Day One of Navy Officer Candidate School

Survivors Guide to Navy Officer Candidate School

"Day One" of Navy OCS

("Day One" - Sunday) On the day you are to check in, it is highly advisable to get enough sleep the night before and get a good breakfast, brunch or any other meal before checking in. Do not check-in until about 10:30 am – the earlier you get there, the more time you spend being toyed with.

Your first encounter will be with Candidate Officers. These are candidates in their last two or three weeks of training so realize that they have been in your position as well. You will refer to yourself as Indoctrination Candidate (not Officer Candidate) for the first week. Emphasis will be placed on military bearing, ballistics (being as loud as possible), and teaching you information crucial to your survival.

You will check in at the seawall and move all of your belongings to a clear trash bag (the Candidate Officers will have them ready). From there, they will shuttle you and some of your other classmates that have arrived to the Regimental Building, where you will get your poopy suits, war belts, canteens, and chrome domes (helmets with a snazzy silver spray paint job).

The following are some of the terms you will be taught the first day and their respective applicability:

The five appropriate responses at OCS:

1. Yes Sir/Ma’am! – used in response to a question.

2. No Sir/Ma’am! – used in response to a question.

3. Aye Sir/Ma’am! – used in response to a command, statement, or order.

4. No excuse Sir/Ma’am! – used for mistakes or questions to which you do not know the answer.

5. This Indoctrination Candidate does not know but will find out –selfexplanatory.

It is a very common mistake for Indoctrination Candidates to confuse the responses of Yes Sir and Aye Sir. Only respond with Yes Sir (or No Sir) to a direct question (i.e. ‘Do you understand me!’) Respond with Aye Sir/Ma’am to everything else (i.e. a direct order or comment to you.) For example, if your Class Drill Instructor says: ‘Get on your face and push,’ you respond ‘Aye Sir’ (balistically of course) since that is an order. Now if he says ‘You are nasty, my mother can drill better than you,’ you still respond with ‘Aye Sir’ since it is a comment, but if he said ‘You are nasty, my mother can drill better than you. Are you tracking?’, you would say ‘Yes Sir.’ Remember, only use Yes/No Sir/Ma’am when responding to a question, use ‘Aye Sir/Ma’am’ for everything else. Try not to use 4 and 5, as they are not preferred and may result in pushing.

Candidate Officer Rankings:

The number of bars he/she wears ranks Candidate Officer. This is dependent on their standing in the class. The ranks are just the number of bars for the rank, so an 0-6 (Captain) has 6 bars. You need to also become familiar with this ranking, which goes as follows:

One Bar       –    Candidate Ensign
Two Bars     –    Candidate Lieutenant Junior Grade
Three Bars   –    Candidate Lieutenant
Four Bars     –   Candidate Lieutenant Commander
Five Bars     –    Candidate Commander
Six Bars       –    Candidate Captain

Attention on deck / greeting of the day:

‘Attention on deck’ is called whenever a senior walks into a room/passageway that you and your class are in. ‘Attention on deck, Stand-by’ is used for seniors who aren’t commissioned (i.e. Candidate Officers, Class Chief Petty Officers, and Class Drill Instructors.) ‘Attention on deck’ without the stand-by is used for your Class Officer since he is commissioned.

Whenever you hear ‘Attention on deck’ (with or without stand-by), the entire class stops whatever they are doing, stands at attention, and gives the appropriate greeting of the day. You stay at attention until told to ‘Carry on,’ given another command, or until the senior leaves. Whenever the senior is about to leave your space, ‘Attention on deck’ is then called again followed by the appropriate greeting of the day.

If you are by yourself (walking through the hallway for example), you do not say ‘Attention on deck,’ you just pop to attention and give the greeting of the day. ‘Attention on deck’ is used to announce the presence of a senior to everyone else who is in the space and to call them to attention also. If you are by yourself, there is no need to do this. Just pop to attention, brace the bulkhead (stand at attention roughly 4 inches from the wall), give the greeting of the day, and wait for further instruction. Remember to always be ballistic (except around commissioned officers) with everything that you say.

'Greeting of the day’ is a term you’ll hear a lot at OCS. It is a rather confusing term since the greeting actually changes throughout the day. Simply put, ‘greeting of the day’ refers to either ‘Good morning’, ‘Good afternoon’, or ‘Good evening’ followed by either Sir, Ma’am, Gentlemen, Ladies, etc (whatever is appropriate.)

