Week 2
My second week of Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) started after the first hell week. The day started off with reveille, a time for the class to get together and have some fun. This week’s focus is “Introduction to Leadership.” This week was just all introductions, fundamentals and basic to everything.
The day’s academic activities kicked off with a class discussion of naval ethics and other topics. A simulated executive meeting was then held with the officers. They were asked to discuss and decide on different scenarios. My daily schedule from now on was the same:
05:00 = Reveille (Wake up call and ready for the day)
05:30 – 07:00 = PT (Physical Training, by group or by myself)
07:00 – 07:30 = Chow Time (Only have 12 mins to finish, the rest was waiting in line)
07:30 – 08:00 = Clean-up Time
08:00 – 09:00 = Class/Brief
09:00 – 10:00 = Second Class/Brief
10:00 – 11:00 = Third Class/Brief
11:00 – 12:00 = Chow Time (Lunch)
12:00 – 17:00 = Other Classes/Briefs
17:00 – 18:00 = Chow Time (Dinner)
18:00 – 21:00 = Self Study
21:00 = Sweepers (Boatswain’s Call End of the Work Day)
Week 2 of OCS also included drills (training) with riffle, a hefty, large tree log, and shouting the commands while doing so. We needed to hold the riffle while standing in formation for one hour and for 15 minutes with a tree log. I can still vividly recall how the entire team had to run an extra mile because we were unable to maintain our pace for the full five minutes. I suggest pairing up with someone of a similar height. You or the shorter individual will have to shoulder all the burden if that happens.
I went to visit the Exchange at the weekend of second week. As suggested by others, I needed to purchase some other gears to pass the RLP in week 4. My suggestion is to check with other Candios if you know them, they will have/share with you a list of things that you need to buy. Do not overspend it, not worth it.
Week 3
During the second week of school, I had already made friends among my fellow students and had found some study partners. There is no way you can make it in this world without help. The training required me to engage in conversation and connect with others, despite my natural inclination toward solitary activity. However, every and each project/homework/research needed to be done individually. I learned my lesson from college and I do not want to see it again. When one is down, the whole group is down, period.
During week 3, there was less of an emphasis on the introductory material and more on the meat of the curriculum. Academics at OCS are not particularly challenging, but if you don’t follow or pay attention you will fail tremendously. Pay great attention to the objectives at the beginning of each materials/books, and if offered, by the instructor because these are also usually test questions, and all questions stem from what are called “enabling objectives” which are specified at the beginning of each chapter. This is a multiple-choice exam. At OCS, a passing grade is 80%, but in order to enjoy off-base freedom once your class is secured, you’ll need an overall academic average of 80%.
My advice: do not procrastinate. I don’t care which school you graduated from, I don’t care how smart you are, if you wait until the day or two before the test (usually weekend) to study you are doomed.
Routine activities also include of pressing garments and setting up workstations for the following day. Don’t let one project monopolize your time; instead, prepare ahead of time.
The third class swim test was part of my schedule during my third week at OCS. There should be remedial lessons so that you may not need to learn to swim before starting OCS. The swimming tests were so simple that even I passed them. The first half of the test was to remain floated in the water without the use of any aids, and the second portion was to swim across the pool using any strokes.
1. If you're new here, I suggest jumping right into Part 1 of my Navy OCS series.
2. I went to OCS back in the 2010s, so it's possible that a lot has changed since then. This information is being shared with you solely for your own education.
Photo credits: Navy OCS Page (Remember that we are not allowed to use phone/electronic devices during OCS so there was no way any candidate can take any picture during OCS)
