Updated Army OCS Packing List and Protocols around Transport from BCT to OCS?

2019-08-22T19:04:56-04:00

CONTEXT --

My son is currently in Week 1 of BCT at Fort Jackson (Columbia, SC). He graduates on Oct. 24 and will need to report for OCS at Fort Benning shortly after.

I do not know what his orders say yet so I'm not sure of the exact date and time he will be expected.

As such, I'm not sure how much time we will have to help him purchase the things he will need for OCS.

QUESTIONS:
1) I found an OCS Packing List online dated 08 FEB 2018. Is that list still considered "current"?

2) I have seen in many places that there is usually 10 days between BCT graduation and the start of OCS, but other sources say he may have to report the next day or the Monday after. What is that typical?

3) If I am able to contact his recruiter, is his recruiter allowed to tell me what his orders say?

4) What is the best and fastest way to acquire the items on the 3-page list of things he will apparently need for OCS?

5) Are we allowed to drive him from BCT Graduation to his car (POV) here in Atlanta, and then let him drive himself the rest of the way down to OCS? Or do we have to accompany him the entire way to OCS? I know that students going to AIT are not allowed to have a POV but that the rules are different for OCS, just not sure of the details?

Thank you!

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Aug 22 at 2019 7:28 PM

2019-08-22T19:28:27-04:00

Why don't you wait for him to go through the process?? 99.9% of your questions will be answered as part of the process. Sometimes the best thing you can do as a parent is let your child go and learn as they go. I get it, you're trying to be supportive but you're also putting the cart before the horse here. Let the process do it's thing.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 22 at 2019 8:24 PM

2019-08-22T20:24:03-04:00

I agree with my fellow NCOs. Your son will be squared away. His leadership will set him up for success and ensure he has everything he needs or will have time and resources to get whatever he needs. As far as the info....he will get that info and he will get the opportunity to get that info to you as well. Trust the process. Don't try to get him prepped ahead of time as you may end up wasting both time and money. I hope this helps.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 22 at 2019 8:25 PM

2019-08-22T20:25:09-04:00

1,3 No, 2 he will receive orders from BCT when he (if) graduates and will have a report date. 4 he should have a weekend pass to buy the required items for the packing list. 5 it is Commanders discretion how he gets there. Most the time they do not allow family members to drive them for liability reasons.

Source : Drill Sergeant at FT Benning

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 22 at 2019 8:30 PM

2019-08-22T20:30:31-04:00

Just let the Army process run its course. Your son will be provided with all required information he will need when he needs it. Also, if your son is going straight to Officer Candidate School right from Basic Training....now is the best time to allow him to take charge of his life and accomplish (or fail) tasks on his own. He isn't going to learn if others do his tasks for him.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Aug 22 at 2019 10:56 PM

2019-08-22T22:56:17-04:00

Patricia McIntosh-Mize Relax!

If your son cannot figure it out with the support available, he will fail!

That failure will reflect unfavorably on the Army and his upbringing.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Aug 23 at 2019 12:05 AM

2019-08-23T00:05:05-04:00

Your Son is in the process of becoming an Army Officer. He needs to figure this stuff out himself. There is a process where all this will work itself out. Let him focus on BCT.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Aug 23 at 2019 9:53 AM

2019-08-23T09:53:15-04:00

Patricia- As a naval officer obtaining my commission from the Academy, my experience was a little different, but I'd like to share a few things (as a parent) which I hope will help you put this chapter in your son's life in context, and possibly ease your concerns a bit.

To begin, I'd like to re-state what many her have already told you; let the process run its course. Success in the Military is about chewing one bite at a time...let him get through BCT (a challenge in it's own right), then worry about what happens next. The Army (in my experience, having worked alongside, and with them often) does a decent job of providing young Soldiers the information they need, and my guess is that upon graduation, he'll be handed a very specific set of orders, a packing list, and every instruction necessary to plan his movement to OCS.

Believe me when I say that this is going to be a challenge as well.

Your son is going to be trained to make decisions, very important ones, while under a great deal of stress. Confronting uncertainty, ambiguity, and confusion are all part and parcel of that skill set, and no matter how well he prepares, or how well you support him...I promise that he will encounter all of the above during his training. He will get in "trouble" during training...everyone does; for infractions as mundane as not putting on a piece of uniform "correctly", not following a command swiftly enough, leaving a lock undone (amirite, guys?) or for whatever arbitrary and contrived reasons the trainers can find to inject stress, fear, and chaos into the training environment. I once literally "lost" my right to enter my own bunk...and had to report to my Detailer to request permission each time (with the expected result of being "cycled" for some time before said permission was granted). Real trouble is easily avoidable enough; all he need do is obey the orders he's given, perform to the best of his ability, and while he won't have much free time, avoiding making decisions that run contrary to the Army values and regulations.

I would strenuously recommend against attempts to "figure the system out"; particularly through what we in the Navy call "gouge"; i.e., rumor, online information, etc. In the first place, things change often, and in the second, you don't want to unintentionally rob your son of the opportunity to learn how to navigate the ins and outs of his chosen career on his own. He will begin building a network, as early as BCT, and on into OCS, and later training (because there will likely be much, much more) that will follow him the next twenty years or more. People he will be training with today, may one day be soldiers in a unit he's commanding, or peers serving in the same capacity. He will begin building his reputation now...and believe me when I say that he is the best person to do so.

As a father, I know this is challenging for you, and want to thank you for asking these questions. It is important, you have the right, and I hope some of what I've said helps. The most important thing I can tell you is this...trust your son. What he needs now, more than anything, is self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-assurance. If God-forbid, some years from now, he is forced to make decisions under real circumstances, he may be the only resource he has...and the Army is going to find, hone, and perfect that ability within him.

God bless.

Response by MSG Frank Kapaun made Aug 23 at 2019 10:09 AM

2019-08-23T10:09:24-04:00

Lady, stop being a helicopter parent! Let him figure it out on his own.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Aug 23 at 2019 10:32 AM

2019-08-23T10:32:45-04:00

OK, I am an OCS Officer, although I came in from a unit rather than straight from Basic. I will confirm what the numerous and experienced NCO's here have said, don't sweat it. The Army has done this stuff a long time and they will lead him through the entry process and insure that he both has every thing he needs and has opportunity to acquire it. We were not allowed private vehicles when I was there, which has been several decades back, so transportation should be arranged for him from Jackson to Ft. Benning. Go watch him Graduate for BCT, give him a hug and then trust the Army to take care of getting him started at OCS. The finishing part will be up to him.
I will say that I detested OCS. I had to adopt the attitude that this was just a trial I had to endure to get where I wanted to go.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 23 at 2019 4:16 PM

2019-08-23T16:16:25-04:00

I drove my truck to OCS. The last part of the course gave us freedom to drive and take off on the weekends. Is there an army post nearby to purchase his things?