Weeks 10-12 of Navy OCS
Candidate Officer: The Candidate Officer phase of your training is to instill leadership skills. You will be assigned a billet (job), which you are responsible for. This is the period where you can finally attend to personal matters. Liberty begins at 1830 (assuming your duties are taken care of). This is also the period where your patience with regard to your classmates will wear thin. Remember that you are in the last leg of the program and regardless of how many bars you wear, you will all be Ensigns in the end. You are considered junior staff at Officer Training Command Newport (OTCP). With it comes many perks, but also a great deal of responsibility. Your class is responsible for the day-to-day running of OCS. You are ultimately responsible for the junior classes below you and making sure they have everything they need to get through OCS.
Remember what other Candidate Officers did for you and your class. Did they do a good job? Did they help you out? Try to remember what was done well and what could have been done better. It is now your responsibility to take care of the other classes. There is some flexibility on how to run things at OCS (i.e. watch schedules). Don’t think you have to do it how other classes have done it. You are part of the junior staff; if there is something wrong, fix it. If something could be done better, then change how it has been done and fix it. You now have responsibility and authority to run OCS to the best of your ability. You will also receive pass down information from the senior candidate officer who previously occupied your billet. Some pass down is better than others but if you find deficiencies in the pass down you receive do not be afraid to modify it before passing down yourself.
Above all else, enjoy this time. You’ve earned it!
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