Well, I am now officially Officer Candidate (OC) Belvin. Many of you have wondered where I've been and why no posts have been put up for a while. For the past few months I've been attending Pre-OCS. I didn't take the time to post because, well, there wasn't much that was post worthy. If you've been to RSP, Pre-OCS is very similar, but you learn a little more to prepare you for OCS Phase 1.
I just got back two days ago from OCS Phase 1, a two-week training period to kickoff the three phase traditional OCS program. The officer candidates from NC met up with candidates from several other states for Phase 1, what I consider the "weed out" period. It was very demanding training. Unlike BCT, where you can zone out from time to time, you always had to be on your "A game" here. Even with three TACs (that's what we call the trainers: Teach, Advise, Counsel) yelling in your ear, you still have to be giving the appropriate direction to your troops.
Our training day ran from around 0415 wakeup until around 0000 lights out most days. Most nights, those four hours were used for personal hygiene and planning (for current leadership) in addition to sleep. Needless to say, I am still catching up on sleep, along with family and work. I will post details about each day over the next few weeks. In the mean time, if you have any questions about BCT or OCS Phase 1, feel free to contact me.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Pre-OCS Weekend 1
Well I just finished up with my first weekend of Pre-OCS. There will be four weekends altogether before the first phase of OCS begins.
Pre-OCS is just what is sounds like. It is very similar to how RSP was prior to Basic Training. At least it was this weekend. We spent most of our time in the classroom learning important skills we will need at OCS. The primary focus was land navigation. It is pretty obvious this will be a heavy topic at OCS.
Saturday we did get some time outside for drill and ceremony, but not a lot. Sunday we had a partial PT test, but they wouldn't let us complete it due to bad weather. I am sure we won't get the luxury of staying dry in OCS though.
There aren't very many details to share from the weekend or advice to give. Just pay attention to the details and be confident.
Pre-OCS is just what is sounds like. It is very similar to how RSP was prior to Basic Training. At least it was this weekend. We spent most of our time in the classroom learning important skills we will need at OCS. The primary focus was land navigation. It is pretty obvious this will be a heavy topic at OCS.
Saturday we did get some time outside for drill and ceremony, but not a lot. Sunday we had a partial PT test, but they wouldn't let us complete it due to bad weather. I am sure we won't get the luxury of staying dry in OCS though.
There aren't very many details to share from the weekend or advice to give. Just pay attention to the details and be confident.
Monday, January 9, 2012
November 21, Day 66
This is the last day I have to go without seeing or talking to my wife due to BCT. Tomorrow is family day!
The focus of today was graduation rehearsal and the Command Sergeant Major's inspection.
The rehearsal took all morning. 15 minutes alone was spent learning how to sit and stand properly. We will have more rehearsals tomorrow morning. I didn't mind it too much though because I know it is going to be an awesome ceremony.
We finished our ASUs today and wore them for inspection. We thought the CSM was going to inspect all of our gear, but he focused mainly on us. With the exception of one female who continued calling the CSM "Sergeant", everything went pretty well.
We turned in weapons tonight and will turn in our gear tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. We were told if anything is rejected it will cut into our family time for us to correct the issue.
Tonight's going to be like Christmas Eve!
The focus of today was graduation rehearsal and the Command Sergeant Major's inspection.
The rehearsal took all morning. 15 minutes alone was spent learning how to sit and stand properly. We will have more rehearsals tomorrow morning. I didn't mind it too much though because I know it is going to be an awesome ceremony.
We finished our ASUs today and wore them for inspection. We thought the CSM was going to inspect all of our gear, but he focused mainly on us. With the exception of one female who continued calling the CSM "Sergeant", everything went pretty well.
We turned in weapons tonight and will turn in our gear tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. We were told if anything is rejected it will cut into our family time for us to correct the issue.
Tonight's going to be like Christmas Eve!
November 19/20, Day 64/65
There's really not much to write about today. The past two days have all been cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. We are cleaning every piece of gear we were issued and have to turn in. It has to be even more clean than when we received it in a lot of cases. Take for instance the kevlars (helmets), there cannot even be fuzz in the velcro that holds the pads. Or take for instance the ponchos or wet weather gear, you have to get out every stain.
This may not sound like much for a few items, but our Drill Sergeants have a method where they assign a small team (3-8 people) per equipment type to clean all of that gear for the platoon. So I and two others had to clean every duffel bag and laundry bag issued to the platoon. Others had it worse though since we could at least put ours through the laundry machines.
In between cleaning, we have also been assembling our ASUs for inspection and graduation. Shaping the beret has become an art form in the bay. It was amazing to see how much work actually goes into preparing the uniform and the beret. I new it was work, but I had no idea really.
We did finally get phone calls tonight and we turned in our platoon issue gear, so we are getting constant glimpses of the finish line.
Everything would be perfect except for on missing component, SLEEP! Sure, I fell asleep a couple of times sitting in the laundry room, but no one here has gotten any real sleep in the past two days. Hopefully though we can finish cleaning by tomorrow and be done with this.
