January 2009 ODS

Specialties Government

Published

I finally commissioned today as an Ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps! :yeah::anpom:

It's official now after signing my name about fifty times on fifty different forms. So I'm headed to ODS in January. Class starts January 4th. Anyone else going?

My Daughter was looking to go in Jan but she has no orders yet..Maybe Feb now.

MiltM

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Specializes in Neuro, Surgical, Trauma and ICU..
My Daughter was looking to go in Jan but she has no orders yet..Maybe Feb now.

MiltM

keep me updated. We may end up there together.

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Roger That!!

MiltM

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Specializes in Pediatrics: Neuro/Ortho/Trauma, Now ER.

For those who have gone to ODS....I hope you read this!!!

My flight arrives late saturday. Check in isn't until sunday. Will I have a place to sleep?! Or do I need to make my own arrangements?

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You should be fine. Just report to the quarterdeck and they will process you in.

MiltM

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Specializes in Neuro, Surgical, Trauma and ICU..
For those who have gone to ODS....I hope you read this!!!

My flight arrives late saturday. Check in isn't until sunday. Will I have a place to sleep?! Or do I need to make my own arrangements?

good luck!! let us know how everything goes.

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I graduated from the Nov 08 ODS class. Our orders told us to check in on Friday, but when we got to the quarterdeck, the Marine said we didn't need to be there until Sunday afternoon! That wasn't any fun! If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer any ODS ones...

-recent BSN and ODS graduate

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Hi Midwesterboy:

Thanks for that comeback. What did you do until Sunday?

MiltM

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Specializes in Neuro, Surgical, Trauma and ICU..

-recent BSN and ODS graduate

I heard from my recruiter yesterday she sent my packet to the boards but the reviewers said that my licensure verification came back incomplete. I have to follow up with my state licensure board to get it straightened out then I can be approved. She said everything else was good. :coollook::)

That puts me out for the february ODS class unless my state licensure moves quickly by next week. However I am kind of glad because I have been fearing Rhode Island in the winter. I'm straight stiff and run like a snail in the cold. Maybe by march it will be alittle warmer. Was it cold in November.

I do have some questions midwesternboy

1. How soon after you arrived did you all do the PT test?

2. Where is your first duty station?

3. Did you get your uniform before you went? I heard they changed the officer uniforms I am curious if we will wear the new uniform or old uniform at ODS. I am working hard to save the $$$ that I will need to take with me to purchase the uniform and I hate to spend all that $$ to go back and by some more uniforms.

4. Do you have any advice for future ODSers?

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MiltM,

I stayed at King Hall, the ODS housing, until the course started. There was a whole bunch of us who arrived early. It wasn't bad and my room was really warm.

recent BSN

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

Hey sassy sailor, will try to answer your questions here and the ones you PM'd me with. Supposedly I cannot send PMs as of today, I dont know what's up with that. But I can post here too.

I think that the time you do your PT test varies on the class, your chief and class officer. Our class was made up of two companies, but the class after us only had one company. We did almost all our PT and all our PFA (physical fitness assessment, which is the "test") with the other company. We did the PFA like four times, although the last one was the one that technically counted. The first one we did on like Friday of the first week. Of course that is the week that is the most "like" bootcamp, where you get dropped and do lots of pushups and situps and whatnot. So do not expect to get your best scores that first time. We didn't get to do the run that first time because it was crazy windy, so we did the whole thing again the next week! And then they threw in two more for the heck of it. It was kind of nice to see the scores improve in a short time, especially later on when you weren't sore from all the OTHER pushups and situps you did!

