OCS - Marine Corp Covid Fail - Still Quarantining

[kinnem]

Can they not receive any deliveries?

+1 to above. Further, I don't think deliveries could even get on base and it's a good hike to get to the gate to meet them (if it's even allowed). I don't think there are any delivery places in Q-Town either. Damn, now I'm wanting some Bulgogi from My Deli.

 

[Dadof2]

@NDROTCDad92 - I hope this comes across the way I intend and does not offend you - As a parent of a current USMC 2LT who went through this, my best advice is do not dwell on these types of things. He will get through it and be fine. Almost everyone who went through OCS with my son a few years ago lost weight. A lot of what you will hear through OCS and beyond will sound crazy to you (as it did to me) but many have gone through this before your son and made it. The Marine Corps has been doing this for a long time, so even though individual things that you hear seem crazy the overall process works. Before you know it your son will have graduated OCS and will be extremely proud of his accomplishment.

Brace yourself, because there will be much more to come that will make you shake your head - TBS seemed way harder to me.

 

[Devil Doc]

The Marine Corps works in mysterious ways.

 

[Dckc88]

Everyone is in the same situation who are there, which is probably why they are doing it that way and not making allowances for the vaccine. My daughter is AD Army, and she said other than a few jobs (like SF) they are not requiring the vaccine but suggesting it strongly. She has another school coming up and because she is vaccinated she will not have to go on ROM prior to school. With summer ROTC training however, requiring a vaccine, or making different allowances based on vaccine status seems like at the least a logistics nightmare and at most a logistics impossibility. Bottom line is every cadet is in the same situation, with the same expectations, he will be fine and just one more ROTC cadet story, “remember the pandemic and when I had to quarantine in a hotel room and eat cold boxed lunches for food?”

 

[lipton_hot_tea]

That is a big no no. The quarantine is extremely strict on the Candidates and ordering food is prohibited probably because they do not want infection coming in from the outside. Just a note, a few Navy recruits in Great Lakes were quarantined and they ordered McDonalds that came in via Uber Eats. They posted the video to Social Media and Chain of Command found out, since then all the recruits lost their cell-phone privileges and do not have cell phones to use in their two week quarantine. Now they stare at each other in their rooms and sing "Anchors Aweigh" to kill time. Your quarter pounder ain't worth it.

No cards or chess? This is why children should learn to knit.

I think it was Dr Schweitzer (maybe) who said when he spent time as a political prisoner that the men who had spent time at sea seemed to cope the best.

I think this is torture for a mother.

 

[Devil Doc]

No cards or chess? This is why children should learn to knit.

I think it was Dr Schweitzer (maybe) who said when he spent time as a political prisoner that the men who had spent time at sea seemed to cope the best.

I think this is torture for a mother.

110 days is my longest at-sea period without pulling in. Not a record by any means but a long time nonetheless.

 

[trackandfield08]

Son just showed up OCS on Saturday. They are still quarantining the class for 14 days, as they didn‘t require the vaccination.

He is literally in BOQ room with a roommate and has not left the room since Saturday. He has had no hot food.......8 consecutive meals of boxed sandwiches. My son has to have TONS of calories in a day, and what he is getting to eat is not sufficient.

They haven‘t even been able to run, or do any cardio. ZERO options.

How can this branch, which prides itself on adaption, still be quarantining?

He has to have "tons of calories" because of a legitimate medical condition or he has to have them because that's what he's used to? The Marine Corps isn't going to let him starve. He'll adapt and overcome, it just may not be comfortable or high quality living. As others have said, it sounds like his first test of what it may be like to be a Marine and an officer.

I read another post that suggested your DS do push ups and planks, tell him to throw in some burpees, jump squats, jumping jacks, shadow boxing, high knees - get creative. It may not be the same cardio as a workout, but he has options. His cardio could be hurting a lot more if he ended up with COVID and, before it goes there, even a low probability based on age/fitness level still presents an opportunity (particularly when he is presumably mixed in with people from around the country).

I agree with @Dadof2. You don't have to like it, and I know that you probably came to this forum to vent, but he will get through this and it will eventually be a fun story to tell. The USMC has a responsibility to maintain personnel readiness to the maximum extent possible, and it sounds like quarantine is one of the steps in the process to doing that. In addition, the quarantine mitigates the possibility of instructors or other staff contracting COVID from any of the recruits and potentially passing it onto their family members or any other people they come in contact with. The decision to quarantine has far more implications for more people than just your son and the other candidates. Keep your head up and encourage your DS to stay positive, this time will soon be a distant memory.

 

[NDROTCDad92]

Oh, and to add to the complete quarantine “dysfunction”, the candidates were tested for Covid AFTER a they had roomed with a random candidate for over 36 hours. That makes NO sense at all. Just got off the phone with my MO roommate from college and he said “who is running OCS?” He was an instructor there 25 years ago.

His biggest issue was the food......come on Corps, you’ve had over a year to fix this. Yes, everyone has lost weight through OCS for years, but these guys are adding 2 more weeks........when in the end, it just hurts the overall training of Marines.