Son just graduated OCS, I can answer questions...

Posted by RJ Campbell on April 30, 2016 at 11:52am

My son graduated OCS at the end of March, class 08-16 Hotel.  It was a great experience for him, and a long one for us at home.  It is all fairly fresh in my mind.  If anyone is just about to begin this process or has just begun and you have questions, I will try to answer them for you.

It is a fantastic journey that they are embarking on.  My son reports to Pensacola on May 6 to begin his aviation school.  I cannot even put into words how excited he is and how proud we are of this new Navy Ensign.

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  • RJ Campbell August 22, 2016 at 10:53am
    Tony, they become Candidate Officers, Candio's, at the end of week 9. They will be given their Candio boxes at the end week 9. The boxes will be stored in the mall room until they can be distributed. We mailed our boxes at the beginning of the week. We used the USPS medium flat rate boxes and had a great time decorating them. Hobby Lobby has a section of military decorations in their photo scrap booking section. Make sure you write "Candio Box" in large print on the outside so that the mail room knows what it is and to deliver it. Last, remember not to use glitter. That is a nightmare to get off of their uniforms. Our family sent multiple boxes so that they could be shared with classmates who did not receive one. We loaded all boxes with their favorite snacks and some healthy choices. We also included photos of family members holding up signs of congratulations.
    Last good point, with Candio comes the return of their cell phones.
    They are so close. The last three weeks, Candio phase can be really good.
  • Anthony Strawa August 21, 2016 at 10:37pm

    Thanks for the offer to answer some questions.

    Hi My son is currently in Class 17-16B, about half way through the program. I am trying to find out info about Candio Boxes. When should we send them? Do the students become Candios at the beginning of the 9th week? Any info would help.

    Thanks

    Tony Strawa

  • George Niles May 7, 2016 at 10:06am
    We also heard from Sarah that she passed RLP and will keep moving on. We have been refreshing our e-mail constantly waiting to hear so we are greatly relieved.
  • Jeff Routsong May 7, 2016 at 10:01am
    Hi all,
    We got our email yesterday that all is well. Jesse passed his RLP first time through. They had the "general quarters" event yesterday where they moved to a different barracks. A lot of yelling and running and sand pit time. All in the rain. After, they all received their collar "anchors". He said he couldn't be happier.
    Happy now we'll hear from him more often. Can't wait or a phone call tho!
    Jeff
  • George Niles May 7, 2016 at 8:00am
    Jim - thanks for taking the time to reply. Glad the system is fixed.

    George
  • NavyDads CoAdmin Jim Gramza May 7, 2016 at 7:41am


    George, we had a network problem for a few days, but it is all repaired now. Email is back up and running. sorry for the inconvenience. We were getting frustrated with it too and there was nothing we could do. It was all up to the folks that we pay for the platform that we use. 
    George Niles said:

    RJ, Jeff, Tony - I have tried responding to you but have had some difficulty with the e-mail system. Thanks for all of your responses and advice. Our daughter, Sarah, is in class 13-16 and she was recruited for Surface Warfare. She taught elementary and middle school in Hawaii and Oklahoma for five years before deciding to pursue a commission in the Navy. We are an Air Force family but extremely proud of her.

    Thanks for the advice on accomodations. Our younger daughter will be flying out from Tulsa and she also suggested Airbnb. It looks like houses are available. I can also get a decent rate at an airport hotel in Providence through my airline. It appears to be less than 25 miles from Newport. We will be driving Sarah's car to her from OKC, stopping in New York to pick up my mom.

    Jeff- looking forward to meeting you in July.

    George and Diana
  • George Niles May 2, 2016 at 8:12am
    RJ, Jeff, Tony - I have tried responding to you but have had some difficulty with the e-mail system. Thanks for all of your responses and advice. Our daughter, Sarah, is in class 13-16 and she was recruited for Surface Warfare. She taught elementary and middle school in Hawaii and Oklahoma for five years before deciding to pursue a commission in the Navy. We are an Air Force family but extremely proud of her.

