Last posting from OCS

Here's another posting from Labor Day:

Hello everyone,

It's Labor Day weekend here at OCS and I have some time this morning before
everyone else gets up to try to give an overview of what I've been up to for
the past 10 weeks.

It's really hard to describe to someone who hasn't been through it what OCS
is like. It's more than a series of training evolutions and tests--OCS
pushes candidates to their mental, physical, and moral limits to see what
breaks. It can be hard to see the purpose of this pushing until you
recognize that it's best to do it here, in a safe training environment,
rather than out in the fleet where lives and property are at stake. When
they put us to bed late and get us up early, it's to show us how our bodies
respond to sleep deprivation--and to teach each candidate what he or she
needs to do to overcome that limitation without caffeine or drugs. When
they make us bear crawl (walking on all fours) a 1/4-mile, it's to show us
that many of our physical limitations are not mental, but rather physical.

But that's enough of philosophical rambling, here's what I've been up to.

Week 1 (Week 1 of Training): Indoctrination Week
Indoc week is designed to push out weak or uncommitted candidates early in
the program before the Navy and the candidate invest serious time and money
in one another. Sleep deprivation is part of the game--a typical day ends
at 2300 and begins at 0400. We arrived on Sunday and he first few days are
spent with Candidate Officers (Candi-Os) who teach you how to do things like
march, count off, yell, eat at the chow hall, speak to superiors, perform PT
(physical training) exercises (but they can't actually exercise us).
Another major part of training is the perception that no one else is at OCS.
The other classes didn't use the same stairwells as we did and no one is
allowed to talk or look at us. Disorientation is also prevalent. It's hard
to get your bearings because each hallway is identical, each room looks like
every other one, and you're maintaining a "1000 yd stare" that prevents you
from getting a good look around.

They also prevent you from getting to know your fellow candidates by
limiting the amount of time you have to just be alone. They striped us of
our names and I became Indoctrination Candidate Alpha Golf (AG, in the
phonetic alphabet).

Tuesday is the first evolution, the In-PRT (fitness test). Our class of 40
or so lost about 12 shipmates because they weren't physically ready for OCS
(two passed out because they hadn't hydrated properly). I think that about
7 candidates rolled in from H-class (holding company, where people go if
they're not in a numbered class--it's for the injured and those waiting to
class up). At this point we'd also had several people DOR, or drop on
request--quit.

Wednesday morning is known as Wakeup Wednesday because it's the first day
that you meet your Class Drill Instructor. Our class (22-08) was special
though because our DI was on leave for the first 2 weeks of our training, so
we had a substitute DI. Class Drill Instructor GySgt Saul, USMC worked us
out pretty hard--other classes said it's one of the longest Wakeup
Wednesdays they had seen. I think that some more people DOR'ed that day
too.

The rest of Week 1 basically involves getting up, getting RPT'ed (remedial
physical training, a beat down by your drill instructor or class chief petty
officer), going to chow (getting beat before chow), coming back from chow,
doing some admin stuff, learning drill or something else, going to the
uniform shop, etc.

On Friday you have Outpost, which is a simulated inspection of your uniform
by class officers, followed by--you guessed it--a beating from the DI. On
Saturday, though, known as Black Saturday, is Welcome Aboard, where you get
marched (and RPT'ed along the way) around the base until you get to a point
where suddenly the whole OCS regiment is cheering you on and welcoming you
to the regiment. You're no longer an Indoctrination Candidate, you're an
Officer Candidate (OC).

Weeks 2-3 (Weeks 2-3 of Training): Beginning of OC Phase
We had CDI GySgt Coyer, USMC for week 2 (known at Coyer the Destroyer,
because of his fondness for 8-count body builders and creating physically
fit classes) until we finally met our full-time CDI, GySgt Jackson, USMC at
week 3 and basically repeated another Wakeup Wednesday. These two weeks of
training are about PT and getting ready for the 4th week Room, Locker, and
Personnel Inspection (RLP). This involves stamping all of your uniforms and
personal gear and removing all of the tags and loose threads (IPs) on your
clothing. This process is complicated by the fact that you don't get large
blocks of time to do it, you're constantly told to take advantage of 5 to
15-min blocks of time.

