16. Personal Tips to Prepare You For Plebe Summer (Boot Camp, OCS, or ODS)

You've just committed to the most challenging, exciting, intimidating career-path of your life: the Navy.  Now that you've committed + enlisted, you've comissioned + are heading to ODS, maybe you're selected for an Officer program + on your way to OCS, or maybe you're heading to the most incredible University in the country (I'm not bias), The US Naval Academy--now how do you prepare?! That's right, you have to PREPARE before you ever arrive. Signing the dotted line + committing was the hardest part, but from this point forward, it doesn't exactly get easier. YOU chose to challenge yourself, you CHOSE to set yourself up for a better life. So now, you've got to take the heat if or get out of the kitchen (or insert another navy metaphor). You absolutely MUST start preparing for boot camp, plebe summer, Officer Candidate School (OCS), or Officer Development School (ODS) or the culture shock will have you floored + worse, acting like a "civilian" upon arrival. In this episode, I'm laying out what you need to know. I'm consistently asked: how do I prepare for Plebe Summer? How do I prepare for boot camp? So I wanted to recap a few of my tips + list your priorities before you ever step foot in a Navy installation. I graduated from the Naval Academy so our plebe summer (our version of boot camp) is different that OCS, ODS, or boot camp -- but I've worked as a recruiter for the last 4 years + the concept of becoming a sailor and Officer is still the same. You need to focus on what will make you an asset to the Navy + uphold our core values of honor, courage, + commitment.  Like this episode? Follow me at @missunderstood.podcast for epsiodes, updates, + more.  For more information on the Navy, check out my IG at @lieutenanthall or www.navy.com. For information on USNA, check out the Naval Academy admissions page.