    Thanks for the advice on accomodations. Our younger daughter will be flying out from Tulsa and she also suggested Airbnb. It looks like houses are available. I can also get a decent rate at an airport hotel in Providence through my airline. It appears to be less than 25 miles from Newport. We will be driving Sarah's car to her from OKC, stopping in New York to pick up my mom.

    Jeff- looking forward to meeting you in July.

    George and Diana
  • Jeff Routsong April 30, 2016 at 3:24pm
    Jesse is in to be a pilot. We're not sure how soon his A-School will start after graduation from OCS. For anyone else reading this, 13-16 graduates July 8th. Unfortunately for getting a hotel, the prices are ridiculous because it's 4th of July week. We rented a house because we needed three rooms. Much less expensive and they're going fast. Praying for no rolling! Our reservations are set!
  • RJ Campbell April 30, 2016 at 2:58pm

    Jeff, I am sure your son is doing great.  Enjoy the letters and write to him often.  You will find out later from him how much he enjoyed receiving this little piece of the "real world".  We wrote a lot of very positive letters with news of home, our sports teams and even the weather.  They are cut off from news and will appreciate reading about what is going on.  Just keep everything positive, that is what they need to read.

    Week two means that they just finished Fast Cruise.  That is a physically difficult challenge.  He will fill you in on the details that he can later.

    Your son is approaching his toughest week.  If he just finished week 2, then he is preparing for RLP this coming Thursday.  That is their Room, Locker, Person inspection.  It is the most difficult task and the first of their big rollable events.  RLP is Thursday with a make-up on Friday for any who do not pass.  Historically, 20% to 30% of the class will roll back by failing RLP.  Right now they are spending every free minute cleaning their rooms and uniforms as well as studying their knowledge.  Don't expect him to be writing any letters this week.

    When he passes RLP he will change from an Indoc (Indoctrination Candidate) to an Officer Candidate.  With that change comes email privileges.  Hopefully you will receive an email at the end of the week with news that he passed.  Getting email was a big change, it made communication possible on a daily basis.

    Is your son heading to Pensacola as a pilot (SNA) or a Naval Flight Officer (NFO)?

    Keep us posted on his progress and thank you for your son's service.


    Jeff Routsong said:

    Congrats to your family and your son. My son is just finishing week 2. Set to graduate July 8th, then like your son, off to Pensacola. I'm sure he is doing well but we just don't know exactly what he's going thru. We've gotten 2 very short letters. We know he's been selected as PT body. And other from him telling us it's the hardest thing he's ever done, that's about all we know. Don't know when he'll get any phone privileges. Any thoughts on where his class is at on week 3?
    Thanks
  • RJ Campbell April 30, 2016 at 2:39pm

    George, you are correct that no news is good news.  Our son's class had almost 100 people, one of the largest classes ever.  I say that as background that we had no limit on attendees for graduation.  It is in the auditorium at the War College which is a large room.  There was a limit to the number that can attend Hi Moms on Thursday evening, the day before graduation.  With the size of Rich's class they were limited to three guest.  The exception to that is retired or active guests who are O6 or above.  These VIP guests do not count towards the allotment.  You may be able to have more guests if your class is not as large.

    We stayed at a Courtyard Marriott in Middleton.  It was only minutes from the base and very affordable, less than $100 a night.  Of course that was March and not considered "in season" for the area.  The great thing about this hotel is that it is only a couple of minutes from the back gate for the base.  The front gate can get quite a long line for getting into graduation.  There were no cars at the back gate.

    Best of luck to your daughter, and we thank her and your family for your service.


    George Niles said:

    Thanks for your offer for answers. We put our daughter on the plane to Providence two weeks ago today. We have been anticipating this "comm out" period so we consider no news to be good news. Even though she has a challenging ten weeks ahead, our questions are about graduation and commissioning. Were there restrictions on the number of guests? Did you have difficulty finding accommodations in the Newport area or is it just expensive? Thanks again for your offer for info and if we have questions down the line, we'll post. Congrats to your son and best wishes for his aviation training. George
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