We also began to take some simple classes and briefings on Navy life, such
as support services available and a simple Naval Warfare exam.

I think that these two weeks are also when the sleep deprivation begins to
take effect. I would find myself waking up in the middle of the night
because I thought someone was yelling at us to get to attention. It would
take me awhile to figure out that nobody was talking and that I could roll
over and go back to sleep. I do have one anecdote about the sleep-dep
though:

One night, unbeknownst to me, I woke up my roommate and told him to get up.
When he woke up he started asking, "Shafer, what's going on?" and saw me
sitting at attention on the edge of my bed. So he asked me again, "Shafer,
what's going on?" but I said nothing. So finally he says, "Shafer, aren't
you going to say something?" This is the point at which I wake up. So here
I find myself sitting at attention in the dark with a silhouette sitting
across from me saying, "Well, aren't you going to say something?" which is
what a Candi-O or DI will say when you don't respond to their questions. So
I said the first thing that popped into my head as a response, "Aye, Sir!"
My roommate was confused and answered with "What?", which is also what a
Candi-O or DI will say when you're not loud enough. So I answer "AYE, SIR!"
a little louder. I'm finally to the point where I'm absolutely confused
about what is going on and I think that I see my roommate sitting in the
corner in the dark. So I ask him, "Shearer, who's in here?" He's really
confused now too and asks me the same question. At that point we started to
realize what had happened and then we went back to bed.

Other people have woken up shouting, or started to get dressed at 0200 or
0300, thinking the day was started. Some other candidates have sleep
walked, and I have an interesting story about that some other time.

Week 4 (Week 4 of Training): RLP (see
http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/ocs/stories/day5.html)
Week 4 is easily the hardest week at OCS. Trust me, I went though it twice.
This is the inspection where you have to fold your underwear and t-shirts
into 6-inch squares, +/- about 1/16-in. You also have to arrange your
locker in a specific way and have memorized about 20 pages of information
(or "gouge"). Week 4 is also the point at which rumors start flying about
who's on the "hit list" to fail RLP regardless of how squared away their
stuff is and who's going to pass no matter what. On about Wednesday (RLP is
on Thursday), we had heard that GySgt Jackson wanted a class of 20, not good
news for the 35 of us in the class. About half of us failed on Thursday and
then had to get ready to reinspect on Saturday. Eight of us failed again on
Saturday, leaving a class of 20 for GySgt Jackson.

Week 5-6 (Weeks 3-4 of Training): RLP Redux
So those of us who failed rolled immediately into Class 24-08 with Class
Drill Instructor GySgt Walters, USMC. We got to repeat the same boring
briefs and classes (but didn't have to take the test again), but this time
all of our gear was already prepared so we were under less pressure to get
it done. To make a long story short, all of us roll-ins passed RLP (most on
Thursday, 1 on Saturday) and our class of 60 was reduced to 45 candidates.

Week 7 (Week 5 of Training):
Week 5 is humorously known as Innoc Week, or Inoculation Week, because we
got our shots on Wednesday and Friday. The shots really made our shoulders
sore for a couple of days, but the best part was that they weren't allowed
to RPT us for 24 hours after each session of shots.

Week 8 (Week 6 of Training):
Week 6 was fun because we got to train on the Wet Trainer, Buttercup.
Buttercup is a damage control (DC) ship that has holes in pipes, holes and
cracks in the hull, and other battle damage that they teach us how to fix as
the ship is sinking in the water. We also learned firefighting at the
firefighting trainer, practicing putting out fires using a CO2 extinguisher
and as part of a hose time. Practically none of that training will apply to
me on the submarine, because we have different practices and procedures to
fight fires and floods. Finally, we had both our mid-PRT (which one
candidate unfairly failed) and the 6th week personnel inspection.

