Howdy folks!

I am in the process of transferring from the Navy Reserve to the Army NG to go through an OCS program. Prior to OCS I have to go through Army basic training. My question is pretty straight forward, what should I, an E-4, expect as prior service going through basic training again? I have a pretty clear idea in my mind at this point and it involves being put in charge of the (platoon? company?) as happened to the unluckiest recruit in the room at Navy basic training (except we called the position to Recruit Petty Officer in Charge and they wore an chief's anchor on one collar to represent this, R-POC for short) and a lot of EMI when someone else screws up. Am I pretty close? Also, I have a list of supplies to bring, am I actually supposed to bring these things? The Navy handed me a similar list but first thing we did when I arrived was throw all that stuff in a box to be mailed home and then be issued an entire seabag, which we had the privilege of paying for.

Also, I've spent months on field exercises with the Seabees, have my Seabee Combat Warfare (SCW) pin, a deployment to Afghanistan under my belt, pistol and rifle quals, is there really anything new to be expected from Army basic or am I looking at 10 easy weeks with regular yelling and unexpected opportunities to do PT? I only say easy because I think most people here will agree that basic training, although a shock to the system for the uninitiated, was overall the easiest thing they've done in the military. Sure as hell seems to be the case for me.

It depends, where are you going for basic? Also, if you're going to OCS afterwards I would expect you to embrace the leadership opportunity instead of thinking of taking it easy. Your vast experience with the Seabees should prevent the smoke sessions when others screw up because you will have squared them away, right?

Lose the chip, it's not gonna help...

I think you misread my tone, I'm not trying to be dismissive, nor do I have a chip on my shoulder. While I do not intend to take it easy at basic, I call it "10 easy weeks" simply because most of the stuff will be refresher for me, not a first time experience. There's a huge difference between learning how to ride a bicycle, and getting back on a bike after a couple years without having used anything other than a stationary bike at the gym. Created this thread so I can get feedback on what I should expect to run into that I maybe haven't encountered before. As for location, I should find out next week when my release comes through and I head down to MEPS, I'm hoping for Leonard Wood because our unit used to do mini-FEX's there so I'm familiar with the base.

I can tell you that if you're doing OCS then you will almost certainly be going to Benning.

That means no females. That means largely infantry and armor drill sergeants that are most likely multiple tour vets from both Iraq and Afghanistan. The job of an engineer and that of a grunt is fundamentally different. Army basic is nothing more than to make you a basic rifleman. Our vernacular is different as well as our mindset than that of the navy. You will do a lot of walking with weight. You will run a lot. You will do more walking with weight. As far as challenging...some things might be. But leave that for the 18 year olds. You need to be taking the lead and showing the other recruits what right looks like. Basic will likely be pretty easy....now OCS on the other hand....not quite.....

I really do not know what to think of OCS through the National Guard, from what I can tell, it's comes down to two AT's and 18 months of drill. I am hoping to get into the accelerated OCS program which is an actual 13 week (approximate) training period because the idea of stretching this out to two years seems un-necessary. I chose OCS because I do not feel personally prepared to be an officer today, so I turned down a direct commission. It's like building a house, if the foundation is messed up, it does not matter how tall or strong the rest of the building is, it'll all come crashing down at some point. OCS may take longer than a direct commission (as a direct commission would not involve basic or the OCS program) but I believe that OCS will be a great learning experience.