Posted on Dec 17, 2018
What are some good steps to take in anticipation of state pre-OCS and OCS? What advice can you give?
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Posted in these groups: 
09S: Commissioned Officer Candidate
OCS
09S: Commissioned Officer Candidate OCS
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 7
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Be physically fit. Be able to do 270 or above on the existing APFT Know some military history. Keep up on current events. Read the paper, listen to the news. Watch the History Channel, study up on your soldier skills. Be ready to have a Cadence call available. Having a laptop and a good printer. A good color printer could be a cheap $60 printer. You already have good mentors on rallypoint so you are on the right foot.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL MAJ (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 SSG Carlos Madden SSG(P) James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL MAJ (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 SSG Carlos Madden SSG(P) James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"
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Spool up on map reading and land navigation, I saw many sent home over this failure. Learn the 5 paragraph OPORD and ALL of it's intricate sub-paragraphs. As previously stated, be a PT STUD! Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. And perhaps the best advice I can give you....be 100% sure you want it. Tenacity is a virtue you MUST have. Those who are not 100% committed will not succeed.
1LT Michael T Eble
INARNG
State OCS Class 56-10
1LT Michael T Eble
INARNG
State OCS Class 56-10
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LTC Stephen Conway
Lt, Good follow-up on what I missed. Also, make sure your bachelor's degree is completed because I knew a couple lieutenants who gutted with 90 units and they didn't finish and they only made it to 1LT. With basic officer leadership course right after commissioning, you may not have much time especially if you're pulling a 40 hour plus a week job to be able to study up and finish your bachelor's degree when you're doing platoon Leader Times and trying to juggle all your mandatory training in your guard or Army Reserve unit.
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Be a go to guy. When someone needs help, you are the guy who figures it out. Good for peer evals. Volunteer for everything. That whole nonsense of "not volunteering for anything" is how you become a grey man and stagnant. Stand out. Carry the weight. Speak up. Don't be an a-hole. Get passionate about learning how to land nav, communicate by tactical radio, OPORD, TLPs, and make a sound decision. Don't get discouraged when you learn you've got room to develop.
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LTC Stephen Conway
SPC (Join to see) years ago, during OCS, someone told me online to 'cooperate and graduate' which I interpreted as work with others and help those not as strong as you and others help you out with your weak points. Also, there is no " I" in team. We all help each other. In my OCS class with the California Army National Guard, we started off with a hundred and ten and ended up with about 55. Most of the attrition was that they couldn't handle the pressures of being away from family or they couldn't do the work in between drills. Like others have said here, you really need to want it and know how to play the game. It may even be more stressful than basic training because you may be put in a leadership position you're not prepared for. The whole point of putting you in leadership position you are not prepared for is what happens if all of a sudden you are the only officer in charge of your company because the other officers have been wounded or killed? They want you to work well under stress. I guess Army resiliency training review will be helpful.
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/master-resilience-training-mrt/
MAJ Ken Landgren SPC (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 1LT (Join to see) CPT (Join to see) CPT (Join to see)
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/master-resilience-training-mrt/
MAJ Ken Landgren SPC (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 1LT (Join to see) CPT (Join to see) CPT (Join to see)
Master Resilience Training (MRT) in the US Army: PowerPoint & Interview
Master Resilience Training is a trainer course used in the US army that uses several modules to teach leaders how to foster resilience in others.
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Download a copy of the Officer candidate guide online. Lots of relevant information in there.
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Develop sound time management practices! This takes practice and can irritate people when you move on to another subject or AO! SPC (Join to see)
Learn to be brief, say what you want to communicate and shaddup!
Learn to be brief, say what you want to communicate and shaddup!
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SPC (Join to see)
That's a good point CSM, Time management is something I struggle with and I can get wordy too! I will definitely focus on these in the coming weeks.
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Keep your eye on the prize. Traditional state OCS is a very long process but it will get you ready for what it’s like being a PL in the guard or reserves. Also when leadership is assigned try to help out as much as you can. Also be a good joe when you’re not in leadership and be in charge when you are. The cadre may not seem like they are paying attention at all times but trust me they are. Also when you get to the end of phase 2 and 3 make sure you have a good OPORDER shell for the STX lanes it will allow you to spend more time on your sand table and practicing your brief. Good Luck at OCS
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I was AF OTS, but I can tell you that the 2 "Priors" in my Flight were a godsend. They knew the AF ways and could explain it to us newbies! Be prepared for alot of clueless "I-was-a-civilian-yesterday-and-now-I'm-an-Officer" types asking lots of questions!
Good advice on the printer (wish I'd had mine), and don't forget paper (the printer for the dorm floor NEVER seemed to have paper).
Good advice on the printer (wish I'd had mine), and don't forget paper (the printer for the dorm floor NEVER seemed to have paper).
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