Last updated: June 24, 2026
Weeks 2–3 of Navy OCS shift from the chaos of hell week into academics, leadership, and your first real routine. Here is what indoctrination Weeks 2 and 3 looked like for me — including a typical daily schedule, rifle and log drills, and the third class swim test.
Week 2: Introduction to Leadership & Your Daily Schedule
My second week of Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) started after the first hell week. The day began with reveille, a chance for the class to come together. This week’s focus was “Introduction to Leadership,” so it was mostly introductions, fundamentals, and the basics of everything.
The day’s academic activities kicked off with a class discussion of naval ethics and related topics. We then held a simulated executive meeting with the officers, where we had to discuss and decide on different scenarios. From here on, my daily schedule was the same:
05:00 = Reveille (wake-up call, ready for the day)
05:30 – 07:00 = PT (physical training, by group or on my own)
07:00 – 07:30 = Chow time (only 12 minutes to eat; the rest is 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 with a rifle and a heavy, large tree log, while shouting the commands as you go. We had to hold the rifle while standing in formation for an hour, and the log for 15 minutes. I can still vividly recall the entire team having to run an extra mile because we could not keep our pace for the full five minutes. I suggest pairing up with someone of a similar height — otherwise you (or the shorter person) end up shouldering all the burden.
I visited the Exchange on the weekend of the second week. As others suggested, I needed to buy some additional gear to pass RLP in Week 4. My advice: check with other Candios if you know any — they will share a list of what you need to buy. And do not overspend; it is not worth it.
Week 3: Academics & the Third Class Swim Test
By the second week I had already made friends and found a few study partners. There is no way to make it through this without help. The training pushed me to talk to and connect with others, despite my natural pull toward working alone. Even so, every project, homework, and research assignment still had to be done individually. I learned my lesson back in college and did not want to repeat it: when one person is down, the whole group is down, period.
In Week 3 the emphasis shifted from introductory material to the meat of the curriculum. Academics at OCS are not especially hard, but if you do not follow along or pay attention, you will fail badly. Pay close attention to the objectives at the start of each set of materials — and to whatever the instructor flags — because those are usually the test questions. Every question stems from what are called “enabling objectives,” listed at the beginning of each chapter. The exams are multiple-choice. A passing grade at OCS is 80%, and to earn off-base liberty once your class is secured, you will need an overall academic average of 80%.
My advice: do not procrastinate. I do not care which school you graduated from or how smart you are — if you wait until a day or two before the test (usually the weekend) to study, you are doomed.
Routine tasks also include pressing your uniform and setting up your workstation for the next day. Do not let one project monopolize your time; prepare ahead.
The third class swim test was on my schedule during Week 3. There are remedial lessons, so you do not necessarily need to learn to swim before starting OCS. The swim tests were simple enough that even I passed them. The first half was to stay afloat in the water without any aids, and the second half was to swim across the pool using any strokes.
New here? I suggest starting with Part 1 of my Navy OCS series. Note: I went through OCS back in the 2010s, so some details may have changed since then — this is shared for educational purposes only. Photo credit: the Navy OCS page. (Candidates cannot use phones or electronic devices during OCS, so there is no way for a candidate to take photos there.)
This post is part of my full Navy OCS Journey series — follow it week by week from the start.