For example, if you see your Drill Instructor in the morning, the appropriate ‘greeting of the day’ would be “Good morning, Sir.” Or if one female and one male Candidate Officer walked into your space in the evening it would be, “Good evening Ma’am, good evening Sir (always
address women first).

The position of attention:

1. While standing, the position of attention is shoulder back, chin tucked in, heels together with feet at a 45-degree angle, fingers curled tightly with thumbs along the trouser seams maintaining a thousand yard stare (looking straight ahead).

2. While seated, the position of attention is the same, with your hands on thighs, fingers together and extended, and feet at a 45-degree angle.

Walking in the passage way and bracing the bulkhead:

1. While at Officer Candidate School, you will ALWAYS walk with your shoulder 4 inches from the bulkhead and keep the bulkhead on your right side. You cannot “cut the deck” (walk across the hallway). If you need to get to the other side of the passageway, instead of walking across, you will walk the entire length of the hall, make your turns and walk back on the opposite side of the hall (again 4 inches away from the wall, always keeping it to your right).

2. You only brace the bulkhead when you see a staff member in the passageway, your space or other general areas. Bracing entails standing at attention with your back to the wall and your heels 4 inches from the bulkhead. You will give the greeting of the day and maintain a thousandyard stare until you are given the command “carry on” or until the staff member has left your deck (where you will again give the greeting of the day as they step off your deck).

Eyeballing:

Eyeballing is looking anywhere other than directly in front of you (especially at the staff). Of all things, you do not want to be caught doing this.

Eyeballs/Lock:
1. When given the command “eyeballs”, look in the direction of the person giving you the command and reply “snap sir/ma’am”.

2. When given the command “front”, “lock”, or “lock it up”, return to the position of attention and reply “locked sir/ma’am”.

Format for asking a question:

Sir/Ma’am Indoctrination Candidate ________, Indoctrination Class _____, requests permission to speak with Candidate Ensign _______, United States Naval Reserve. (Fill in blanks as appropriate).

NEVER say “you” to a staff member. When speaking to a staff member you will refer to them in the third person as either:

Candidate Lieutenant Commander _______, United States Naval Reserve

Class Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant ______, United States Marine Corp

Class Chief Petty Officer, (Senior/Master) Chief Petty Officer ______, United States Navy

Class Officer, Lieutenant ______, United States Navy (Fill in blanks as appropriate).

Referring to yourself:

While at Officer Candidate School you will speak in third person. NEVER say I, me, us, we or you to a staff member. You will refer to yourself as “this
Indoctrination Candidate,” or “this Officer Candidate.” When asked your name you will say, “Sir/Ma’am, this Indoctrination Candidate’s name is Indoctrination Candidate ______, Indoctrination Class ______.

Though these terms may seem silly or trite, it is necessary that you understand when and how to use them. Knowing these terms and applicability before you arrive will make your first day (and for many, the most difficult day) substantially easier.

One fact to remember is that the Candidate Officers are just that, candidates. They cannot touch you or RPT you. (RPT stands for Remedial Physical Training. It refers to the times when your Drill Instructor has you perform any physical activity such as pushups, sit-ups, flutter kicks, etc., that occurs outside of normal PT in the morning). It is the Candidate Officer’s job to help you, although at times that may not appear to be the case. Regardless, listen to everything they say and learn from the experiences that they had, because they will prepare you for what to expect for the next 12 weeks.

The majority of the first day is spent receiving your first issue (poopie greens, gouge book, locks, etc.), unpacking and learning the basics of OCS. Be prepared to have exactly 20 dollars in your possession when you arrive at the seawall to check in because that will go into your class fund, which will be used to cover things like haircuts. You will meet your Class Officer and possibly your Class Chief Petty Officer. Beware, your Class Drill Instructor WILL BE watching, though you will not see him.

By the end of the day, you will feel belittled, filled with doubt, and ready to sleep when the time comes. Take advantage of your sleep, you need not fear people entering your space in the middle of the night – sleep is required and you CANNOT be disturbed between 2200 and 0500. When you wake up, you will be instructed to make your rack.

To save time, sleep on top of your rack instead of under the covers so that you don’t have to make it in the morning. It is necessary to have a small alarm or wristwatch with an alarm so that you can wake up before Reveille to shave, dress, etc. Waking up before reveille is not authorized but is advisable. It is also necessary to be back in your rack when reveille sounds.