Week 9 (Week 7 of Training):
More classes, including the Maneuvering Boards (MoBoards) exam.

Week 10 (Week 8 of Training):
Week 8 of training here was a little difficult because we had a Navigation
exam (with an instructor who wanted all of us to be able to walk into a
ship's bridge tomorrow and start navigating), the 8th week personnel
inspection, and the Out-PRT. We had one candidate fail the Nav exam
(retesting tomorrow) but we all passed the other evolutions. I had my best
1.5-mile time, 10:07. I also maxed out situps, 105; and did 70 pushups (max
is 87--I think that I've actually lost some pushups ability while here).

So that brings us to Week 11, Week 9 of Training. We were given Liberty
(time off) from Saturday afternoon around 1300 until today, Monday, at 1600.
Our class made an impromptu BBQ yesterday out on the point and we've
basically been sleeping and gorging ourselves on food the rest of the time.

Our last four weeks of training are about leadership in practice. We'll be
taking a more active role in running the regiment, helping the younger
classes get through their evolutions. We'll also be preparing to take on
the next indoctrination class on 14 SEP, repeating the cycle that began for
me 10 weeks ago.

I'll be in touch later to tell you about the final part of OCS.

-Andrew

PS Graduation is the morning of 26 SEP. Everyone is invited to attend.
Here's directions:
https://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/otcn/Schoolhouses/OCS/index.htm. Ignore the
parts about orders and all that stuff.

Postings from OCS

Sorry for the long time since the last post. I graduated OCS on September 26, two weeks behind schedule. Here's an email I sent to some people on August 30.

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I haven't sent any updates. We haven't had real computer access until
now. This is my 10th week here in Newport at Officer Candidate School and
we're finishing week 8 of training.

The reason for the difference is that I was rolled back from Class 22-08
into 24-08 because I failed the 4th week Room, Locker, and Personnel
Inspection (RLP).

We do have Liberty for this weekend until 1600 Monday, so a bunch of us
rented a hotel room on base to sit around and watch some football while we
try to decompress for the first time.

If you're interested in seeing what I'm doing, take a look at the Providence
Journal article from when OCS moved to Newport:
http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/ocs/

I hope to write more about my experience after graduation, so stay in touch!
Also, everyone is invited to graduation on September 26, sometime around
8:30 or 9:00.

Later!
OFFICER CANDIDATE SHAFER

Graduation, OCS

Hey everyone!

It's been a ridiculously long time since my last post. I've finished my master's thesis and graduation was on June 6.

This week I'm shipping out to Navy officer school in Newport, RI, to begin my training to become a submarine officer.

I'll be out of touch for the first few weeks, but after that I should be able to make some posts to tell people how it's going there.

I just ran my latest PRT before shipping, 109 situps, 89 pushups, and 1.5 mi. in 10:58. Let's see how those numbers change at OCS.

-Andrew

Updated workout numbers

Here's those updated statistics for 2007:

203.6 miles
11,950 pushups
11,962 situps
1,433 pullups

Not too bad, but I'm going to have to do more these next six months as I get ready for Navy officer school (OCS).

Last Post of 2007

Hey all,

Sorry for the long time since the last post. I'll try to give some quick updates since last time.

We started classes in September and in October I went out to Dabob Bay, WA, as part of a research cruise with my lab group. The overall experiment involved creating an undersea network between multiple robots around the bay. Our ship, the Pt. Sur, deployed our autonomous kayaks with some science equipment and also tested out some new behaviors for group deployment/navigation. There's some pictures on Facebook.

I also had another Navy PRT on October 20. I did pretty well:
90 Pushups (87 is maxing out)
107 Situps (105 is maxing out)
1.5 Mi in 10:36 (Good-High, best score is <8:30)
I've been pretty good this year about working out. I don't have the figures with me in Sioux Falls, but they're just over 12,000 pushups, 12,000 situps, 1,000 pullups, and 200 miles. I'll post the actuals when I get back to Boston.

