I just thought I'd chime in on this as flynavyp3 happens to be my class officer from OCS. It may be true that many officers (and probably some of the Chiefs and DIs too) come for an easy couple years booking time to end of commitment or retirement, but don't assume that, take everything they give you. I can honestly say that flynavyp3 and other officers at OCS are some of the best examples of what a candidate should aspire to. To anyone going into OCS, if you feel let down by any staff member (and be careful that you're not just pointing blame), don't get down about it, and don't set your expectations based on one individual. Look to the best example and make it your goal to meet or exceed it.
As far as my own experiences with OCS, I did a lot of the things flynavyp3 mentioned prior to coming down. The one thing that is guaranteed to kill you, or make your experience absolutely miserable, is physical fitness. I was never the sharpest-looking, my bearing would easily go out the window if I let my mind wander, and I don't like dealing with new environments. But despite feeling and looking shell-shocked when I first got there and pretty much hating the whole thing until around week four or so, I probably had it about as easy as anyone in either the class I started with or my graduating class (I rolled for swimming and the extra two weeks there did help when I classed back up). Our class (meaning the one I graduated with) had it particularly rough the first several weeks, and the weaker people were the ones that got the most attention. Being able to stay towards the front of the pack in PT and yell as loud as anyone (another thing that helps), kept me under our DI's radar as much as was possible in a class as small as ours. Being in good shape coming in saved me from a lot of the aches and pains that accompany the beatings. Oh, and the guy who had incorrect form on his pushups, he's in my API class. Pretty good guy; I know he did plenty of pushups, probably more than I did that day, but one thing you learn in military training (and most training that's any good) is that there's a reason you learn to do things a certain way, that being that the wrong way may kill you some day. How you do your pushups and how you carry your rifle may not seem important at the time, but that's not the point, it's a question of whether you can follow instructions and keep your head under adverse circumstances. Yeah, it's sort of silly in a way. Chow hall procedures seem like a bad dream at this point, and I'll probably never again do a crisp inspection arms, but as I move through API I begin to see that it's a lot of the same muscle memory and procedural skills that are necessary for proper aircraft operation and reaction in emergency situations. I'm not sure how much will change with the move to Newport, but I can't help but feel that I have an edge coming out of Navy OCS in Pensacola (which is still in many ways based on the old AOCS that was put in place with aviation as its mission) that many from other commissioning sources may not, and that very soon Navy OCS may no longer provide.
Finally, I am proud to have graduated OCS under my class officer, I know I benefitted from his training, advice, and encouragement, and will continue to do so. His situation does suck; I don't think many Naval aviators would be happy to find themselves in a place that's something of a promotional backwater with no flying. Those things, and worse, happen to even the best people sometimes. It sounds like the sort of ingredients that would make for a mediocre class officer, but during my time at OCS flynavyp3 more than proved his commitment and professionalism to me. I wish him the best, and here’s hoping I get to fly with him some day.
As far as my own experiences with OCS, I did a lot of the things flynavyp3 mentioned prior to coming down. The one thing that is guaranteed to kill you, or make your experience absolutely miserable, is physical fitness. I was never the sharpest-looking, my bearing would easily go out the window if I let my mind wander, and I don't like dealing with new environments. But despite feeling and looking shell-shocked when I first got there and pretty much hating the whole thing until around week four or so, I probably had it about as easy as anyone in either the class I started with or my graduating class (I rolled for swimming and the extra two weeks there did help when I classed back up). Our class (meaning the one I graduated with) had it particularly rough the first several weeks, and the weaker people were the ones that got the most attention. Being able to stay towards the front of the pack in PT and yell as loud as anyone (another thing that helps), kept me under our DI's radar as much as was possible in a class as small as ours. Being in good shape coming in saved me from a lot of the aches and pains that accompany the beatings. Oh, and the guy who had incorrect form on his pushups, he's in my API class. Pretty good guy; I know he did plenty of pushups, probably more than I did that day, but one thing you learn in military training (and most training that's any good) is that there's a reason you learn to do things a certain way, that being that the wrong way may kill you some day. How you do your pushups and how you carry your rifle may not seem important at the time, but that's not the point, it's a question of whether you can follow instructions and keep your head under adverse circumstances. Yeah, it's sort of silly in a way. Chow hall procedures seem like a bad dream at this point, and I'll probably never again do a crisp inspection arms, but as I move through API I begin to see that it's a lot of the same muscle memory and procedural skills that are necessary for proper aircraft operation and reaction in emergency situations. I'm not sure how much will change with the move to Newport, but I can't help but feel that I have an edge coming out of Navy OCS in Pensacola (which is still in many ways based on the old AOCS that was put in place with aviation as its mission) that many from other commissioning sources may not, and that very soon Navy OCS may no longer provide.
Finally, I am proud to have graduated OCS under my class officer, I know I benefitted from his training, advice, and encouragement, and will continue to do so. His situation does suck; I don't think many Naval aviators would be happy to find themselves in a place that's something of a promotional backwater with no flying. Those things, and worse, happen to even the best people sometimes. It sounds like the sort of ingredients that would make for a mediocre class officer, but during my time at OCS flynavyp3 more than proved his commitment and professionalism to me. I wish him the best, and here’s hoping I get to fly with him some day.
