Packing for Officer Candidate School is the first problem you solve alone, and almost everyone solves it by bringing too much. Your footlocker is small, your civilian bag gets locked away, and most of what you carefully bought beforehand is either issued to you in Week 1 or confiscated in the first shakedown. Below is what I actually used at OCS in Newport, what I watched people waste money on, and what my classmates ended up having mailed in.
Some items on this page link to Amazon (paid links) — if you buy through one, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what I recommend, and a good half of what follows is a recommendation to buy nothing.
Start with the official packing list
The Navy publishes the real list, and it is the one that counts at inspection: the OCS packing list from Officer Training Command Newport. It changes, so check the current version rather than trusting any blog — including this one. Your recruiter will also hand you the current gouge (insider information and study materials), and your class instructions override everything here.
This page is not a replacement for that list. It is the part the list cannot tell you: which items earn their space in a footlocker, which ones sat untouched for twelve weeks, and which ones people were desperate for by Week 4.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Overpacking civilian clothes. You will wear what you arrive in, and within twenty-four hours it is locked away until the liberty phases much later in training. Whatever you brought to look presentable in is dead weight from day one.
Summer classes deal with severe humidity and heat. The mistake there is not bringing enough high-quality moisture-wicking underwear — if your class rules allow it — to get through endless PT and drilling without chafing.
Winter classes deal with freezing wind coming straight off the water. Newport winters are brutal, but the mistake there is bringing bulky civilian winter gear: you are issued a Navy parka and watch cap, and your civilian coat will spend twelve weeks in a bag.
What the Navy issues you — do not buy this ahead of time
Do not pre-buy uniforms, standard PT gear, or boots. During your first week you go through uniform issue, and you are required to buy the Navy’s mandatory items out of your initial uniform allowance regardless of what is already in your bag. Show up with expensive tactical boots or pre-purchased NWUs (Navy Working Uniforms) and they will sit in your civilian luggage while you wear the issued ones.
You are issued your initial PT shirts, shorts, sweatpants, boots, running shoes and standard white socks. You will also be made to buy a “chit book” for standard toiletries at the NEX (Navy Exchange), so there is no need to arrive with a twelve-week supply of anything.
What is actually worth bringing
Footlocker space is incredibly tight, so every item has to earn its keep. This is the short list that did.
Shoes, socks and insoles
Running shoes. You can usually wear your own if they meet regulations, and it is worth doing. Bring a pair of high-quality, well-broken-in running shoes in conservative colours. The issued “go-fasters” are notoriously hard on the feet, and OCS is not the place to be breaking in new shoes.
Insoles. Superfeet Green, or any similar rigid arch support. You will be standing at attention for hours at a stretch, and good insoles are a literal lifesaver.
Socks. Fox River military boot socks are the gold standard for keeping blisters off your feet through rucks and drill.
Toiletries
Three or four days’ worth of travel-sized essentials, in a Ziploc bag: toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shaving cream, basic soap. That is genuinely all you need — enough to survive until your first NEX run. Anything more is footlocker space you do not have.
Study and admin
Pens. A pack of black, fine-tip pens that do not bleed or smudge. You will be writing in conditions no pen was designed for.
A notebook. A small, pocket-sized Rite in the Rain notebook is worth every cent. You will be taking notes while sweating, or standing in drizzle, and ordinary paper turns to pulp.
If you are still preparing to get to OCS rather than packing for it, the OCS preparation resources post covers Appendix B, the instruction and the fitness plan — that work is done before you pack, not after.
Cold weather, if you are going in winter
A conservative, plain black set of thermal underwear is sometimes permitted under NWUs during the harshest winter months. Emphasis on sometimes — this depends entirely on your class instructors, so do not count on it.
What people brought and never touched
Books and entertainment. You will have zero time, zero energy and no authorisation to read casually or use electronics. Every one of these came home unopened.
Civilian hygiene products. Colognes, perfumes and twelve-step skincare routines get confiscated, binned, or simply go unused — you have about three minutes to shower.
Hard-shell suitcases. Bring a duffel bag that folds down and stuffs out of the way. A rigid suitcase eats an enormous amount of storage and there is nowhere to put it.
What people wished they had, and got mailed in later
Blister care. Moleskin and Leukotape. Blisters take more candidates out of the running than the running does. If you bring one thing off this section, bring these.
Cough drops. The “Newport crud” is a real respiratory bug that sweeps through every class. Plain, unflavoured drops become something close to black-market currency — assuming your Chief allows them at all, which is not a given.
Stamps and stationery. Writing letters is your only lifeline to the outside world in the early phases. If you are a family member reading this, a stack of pre-addressed, stamped envelopes is the single most useful thing you can send — see the Candio box guide for what else is allowed.
What not to bring
Leave all of this at home:
- Supplements of any kind — pre-workout, whey protein, creatine, melatonin, even ordinary vitamins.
- Over-the-counter medication — ibuprofen, allergy medication, cold medicine. Unless it is cleared by medical, it is contraband.
- Food, gum and alcohol.
- Smartwatches and surplus electronics.
What happens if it turns up at inspection
Best case, during the initial shakedown, it goes in the bin or gets locked in your civilian bag and you move on. Found after the amnesty period — or worse, hidden in your footlocker during an inspection — and it costs you a pink slip (a major demerit), EMI (Extra Military Instruction, which in practice means grueling physical training), or a trip to H-Class, the holding class, which rolls you back to a later graduation date.
Nothing on the contraband list is worth a rolled graduation date. If you are unsure about an item, leave it — you can always have it mailed later, once you know your class rules.
For families: the box comes later
If you are a parent or spouse reading this rather than a candidate, the packing list is not really your problem — the Candio box is. That is the care package sent during the final phase, and it has its own rules about what is allowed and what gets confiscated. I covered it in full, including when you will first hear from your candidate, in the Navy OCS Candio box guide.
This post is part of my full Navy OCS Journey series — follow it week by week from the start.
