What can I expect when attending Army OCS?

Stephanie Lozano — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 13:10:28 -0500

Good morning! I am reaching out hoping to find anyone who has joined the Army via the college option for OCS. I have no prior service experience, but I do have a B.A. I've passed my boards and signed my contract already, but I have a lot of questions about the OCS experience, job selection, and life as an Army Officer. Most people I have been in touch with commissioned through ROTC or were enlisted for a number of years prior. I am really interested to see if anyone else joined the same way I am and what their experience was like/things they maybe wished they had known sooner. Thank you so much!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2019 1:56 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 13:56:00 -0500

Where to start? This is like asking what your college experience was like. Do you have any specific questions?
I went OCS @ Ft. Benning....and commissioned in OCT '12. It was rewarding. I loved it - but made it something I'd love.
1. Run for student council (Lots of extracurricular stuff that was fun)
2. Work your ass off and be particular and have attention to detail
3. Follow instructions perfectly, memorize shit
4. Start running and PT'ing now - harder than yesterday
5. Don't quit
6. Work harder
7. Enjoy an amazing time

Also - all those fucking dressers and desks up in your living quarters - my class hauled that shit up there while living in the cockroach infested old buildings down my the Airborne DFAC. Enjoy you bastard.

Kidding aside. Have fun - ask more specific questions and we will help. Cheers Stephanie.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2019 2:16 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 14:16:11 -0500

Expect to work hard. I was a 09S and came in the same way, military family, but no prior service myself. Basic will be easy, OCS will be a challenge. My biggest piece of advice is have an idea of what branch you want, but don’t have your heart set on anything. Branching is done by an OML (Order of Merit List), essentially your grade in the class relative to your peers. You won’t know what branches will be open and how many slots each branch has until the day you choose. I was hell bent on doing Military Intelligence until I got to OCS and then decided that Infantry was more to my liking, it is a decision I have not regretted. But just be mentally prepared to accept whatever branches they have at the time. A lot of my peers had their hearts set on one thing and by the time it came to them, that option was no longer available, so be flexible, the Army is what you make it. Other than that, be prepared to do a lot of PT, get used to walking with a rucksack and running everywhere. This covers the broad points but feel free to ask specific questions.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2019 4:25 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:25:57 -0500

Memorize your OCS “Knowledge” (some General’s definition of leadership, Troop leading procedures, 5 paragraphs of an OPORD, etc.) if they still require it.

Download Fm 3-0 FM 5-0 FM 7-0 and read those to get a head start on learning the operations processes and Army Training.

Like someone mentioned earlier: run your butt off! You should be able to run 5 miles in 45 minutes by the time you get there.

Be ready to get little/no sleep some nights.

You won’t know your branch until you are about halfway through OCS so don’t even worry about it. It’s not based on merit like someone else said...it’s based on needs of the Army. Slots are filled based on needs of the Army and those slots are filled by people who are currently enlisted. The folks coming in as civilians get what’s left. If you are male, you will most likely go to a combat arms branch. If female you probably won’t go combat arms unless you asked for it high up on your list.

You can ask for airborne school once you find out your branch but you probably won’t get it. I tried to get it and was told “yes” at first but ended up not getting it.

You’ll meet folks with different backgrounds. Lots of rewarding experiences.

The last two weeks were fun, everything else sucked but was fun going through the suckiness with a bunch of other people...

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2019 8:06 PM

2LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 20:06:19 -0500

Congratz on joining the Army and your choice to become an officer candidate! Things I wish I had known... OCS is the most challenging/rewarding way to commission; read everything you can about platoon tactics and the ranger handbook, PT hard, read ADP 6-22, PT more, google Army TLPs and memorize it (your about to live and breath it) while you PT harder, study ADP 6-0 and memorize the structure of an OPORD, PT more. most importantly, know you will mess up, it’s designed to be that way. Have the fortitude and drive to get over it quickly. We lost a lot of candidates who could not mentally overcome. As far as experience as an officer... everyone has a different experience... remember it is part of your job as a leader to make the experience a good one for your soldiers. You will direct, provide them purpose, motivate, and improve them. I hope this helps you get a step ahead so you can focus on becoming a great leader in training. Good Luck!!!

Response by MSG Frank Kapaun made Jan 9 at 2019 8:49 PM

MSG Frank Kapaun — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 20:49:52 -0500

What to expect? Well, to start with, expect penny ante, chicken shit harassment. Follow that up with nitnoid, mind numbing, boring classes. There is Federal OCS in a nutshell.

Response by COL David Turk made Jan 9 at 2019 9:49 PM

COL David Turk — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 21:49:26 -0500

Don’t have any constructive comments for you (to answer your question), but I would like to use your question to illustrate how the army has changed from the late 70’s.

There weren’t a lot of women officers in the engineers in the mid/late 70’s. There were a few in my EOBC class. One of them was a liberal arts graduate of Syracuse University. She said she had graduated, with no job in hand. Was walking downtown when she passed by an Army recruiter. Long story short, she was sworn in, sent to a six week commissioning course (not OCS), then on to EOBC (somewhere prior to EBOC she pinned on her gold bars). A couple of years later, I was at a gathering of Engineer officers in Hanau Germany. Got into a discussion with a 1LT commander of a bridge unit. Turns out she received a direct commission to 1LT (she had an engineering degree), went through the six week commissioning course, and was given the company command six months after PCSing to Germany. Can’t deny I was jealous (degreed Engineer with a EN (CE) RA appointment via ROTC), but I understood the urgent need for the Army to get women integrated into the non combat service support arms. This was the norm back then. Obviously, that’s not the case now.

As to OCS, find someone going through the program that appears to have their shit together and use them for a guide/resource, but don’t be a leach. Understand that not everything will come out great; don’t dwell, learn, correct, and move on. And last, engineer officers have their own buttons (it’s on the test).

Welcome to the Army. Good luck!

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2019 1:17 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 01:17:53 -0500

Please watch this VLOG. I went through Federal OCS with this guy. His vlogs is a good insight of how ocs works and what to expect.

https://youtu.be/u2gQCQUjm2k

An average Day at ARMY OCS

Instagram: @kidthndr2 Snapchat : @klop95 If you need my email its on one of my videos or just ask.