid makin it worse aside from "stop." You get sick at OCS, its no different now... Would my previous staff advice of "eat an orange, drink some water, and run 5 miles to cure anything" work? lol

thanks

3 months and 22 days... 81 days b/c february is so short...

1. You don't need to run in your boots. As long as they're not new (if you've been to juniors already i'm guessing they're not) then you're fine. I ran once every few weeks in boots and then would just walk around going from class to class in them every so often.

2. I bought underarmour boxers at the PX there for our last hump. Worked wonders. They go down halfway on the thigh, so no rubbing. It's UA so wicks away the sweat. On top of those I had silkies cuz our staff wasn't too friendly to finding us with items like UA boxers.

3. Specific socks do and don't help. I had the fox river blister guard socks and liners and those did well for me. Before I had those i used the Bandaid blister block that you can get at walmart or a pharmacy. I'd just put those in places I knew i'd get hot spots and they do fine. They're not the easiest to get off tho, so if you put them on they're gonna be there for a few days. The white tape idea works unless something rubs it off, then you have a piece of white tape that's rubbing on a spot where you know you'll get a blister and it kind of backfires.

4. No idea.

5. They mixed the PLC Srs with the NROTC guys so we had a lot of POVs around. Using those I'd hitch a ride with friends into town, enjoy a night out of the barracks and get some hot chow. A waste of money maybe, but it's awesome getting a good nights sleep in a cool room with some TV.

6. Last I heard the entry test was still there. I went last year for seniors. It's easy information and last i checked the test is on the OCS website. The actual test we took had a few questions that weren't on the practice test (uniform regulation length on female skirts), but if you have an ounce of common sense you'll be fine anyway.

7. Download the cadences, shouldn't be hard to find at this point.

8. I took socks, cammies, silkies, and skivvy shirts. They make you buy everything else again anyway. We used a different stencil on seniors. I didn't take mine back.

9. Ink question has been answered enuf.

 

[Slammer2]

That was the size and font last year. Should be the same still but cant guarantee. If you have your old one still and are getting a new one again once you get down there, I reccommend cutting out the letters of your last name and taping them together in a row. Saves a ton of time. Only problem is if you have the same letter multiple times...then you have to wait for someone to get dropped and take their old $hit.

 

[MasterHaynes86]

I might have missed something... the stencil style possibly has changed and could be rendered useless?

And taping them together... is it beneficial for its compactness and moldability (i can't think of the technical term, sorry). Couldn't you just cute out the letters and not separate them thus requiring no tape? explain you concept to me a little more if you could, Slammer... seems like a solid idea

 

[Herc_Dude]

Come on guys, lets not get too carried away here... I havnt forgotten what OCS was like, and the panic feeling about things like your name on your PT shirts, but you guys are starting to make me nervous all over again ... 5 min to lights, 5 min to lights .... :bigeyes_1

 

[USMC_NA]

dude, you should stencil "Mayonaise" on your PT shirt. You'll be a legend

 

[MasterHaynes86]

haha, no intention to make anyone nervous... lol

I'm just curious as to his method and such... mine was rather ineffective... My pt shirts were marked so nastily that I'm suprised I didn't get a chit. When it faded, I would just color it in again by following the lines that were there previously... I dont want to do it again... the more permanent the better and the less time consuming the better

I'm not gonna stress if the $hit hits the fan and every bit of advice here is useless... As long as I have one erasable pen all will be well... lol

ONE MINUTE TIL LIGHTS, ONE MINUTE TIL LIGHTS. *prepares to mount rack**assumes the POA waiting for orders to sleep**sleeps*

time for a rabbit. Did anyone else get any cramps from hell while in the rack... I had two in one night, never again... I stretched each night before going to sleep and downed 1.5 canteens... and then another canteen when i pissed it all out 2 hours later, lol... probably the worst pain I've ever felt and I've broken my teeth out (front top two), braces, double root canal, ect... those cramps were the WORST

 

[Slammer2]

ONE MINUTE TIL LIGHTS, ONE MINUTE TIL LIGHTS.

Anyone ever notice how in the morning you'd hear some crap like 3 MINUTES TO LIGHTS and then all of a sudden LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS? I swear at night the corporal of the guard and all the fire watch were in sync to the last second...but in the morning when that 14 extra seconds of laying in the rack mattered, they were minutes off...

 

[Slammer2]

Did anyone else get any cramps from hell while in the rack... I had two in one night, never again... I stretched each night before going to sleep and downed 1.5 canteens... and then another canteen when i pissed it all out 2 hours later, lol... probably the worst pain I've ever felt and I've broken my teeth out (front top two), braces, double root canal, ect... those cramps were the WORST

EAT BANANAS. THe potassium helps with those late night cramps. Short of that, Midol helps it all go away. And you thought "Vitamin M" was motrin...

 

[Slammer2]

I might have missed something... the stencil style possibly has changed and could be rendered useless?

And taping them together... is it beneficial for its compactness and moldability (i can't think of the technical term, sorry). Couldn't you just cute out the letters and not separate them thus requiring no tape? explain you concept to me a little more if you could, Slammer... seems like a solid idea

The stencil may or may not have changed...theres really is no reason to change it, but WHAT IF...someone says "lets just order these kind..." for whatever reason...may be different.

Example with cutting them out: If your name is smith, cut out the letters s,m,i,t and h. Tape them together on the tops and bottoms. You will have this little 4 inch piece with your letters already in order. Put the stencil down and just fill in every letter without moving it. Its easier and faster and plus, you never use the other letters so its not like you really need them. If you have repeated letters, try to trade with a platoon mate who doesnt need that particular letter.

 

[MasterHaynes86]

i get what you are saying... the stencil we got was actually punched through a sheet of thin cardboard... filling it in is shartloads faster

 

[NapalmRat]

When i went in summer of '06 for seniors they just gave us 2 alphabet stencil sheets made of plastic, one a half inch lettering, and the other one inch lettering. Probably because that cardboard crap gets so messed up when ur coloring in a hurry and bending back the cardboard in every place. Easier to cut out, but I never did and my last name is 9 letters long. Guess it was just easier for me to stay up 10 min at night remarking everything than cutting it out and saving time in the end. Ha ha. I'll admit it is faster, but if you stay on top of the game marking-wise it doesn't matter what you have.
What I did is (buy as much white tape as u can, first off) I had pre-written labels in my foot locker. I'd have the correct length of tape torn off already with my name on it so when I wrapped it around rifle/canteen/canteen pouch/web belt/canteen cup/foot locker/wall locker it was already the correct size and centered and the letters were aligned and all that jazz.