This may not sound like much for a few items, but our Drill Sergeants have a method where they assign a small team (3-8 people) per equipment type to clean all of that gear for the platoon. So I and two others had to clean every duffel bag and laundry bag issued to the platoon. Others had it worse though since we could at least put ours through the laundry machines.
In between cleaning, we have also been assembling our ASUs for inspection and graduation. Shaping the beret has become an art form in the bay. It was amazing to see how much work actually goes into preparing the uniform and the beret. I new it was work, but I had no idea really.
We did finally get phone calls tonight and we turned in our platoon issue gear, so we are getting constant glimpses of the finish line.
Everything would be perfect except for on missing component, SLEEP! Sure, I fell asleep a couple of times sitting in the laundry room, but no one here has gotten any real sleep in the past two days. Hopefully though we can finish cleaning by tomorrow and be done with this.
November 17, Day 62
First let me offer a sincere apology for my long absence. Somehow I got in my mind that I had posted everything from Basic and was now waiting to resume posts during OCS. Fortunately, one reader sent me a message that made me aware of my error.
So now I will pick back up with Day 62 - The 16k Ruck March
Everyone in the bay woke up pumped. It was time for us to complete our graduation requirements with the final event: our 16k ruck march.
We started the day by returning to the FTX site to police more brass and trash so that the site was ready for the next group. Once we finished with the cleanup, it was time to have some lunch (MREs) and get on the road. As we ate our MREs, the Drill Sergeants decided to let us have a little fun. We were told that we have now earned the right to impersonate them and they would like to hear the best we had. There were many great skits, hard to describe any here though. Let's just say it was a great way to recap the good times and relieve a little stress.
One thing we did during the skits though was debut the 3rd platoon song. We actually did it twice. The first time, everyone tried to sing it together. The second time, DSO asked me to sing it so that they could understand the words. It was definitely a hit. I was even asked later at the DFAC to sing it to some Drill Sergeants in another company.
It actually wasn't too bad. The Drill Sergeants talked it up, telling us that had picked a route with many challenging hills, etc. And they did! But, knowing graduation was on the other end made it seem to go by even faster than the 12k.
As we arrived back to the main campus, where our barracks, DFAC, etc were, our cadre had us take an unexpected detour. We were formed up outside of a PT bubble, not our bubble. Music was playing loudly, so we knew something was going on. Our Drill Sergeants came by and talked to us about how proud we should be of our accomplishments. Talked to us about how we were now soldiers and gave us more advice about being in the military.
We marched into the bubble with a song playing over the speakers called "American Soldier" by Toby Keith. I am certain I have heard the song before in passing, but I never really paid attention to it before then. That day though, all of us now rough and tough soldiers were having to fight back some emotion.
The ceremony included some great, motivating speeches from the cadre and handing out of challenge coins. But the thing that will stick with me the most was when the 3rd platoon Drill Sergeants came each one of us and shook our hands, congratulating us on completing Basic Training.
Now it is time for what the Drill Sergeants have warned us will be the toughest part of training, preparing for equipment turn-in.
So now I will pick back up with Day 62 - The 16k Ruck March
Everyone in the bay woke up pumped. It was time for us to complete our graduation requirements with the final event: our 16k ruck march.
We started the day by returning to the FTX site to police more brass and trash so that the site was ready for the next group. Once we finished with the cleanup, it was time to have some lunch (MREs) and get on the road. As we ate our MREs, the Drill Sergeants decided to let us have a little fun. We were told that we have now earned the right to impersonate them and they would like to hear the best we had. There were many great skits, hard to describe any here though. Let's just say it was a great way to recap the good times and relieve a little stress.
One thing we did during the skits though was debut the 3rd platoon song. We actually did it twice. The first time, everyone tried to sing it together. The second time, DSO asked me to sing it so that they could understand the words. It was definitely a hit. I was even asked later at the DFAC to sing it to some Drill Sergeants in another company.
It actually wasn't too bad. The Drill Sergeants talked it up, telling us that had picked a route with many challenging hills, etc. And they did! But, knowing graduation was on the other end made it seem to go by even faster than the 12k.
As we arrived back to the main campus, where our barracks, DFAC, etc were, our cadre had us take an unexpected detour. We were formed up outside of a PT bubble, not our bubble. Music was playing loudly, so we knew something was going on. Our Drill Sergeants came by and talked to us about how proud we should be of our accomplishments. Talked to us about how we were now soldiers and gave us more advice about being in the military.
We marched into the bubble with a song playing over the speakers called "American Soldier" by Toby Keith. I am certain I have heard the song before in passing, but I never really paid attention to it before then. That day though, all of us now rough and tough soldiers were having to fight back some emotion.
The ceremony included some great, motivating speeches from the cadre and handing out of challenge coins. But the thing that will stick with me the most was when the 3rd platoon Drill Sergeants came each one of us and shook our hands, congratulating us on completing Basic Training.
Now it is time for what the Drill Sergeants have warned us will be the toughest part of training, preparing for equipment turn-in.
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