Day Four of Navy Officer Candidate School

Survivors Guide to Navy Officer Candidate School

"Day Four" of Navy OCS

Day Four (Wake Up Wednesday) If you have not made your Drill Instructor’s acquaintance by now, today will be the day. Be prepared. It will be loud, stressful and he will RPT (push, flutter kicks, bear crawl, curl-ups, etc.) you a lot. You will do nothing right and you will never move fast enough. His requests will be impossible (i.e. “You have ten seconds to return to your locker, put on your PT gear, and fall back out on line – ready, move – ten, eight, four, one, zero, you’re done!).

Let there be no mistake, today will be one of the more unpleasant days at OCS. However, it is a “weeding out” process, implemented to break those who really do not want to be Naval Officers. When the Drill Instructor says “Push,” push, BE LOUD, put forth effort, and the day will end before you know it. Just remember that it does get better. Again, obey the commands of the Class Drill Instructor to the letter. If you are in the middle of doing something and are ordered to freeze then freeze, do not try to get back to your position in formation or move any further. It will only HURT you.

Poopie Christmas:

Today is also Poopie Christmas! After meeting your Drill Instructor and morning PT, you will spend the rest of the day receiving your issued gear. All the gear (uniforms, sea bag, PT shorts and shirt, etc.) will be received at the Exchange. You will spend the entire day here so take advantage of the time. There is a standard issue of gear that you will be receiving, so listen carefully on what you are supposed to get. You can buy other things if you want at this time, but remember that you will be moving at the end of the week so anything extra bought now will only make your move harder.

Things to Buy:

If you must buy other things, make sure they are small. Talk to your prior enlisted shipmates to see if they have any suggestions on extra things to buy. They have been wearing a uniform for some time now and can be a very useful resource tool. It is also advisable to talk to Candidates who rolled into your class from H-Class the night before. They will have more knowledge than any other Candidates on what extra items are useful for the rest of the first week as well as for preparing for RLP. One of the most important items to purchase extra is the uniform stamping kit. The issued stamp kit will no doubt have less ink than is needed to mark all of your issued items.

RPT Sessions:

The evening will be spent doing busy work, being yelled at, and doing plenty of RPT. Get used to the RPT sessions because it will be a common occurrence at OCS. Also try not to worry about the RPT sessions because your body will adjust to them over time. It may be advisable to put yourself through short, intense PT sessions on your own during your preparation for OCS to allow you to more quickly adjust when you reach OCS.

Not only will your Class Drill Instructor and possibly even your Class Chief Petty Officer RPT you, but you will also get RPTed by other Class Drill Instructors as well. At the risk of sounding redundant, keep your head in the game and take nothing personally. No matter what is said, these people know nothing about you nor are they saying anything different than they said to the previous Candidate Officers before you. Always remember that THEY WILL SALUTE YOU at the end of OCS.