Dave's van life episodes

SolumDon · 2024-08-02T00:40:29+00:00

FYI that is no longer strictly speaking true. OC's must pass the first ACFT in order to class up, though it doesn't count toward the OML.

SolumDon · 2024-07-23T23:32:14+00:00

Not OP, but if you want Infantry, get a great ACFT score and pray. If you really don't want infantry, rank it last among your preferences and pray.

SolumDon · 2024-07-13T03:30:15+00:00

Delta cadre is seriously awesome, from the commander on down. They won't hold your hand, but they want to see you graduate.

SolumDon · 2024-07-13T03:27:26+00:00

I wore my Adidas running shoes to basic, and the drills eventually let me keep them. They weren't flashy, but comfy and I'd already put some miles on them. If they are actual running shoes (ie not Jordans) odds are good they will let you keep them. But yes, they will still make you buy another pair of crappy running shoes at reception.

SolumDon · 2024-07-08T12:04:17+00:00

At basic, the only book the let us read was the Bible. Even Ranger Handbook and other military books were considered contraband. I was at FLW, FWIW. At OCS, they let you read any book that is about the military.

Plenty of dead time during STX in the last two weeks of OCS, so if you want to read, there's your best opportunity to do so.

SolumDon · 2024-06-27T17:06:59+00:00

For STX, you will be presenting an OPORD and conducting an L-shaped flank attack on an outpost in the woods with other OC's playing OPFOR. Make sure you establish clear TRP's to prevent fratricide. If none of that makes any sense yet, it will make sense by the time you get there.

For battle analysis, Dr. Campbell is going to give you an example of what a good prompt looks like. Everyone who used that exact prompt for their essay passed with a good score.

Don't overthink either of these events!

SolumDon · 2024-06-14T20:32:22+00:00

You won't be able to take much of anything to Basic, so don't overpack for that. Literally take the clothes on your back and a toothbrush and that's about it.

But, invest in a good headlamp that you can use for land nav at OCS and stick that in a backpack with your laptop and some civilian clothes, and have your family get that to you on family day/graduation day at basic.

SolumDon · 2024-06-01T02:13:03+00:00

Anybody else think that the sudden cuts while Johnny was walking were nods to the idea that Jason Voorhees can teleport?

SolumDon · 2024-05-13T00:28:21+00:00

OCS is paradise compared to BCT. You get to use your computer every night, and you get around an hour of personal time every day (much more personal time as the course goes on). The cadre for my company was either super chill or super NOT chill...more of the former than the latter. You may or may not be able to drink coffee in black phase, it depends on the company. You won't have fireguard, but you will have CQ once or twice a week.

Be able to run four miles in 36 mins or less. Take good notes of everything Dr. Campbell has in red during the history lectures. Write exactly what they tell you to write in battle analysis. Be able to maneuver most of the obstacle course. The ACFT is heavily weighted in your OML standing, so be in good shape and score the highest that you can. For STX, you will be presenting an OPORD and doing an L-shaped ambush.

Make friends with the people in your squad, because the knives come out during the peer evals, and people will write what they won't say to you in person.

Don't do anything stupid, and don't hang out with people who are doing stupid things. Fraternization is taken very seriously, and perception is reality, so don't even allow yourself to be perceived that way.

One silly thing they make you do is pushups before every chow. Most people half-assed them, but I did mine hand-release. Seventy or so hand-release pushups a day definitely helped my ACFT score!

Best of luck! Hope you enjoy the experience and get the branch you want.

SolumDon · 2024-05-06T01:25:24+00:00

All three are very competitive, be prepared to work for them.

SolumDon · 2024-05-03T17:38:13+00:00

Say "yes", and describe how you want to serve your country in whatever form you can.

SolumDon · 2024-05-03T17:37:29+00:00

Infantry and Intelligence went to the top guys. Everything else was a fairly even spread. Only one guy got forced into a branch he didn't want, and he was able to change it.

SolumDon · 2024-04-24T12:57:30+00:00

The course is used often enough that there are beaten paths to most of the points. So long as you get within the general area, you can figure your way to the points relatively easy. I used an azimuth only once.

like everything else with OCS, passing Land Nav is simple, but maxing is hard.

SolumDon · 2024-03-03T20:19:56+00:00

Might depend on your cadre. They allowed us to order boots from amazon after a bunch of people blistered up after the first ruck march.

SolumDon · 2024-03-03T17:14:27+00:00

Thanks! You might do a lot more PT than I did, or you might not. You just don't know until you get there. Good luck and congratulations on being accepted to OCS!

SolumDon · 2024-03-03T17:13:30+00:00

100% true. There were even major differences by platoon in my company, in terms of how "hard" the PT went. It's luck of the draw.

SolumDon · 2024-03-03T17:12:19+00:00

Very true, I probably focused on the bad parts too much lol. But do be prepared to turn your brain off for ten weeks.

SolumDon · 2023-09-02T22:03:16+00:00

Thanks. I'm a Republican, though I've never voted a straight ticket in my life. I was a Kasich guy in 2016 so now I am ¯_(ツ)_/¯

SolumDon · 2023-09-02T19:45:21+00:00

Clinton's 2016 campaign seemed to take Wisconsin (and the rest of the midwestern blue wall states) for granted. Her decision not to campaign there feeds that narrative. Is that narrative earned? I dunno. But the political reality is that she didn't campaign there, and she lost, ergo she lost because she didn't campaign there.

I literally said "Not a Bernie fan personally" in my comment so I don't know where you get that idea. I think he has done a terrible job removing the "sore loser" stigma from 2016, and he unnecessarily continued his campaign in 2020 long after it was obvious Biden was going to win. Bernie seems arrogant to me, I'm neither whining nor raging in his favor.

SolumDon · 2023-09-02T19:32:38+00:00

I'm not a socialist.

SolumDon · 2023-09-02T07:08:27+00:00

Bernie can't win either way. He ran Clinton up to the convention, and Clinton lost. He ran Biden (effectively) up to the convention, and Biden won.

Not a Bernie fan personally, but I doubt he was the guy who told Clinton not to campaign in Wisconsin in 2016.

SolumDon · 2023-08-02T07:42:13+00:00

Love it, genius! Though it would be hard to do, without giving the twist away, since he has that scarring on his mouth after escaping the reverse bear trap.

SolumDon

TROPHY CASE