This site is for mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.

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FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:

Choose your Username.  For the privacy and safety of you and/or your sailor, NO LAST NAMES ARE ALLOWED, even if your last name differs from that of your sailor (please make sure your URL address does not include your last name either).  Also, please do not include your email address in your user name. Go to "Settings" above to set your Username.  While there, complete your Profile so you can post and share photos and videos of your Sailor and share stories with other moms!

Make sure to read our Community Guidelines and this Navy Operations Security (OPSEC) checklist - loose lips sink ships!

Join groups!  Browse for groups for your PIR date, your sailor's occupational specialty, "A" school, assigned ship, homeport city, your own city or state, and a myriad of other interests. Jump in and introduce yourself!  Start making friends that can last a lifetime.

Link to Navy Speak - Navy Terms & Acronyms: Navy Speak

All Hands Magazine's full length documentary "Making a Sailor": This video follows four recruits through Boot Camp in the spring of 2018 who were assigned to DIV 229, an integrated division, which had PIR on 05/25/2018. 

Boot Camp: Making a Sailor (Full Length Documentary - 2018)

Boot Camp: Behind the Scenes at RTC

...and visit Navy.com - America's Navy and Navy.mil also Navy Live - The Official Blog of the Navy to learn more.

OPSEC - Navy Operations Security

Always keep Navy Operations Security in mind.  In the Navy, it's essential to remember that "loose lips sink ships."  OPSEC is everyone's responsibility. 

DON'T post critical information including future destinations or ports of call; future operations, exercises or missions; deployment or homecoming dates.  

DO be smart, use your head, always think OPSEC when using texts, email, phone, and social media, and watch this video: "Importance of Navy OPSEC."

Follow this link for OPSEC Guidelines:

OPSEC GUIDELINES

Events

**UPDATE 4/26/2022** Effective with the May 6, 2022 PIR 4 guests will be allowed.  Still must be fully vaccinated to attend.

**UPDATE as of 11/10/2022 PIR vaccination is no longer required.

**UPDATE 7/29/2021** You now must be fully vaccinated in order to attend PIR:

In light of observed changes and impact of the Coronavirus Delta Variant and out of an abundance of caution for our recruits, Sailors, staff, and guests, Recruit Training Command is restricting Pass-in-Review (recruit graduation) to ONLY fully immunized guests (14-days post final COVID vaccination dose).  

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR UP TO DATE INFO:

RTC Graduation

**UPDATE 8/25/2022 - MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED.  Vaccinations still required.

**UPDATE 11/10/22 PIR - Vaccinations no longer required.

RESUMING LIVE PIR - 8/13/2021

Please note! Changes to this guide happened in October 2017. Tickets are now issued for all guests, and all guests must have a ticket to enter base. A separate parking pass is no longer needed to drive on to base for parking.

Please see changes to attending PIR in the PAGES column. The PAGES are located under the member icons on the right side.

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Navy Speak

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Navy.com Para Familias

Visite esta página para explorar en su idioma las oportunidades de educación y carreras para sus hijos en el Navy. Navy.com

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Vicki S

OCS Graduate Moms

Information

OCS Graduate Moms

For those who have graduated from Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI or who are currently attending there.

Members: 662
Latest Activity: Jan 14

Please, if you no longer want to be a part of N4M's consider NOT deleting your profile as everything you have ever posted will disappear when you delete it .  You can leave a group but don't permanently delete your profile!

Discussion Forum

OCS in November

Started by J71792. Last reply by barbrag Oct 12, 2023. 4 Replies

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of OCS Graduate Moms to add comments!

Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 18, 2009 at 9:21pm
Sailordawgmom- I agree with navymom- even when I went at the end of October, it was a very sleepy town. Newport is a resort town for sailing and it's out of season! The Red Parrot is fabulous- I also love The Black Pearl and the Newport Blues Cafe (both of those two were a little pricey, but absolutely delicious and my fiance enjoyed every bite after all that chow hall food!). And don't expect to be able to go out late.... it closes down early!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 16, 2009 at 12:51am
Mamadoc-
Unforunately, Indocs are not granted any sort of mail privileges... sending or receiving. While I don't know for sure, I would guess that they will not be allowed to send mail- the class won't be able to have any mail privileges until they have the time to elect their class officers and get a mail body, which is usually not until the officer candidate phase. From what the new changes sounded like... it seemed like the first 3 weeks were going to be very tough and demanding with little time to write. They also probably don't have access to paper/pens/stamps! (They are only allowed to take bare essentials with them as Indocs).
I hope I am wrong, but that would be my guess! When my fiance went through OCS, I went for close to 3 weeks without hearing anything- I got a letter at about the two week, 6 day mark- so it is possible to make it through! (When he went through over the summer, they didn't do things like allow emails). Just try to remember that no news is good news, and encourage your son's girlfriend to come on this site for support if she isn't already!!
Best of luck to you and your son :) You are already one week in! I promise the time goes faster than you think! (And my fiance was there for 17 weeks, so if I can say that... ;) )
Comment by BunkerQB on November 12, 2009 at 6:54pm
Tiffany, since your said apartment, the porch must have some drainage hole. Made sure that is not plugged up.
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 10, 2009 at 10:39pm
Cheryl- It depends on the chief running H. The first time my fiance was in H, we didn't hear ANYTHING. I found out through a letter. No phone call for two weeks. However, with the current chief, they are allowed to call every day while in H, unless something happens are they are busy during phone times. It is also determined by whether there are indocs and how many are in H. If there are indocs, it cuts the number of phones in half (they don't want the indocs seeing the members of H, so they can't use the phones near their quarters). When my fiance was in H he was allowed to call on Sundays- it was just later in the evening after the regiment had used the phones.... however this may have changed as the regiment is larger now and it sounds like the number of people in H are greater. My fiance did say that the chief who runs H now told him (while he was up in Newport for SWOS) they are limiting their phone time at bit more in H these days in order to encourage them to spend more time prepping for RLP, getting back in physical shape, etc. They are allowed to call home because when they are in H, they need that extra support! They also can usually get to a computer and email regularly. If my fiance wasn't able to call, he made sure to email. Now if he is in quarantine- that may change things. My fiance was never quarantined, and I know they are doing a special "med down" section of H these days, so the rules may be different. maybe someone who has experience with quarantine could offer a better perspective? That was just my experience with H :)
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 10, 2009 at 5:21pm
Marajade- what you're doing is WONDERFUL and I know it means so much to everyone- just wanted to make sure no one is getting into trouble for it! Just to clarify- it doesn't matter the designator, if their nametape is showing, it shouldn't be posted on a public forum. Things like facebook are a little difference because they're more protected. SEALs are not supposed to have their pictures posted online in uniform at all, whereas a normal designator can have it posted with no name tape. But I'm glad you'll continue to paparazzi- the girls in my class and I had a TON of fun "stalking" the base and snapping pics for people ;). It's just scary what people can do with a tiny bit of info gleamed off the internet!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 10, 2009 at 11:44am
It's up to $25,000 for the loan and you can get it up to year after commissioning. I know my fiance got a navy fed account before leaving and then opened up a USAA one to do the loan and get insurance through there- their insurance rates are pretty low too!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 10, 2009 at 11:39am
Marajade... just as a fair warning- while all the pictures are super nice and I know everyone loves to see them... you can see nametags in some of those pictures, which violates PERSEC (even if the candidate has given their permission for their pic to be posted), so I am not sure how they got approved. Especially if any of those guys are seals, they are absolutely not allowed to have pictures/videos of them posted online. I have some pics from graduation that I can't post online cause it has the SEALS in them. If a DI/staff member of OCS were to see it, they could get in trouble. The staff at OCS told me it's okay to post like a general picture of a whole class if you can't read nametags (and keep in mind... this includes if you can zoom in and read the nametag) and if you are 100% sure that there are no seals in the class. Many classes do have seals (I know ours did) so you have to be super careful about posting pictures of classes! Also... videos of classes are kinda also prohibited- I know I was told I couldn't post the video I had of my fiance's class getting ready for rifle drill because it wasn't a video made by a candidate at ocs. Not trying to be a killjoy- but it's done for the safety of our sailors. It may not seem like it's huge deal when they are at OCS, but especially for the seals, it is a big deal. I just don't want someone at OCS seeing those pics and getting your LO in trouble for it! I will have to find the link to it- but there is a powerpoint from a security briefing online for families that discusses the case of how one little detail that someone let slip, combined with the picture of someone wearing a nametag, led to the death of 238 soldiers. Like I said... I am not trying to ruin anyone's fun... but PERSEC is important and while it can seem silly... it's not a game. I think the pictures are a wonderful idea, but you just have to be careful about that sort of thing!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 10, 2009 at 11:36am
Sally- There is a commissioning loan you can get from the USAA with only a 5% interest rate. If that's lower than your son's student loans, I know a lot of guys that my fiance knows got it to pay off loans and pay at a lower rate. Just an idea!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 9, 2009 at 12:40am
Tarheelmom- thank you so much for your sweet words :) Tim is doing very well.. he is loving life :) He has worked so hard for this and what a thrill to finally be on his ship! He got to be on the bridge of the ship today for five hours, which he loved. I have to confess I was a little mean when he called, we were joking around and I asked what he hit while he was on the bridge of the ship. He said nothing, that he rocked being on the bridge. I was like oh what's that honey? You hit bridges and rocks? Try not to do that anymore! Hah! He left Wednesday and I have already gotten two phone calls :) and soon they will be giving him his own computer so he can email every day. I feel so spoiled compared to him being at OCS!! I will have lots of deployment prep tips very soon (have some already ;) ) so hopefully everyone will stick around on this site and I can help when it comes time for that!!! haha during our phone call today he made it a point to ask about what was happening at OCS- I guess there is another ensign on board who graduated 1.5 months before he did, and he was asking for news of OCS as well!! They are too funny I guess they don't forget their roots!!
Comment by Fur&FeathersDVM on November 9, 2009 at 12:11am
Cheryl- my thoughts and prayers are with Michael. I know the first call I got from my fiance when he was in H was absolutely heartbreaking, and while it was in the end what he needed to get healthy and they really did take care of him there, and in the end it worked out just fine. They don't want to be there any extra but they absolutely can do it. If you don't mind sending me his last name I would love to send him some stuff too- my fiance is away on deployment right now but we communicate fairly regularly and he is always still concerned about those at OCS, particularly those in H- I think he would like to send him a quick letter of encouragement and support and share his story as sort of a motivator to show him that he can do it if that's okay with you!!
 

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