I made it to a Celtics game against the Bucks in December just after classes ended. Speaking of classes, I was only taking one this term. I got an A in an introductory history course, How to Stage a Revolution.

Otherwise, the rest of the term I've been working on my M.Eng project, doing some basic research and starting to figure out what my thesis is going to look like.

Happy New Year!

-Andrew

Long Time, No Post

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Quite a bit has happened, so I'll try to summarize what's been going on:

April: I had my Navy mock-PRT on the 22nd and here are the new results:
Pushups: 70
Situps: 105 (maxing out)
1.5 Mile: 10:44 (new personal best)
I also did my SCUBA certification dives in the April waters of New England. Twelve of us entered on the first dive. Only 8 of us finished the last (5th) dive on Sunday. The water was 44 degrees on the surface and even colder at depth. We also had a big rainstorm the previous weekend and visibility was about 3 feet. So now I know that I can dive in just about any conditions, and that dive will be better than my cert dives!

May: The OPO decided that everyone had to run the actual PRT in May, so on the 19th (when it was wet and miserable), we all showed up and they said, "Surprise! Pee in this cup!" A surprise drug test was definitely easier than running the PRT in that weather. (I passed)

June: I passed my classes with 4 A's and a B. Graduation came and went (I didn't walk to stay in my Navy program) and so did many of my friends. Many of them also decided that they weren't ready to leave MIT and decided to stay on for grad school.

July: I stayed in Boston for my last fireworks show (the show was awesome, but it was wet and drizzly) and then flew back home from the 5th to the 19th. Home was great and gave me a chance to meet with some old friends and spend some time at my uncle's in ND.

August: I've mostly been working on my M.Eng project, spending some time down at the sailing pavilion deploying the kayaks. The Discovery Channel Canada came down to film the kayaks on the water, I'll let you all know if/when it's posted online somewhere.

Now the summer is almost over and the new school year is beginning. This week is orientation at MIT so all of the freshmen and new grad students are wandering around campus. I only need to take one class a term to graduate next spring, so I'll be taking 21H.001 How to Stage a Revolution this fall and an Acoustics grad class next spring.

Alright, I have to get some shut-eye so I can go running in the morning (more on my workout schedule next time).

Recent Happenings

This is the last weekday of Spring Break at MIT, so I thought I'd catch everyone up on what I've been doing.

I decided to stay at MIT for Spring Break and just relax. I've been watching TV, reading some books, lazily doing homework, and checking out what my friends have been up to. So far I've read "The Alphabet of Manliness," "The Zombie Survival Guide," and "Real Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book." So yeah, nothing too intellectual there, but it's been fun.

I've also been figuring out what I'm doing to do for my M.Eng project and it looks like I'll be working on some behaviors/cooperation/sensor models for autonomous water vehicles to mine sweep. I need to work on a 15-pg proposal before the end of the term.

I'm also writing a research paper for my history class on American submarine development, specifically how nuclear power affects submarine capabilities, and then looking at recent reports to see where the Navy is going with its submarine program.

I've also finally gotten back into a workout routine. MWF I run, usually between 2-3 miles; TR I do my standard PT (some form of 6x30 pushups, 6x30 situps, and 2x10 pullups); and Saturday I have a fun day and do things like shoulders, back, and calves. It's been helpful for me to track when I work out on a blank calendar, so it stands out when I skip a workout.

Well, I need to print out and read some government documents for my research paper, so I have to get going!

-Andrew

Is it the end of February already?

Well, I did manage to pick my classes for the term:
6.163 Strobe Lab
6.334 Power Electronics (Grad class)
6.441 Information Theory (Grad class)
21H.931 Historical Methods (History minor requirement)

Also, my Xbox 360 died last Tuesday, so I had to pay $140 + $30 shipping to send it to Texas for repairs. I'm going to call them later tonight to check on the status of it.

I'll try to get a better post out in March around spring break (I think I'm staying out at MIT for the break).