You asked me in the private message how long I had before reporting to my duty station. It all depends on where you are stationed and how you are planning on getting there. ODS ends on a Friday and you are expected to head to your duty station immediately after. Your orders will give you permission to delay in reporting, but it's on your leave time, which means if you aren't careful, you can go into negative leave. You earn 2.5 days of leave a month, so by the time you graduate ODS you have 2-3 days of leave. They will also give you days of travel to your duty station, which are "free" meaning they don't come out of your leave... but you only get those days if you are driving. If you fly, they only expect you to take one day to travel, so you are only given one day of travel time. And they are calculating the travel distance from Rhode Island, since that is technically where you are leaving from. There is a calculation on how many days you get. It is all based on mileage. From RI to Bethesda, MD, we got two days. I took those two days, and also took two days of leave, so that I could fly from RI to Florida, then drove up. They explain the whole mileage, travel, leave thing to you at ODS, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Unless you have someone who knows which uniforms to get, I would just wait until I get there. I waited and it was not a big deal. They put it all on a student account, which you have to pay down to like 700 or 800 dollars before you leave. The remaining balance you can put on a STAR card, which they will help you open if you don't have the money to just pay in full. Since I got an accession bonus, I didn't want to deal with the extra debt, so I paid in full. They will help you get all the required uniforms you need for ODS! The ladies at the shop in RI are amazing! Really nice, and really know their stuff. I showed up with nothing, and I got it all in RI. The class chief you have will sit down with you and show you how to wear your uniform as well. They understand that most of the people in your class are new to the military and don't know what the heck is going on. The senior chief for the other company was female and she even gave a lesson on how to wear your hair... which I didn't know before I went, so I cut it, but it was right on the border of being too long, so I used her tips to wear my hair in a bun, which is much easier to do! If you need the tips, let me know! Also, there were plenty of prior enlisted people who had commissioned and had to go to ODS too, so they were a great help in getting us ready for uniform inspections and how to do a really good spit shine on your shoes. Between prior enlisted and your class chief and officer, you will have good resources!

Be sure to bring a good COMBINATION lock with you. A few people had key locks and wore the key around their neck. When our chief found the nonapproved "jewelry" we all got dropped, and those few people were told to get combo locks. Work on memorizing the lock now, and put it into your head that you never, and I mean NEVER walk away from your locker unlocked. We spent a good 20 minutes in the sand pit (not fun) for a locker unlocked and had our rooms/hallway trashed both times it happened. The cheifs really like doing the trashing... don't give them the satisfaction. Since you have a trusty lock, I can also suggest that you bring a good amount of cash. You have to pay for your meals in the galley. Luckily it only costs about 10bucks a day, and there will be a money officer who pays for the whole company, but you do need to have the cash. For the first week, you are really restricted to the barracks, but for those who needed essentials our chief gave them permission.

But things I would bring, OR if you arrive before Sunday, you can buy these things at the NEX (Navy Exchange)

-Black Socks

-White undershirts, crew neck (for girls, I bought mine in the boys section and just bought large or extra large boys sizes)

-shampoo

-conditioner

-soap

-hair gel for girls and a heavy duty hair spray, as well as bands matching your hair color and barrettes (depending on hair length)

-two (TWO) towels ( i thought i would save on suitcase space and only bring one, which was hard on the days we went to the pool, because my towel was usually wet for either the pool or the shower later that night after a pool day... i wished I had two but was lazy to go buy another one!) and washclothes

-white athletic socks (i ended up buying crew ones once there because my ankle socks were too cold with the sweat pants)

-long johns (I also bought these in the boys section. I used them the last week under my khakis when doing watch duties... it was really cold! I don't know what it is like in RI for the winter. Dont wear them during an inspection, but if it's cold enough i'd do it otherwise)

-battery-operated alarm clock

-pens for notes

-cuticle scissors (worked best for cutting the little threads on your uniform)

-ruler (I didn't know what the ruler was for until I realized that everything is measured to the T on your uniform inspection.. i hated having to borrow others!)

-swiffer wipes (great for keeping your room, rack and locker clean)

That's all I can think about for now. I'll try to write more as I think of it. Keep the questions coming and I would be Happy to share with you my answers and experiences, since I just left there! I know I was seriously looking all over for answers before I left!

Good luck and congrats!

ENS Jordan

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Specializes in Neuro, Surgical, Trauma and ICU..

Thank you soo much for all the answers and information. I was trying to save the money for uniforms but it looks like one thing after another keeps coming up (i.e car tires, etc). I know I will have the money for the food but the uniform money keeps coming and going. I may try and save as much as I can then have to try and pay it off while i'm up there for the rest.

Thanks for the travel information. My first choice is Jacksonville or Pensacola. I just needed a day or two to move everything from atlanta to where ever I'm stationed. I read the horrific locker story I'm definatly getting my combo lock before I get there they aren't that expensive its worth it then getting my stuff trashed.

One more question. Unluckily I lost one of my running shoes last week and since have been using regular tennis shoes. DH was saying that maybe I should try these nike running shoes however when I priced them they were over $100. If I invest in them do the running shoes have to be a certain color, style, no style, etc. I just wanted to know before I buy some pink nike shox and then get there and get fussed @.

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