The Pressure Cooker: Forging Naval Officers Through Marine Leadership

By John Crouch

From 1947 until 1994, the Navy ran an officer training and commissioning program at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Outside the main academic building hung a wood sign with gold metal lettering. It read:

"Through These Doors Walk The Future Of Naval Aviation"

Between the covers of this book, A Marine Corps Drill Instructor presents a collection of stories, memories and recollections provided by now seasoned, U.S. Navy Officers.

240 stories are told with the same raw intensity as experienced decades earlier when the candidates were but young men and women trying to get past their Marine Drill Instructor to earn a commission that awaited them at the finish line.

The insults, threats and even rare moments of enthusiastic support are all here. You won't find examples of political correctness, generalizations or pulling punches in this book, or any coddling of the candidates; future naval aviators were prepared here, it was the most intense officer candidate school in the military.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329042704

Book preview

The Pressure Cooker: Forging Naval Officers Through Marine Leadership

The Pressure Cooker: Forging Naval Officers Through Marine Leadership

By John E. Crouch

Copyright © 2015 John E. Crouch

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2015

ISBN 978-1-329-04270-4

Publisher:  YUT!

4507 Point O Woods Dr.

Wesley Chapel, FL 33543

Distributer: LuLu, 2015

Cover Design by CDR Bill Hobgood, USN (Ret)

Original photograph was modified from USN photo posted at:  http://www.defense.gov/Media/Photo-gallery?igphoto=2001242833

Image file:  910072-Y-XKK13-455.jpg

Cover photo taken Feb. 22, 2005 by an unknown photographer for the USN.  Cover image modified by CDR Bill Hobgood.

DEDICATED TO

The AOCS Marine Corps Drill Instructors and the Navy Leadership who supported them and their methods for making some of the finest leaders known to the world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are so many people to thank for the development of this book. 

First, I would like to thank my wife Mary who lost an immense amount of quality time with me while I worked on the book for four years. This is a debt that can never be repaid.

First Sergeant Rodger Thixton who granted me access to the closed group on Facebook, AOCS Alumni.  Through this group I garnered the bulk of the stories from the Officers and Drill Instructors who made up the AOCS program.

Commander Bill Hobgood, AVROC Class 841-68 whose gift of graphic arts design and writing designed the cover for this book.

Captain Richard Bill Dickson, AOCS Class 33-63 who provided much insight into the history of the program spanning several decades.

Captain Vann Goodloe, NAVCAD Class 36-61 for his contribution of writing the story of the merging of AOCS and Navy OCS in 1994 and the backstory of how it occurred.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Jerry W. Holtry who served as Batt-1 NCOIC and Drill Instructor and later returned as Chief Drill Instructor in 1996 - 2000 during my own tour at Navy OCS.  His story telling of his glory days at AOCS planted a seed of telling the story of this program.

Joy Stone Emmanuel, owner of Stones Studio in Pensacola who gave me 27 plus years of AOCS and Navy OCS class graduation and drill instructor team photographs and negatives. In 2013, the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola accepted my AOCS and Navy OCS archives of photographs and negatives for their research library.

INTRODUCTION

In this marvelous book, John Crouch, has created nothing less than a time capsule for those of us who experienced Marine Drill Instructor training in Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at Pensacola. My time was the broiling summer of 1965. First Sergeant Crouch has taken me back to the point where I once again can feel the searing heat of the pavement on the grinder, the torture of the obstacle course and the shear terror of bringing the DIs wrath down on me personally. It was the best possible training anyone could receive in making the transition from civilian life to that of a military officer.

No one who has experienced AOCS will ever forget that first appearance of their DI in the Indoctrination Barracks. Ramrod straight, glistening shoes and brass, a voice like thunder...pure terror personified. I remember it today with a smile but back then in June 1965 all I could think of was what have I gotten myself into.  In my opinion disbanding AOCS at Pensacola and the marvelous training the DIs provided us there was one of the biggest mistakes our Navy leadership ever made.

My sincere thanks to John for his many years of work to bring this book about AOCS to publication, it has taken me and so many others back to some of the very best days of our lives. Thanks First Sergeant!

* Vice Admiral Mike Bowman - AOCS Class 23-65

FOREWORD

When John Crouch asked me to write the foreword for this book I was indeed honored and gave a great deal of thought as to what I would say. The Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) was in my opinion the best program the Navy ever had in preparing individuals to become Officers and Aviators in the Navy and the Marine Corps. I feel that I can say this since I went through the program as an AOC, later returned to serve as a Class Officer and later again became the Commanding Officer. As far as I know, I am the only individual to have served in all three positions.

The Navy and the Marine Corps started the AOC program as a means of Commissioning people faster than the four years required at the Naval Academy or through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Command (NROTC) program. This was especially important during time of war. Initially, the program consisted of candidates with a college degree (AOC’s) and Naval Cadets (NAVCADS) and Marine Cadets (MARCADS) who had two years of college. The AOC’s were commissioned at the end of the 16 weeks while the NAVCADS and MARCADS were not commissioned until they received their Wings of Gold. The NAVCAD and MARCAD programs were later phased out and only the AOC program remained. The heart and soul of the program were the Marine Drill Instructors (DIs). Anyone who ever went through the program remembers their Drill Instructor – They may not remember anyone else but they remember their DI.

I went through the program as an AOC in 1963, Sergeant Perkins was my DI and while I had a great deal of respect for Sergeant Perkins, it was in 1968 when I returned as a Lieutenant and became a Class Officer and Officer-In-Charge of Battalion Three that I truly learned to admire the job the Drill Instructors do. The Drill Instructors job was to take civilian individuals and in 16 weeks develop them into Naval & Marine Corps officers who would be successful military leaders. Additionally it was to prepare them for a future in military aviation by stressing attention to detail and teamwork. The DIs were hand picked by the Marine Corps because the Marine Corps knew they would be dealing with future military officers and the Drill Instructors did their jobs superbly. The head of the Military Department at AOCS while I was a Class Officer was Major Stephen W. Pless who was a Medal of Honor recipient in Vietnam. Unfortunately, he was later killed in a motorcycle accident in Pensacola, FL.

In 1988 while serving as the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola, I received a Call from RADM Morris informing me that I would be taking over as Commanding Officer of Naval Aviation Schools Command of which AOCS was a part. So on June 29, 1988 I came full circle from being a candidate in AOCS to becoming the Commanding Officer. As I told John Crouch, I have seen the AOCS program from all angles and I can assure you it was a superb program. I truly believe that anyone who went through the AOCS program would tell you that they learned more about themselves during those 16 weeks than anytime in their lifetime and based on what they learned allowed them to be successful in life.

In fact I remember the numerous conversations I had with parents of the young men and women at the Hi Mom's event the night prior to graduation and how pleasantly surprised they were in the wonderful changes that had occurred in their son or daughter during the past 16 weeks. Certainly the DI played a major role in that change. In fact, when I was C.O. of the NASC one of the DIs; First Sergeant Carlton W. Kent went on to become the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps and another; Gunnery Sergeant Carlton A. Matthews became the Police Chief at NAS Pensacola.

I am proud of the fact that I graduated from AOCS and that I later had the opportunity to have a positive impact on the men and women who went thru the program. It is of interest that I had the pleasure of commissioning Capt. Keith Hoskins, USN the present C.O. of NAS Pensacola prior to my retirement. He is also a former Blue Angel Pilot.

Although I retired prior to the Navy’s decision to move the AOCS program from Naval Aviation Schools Command to Newport, R.I., which I still think was a major mistake, I am glad that they retained the Marine Drill Instructors as part of the program.

I want to commend John Crouch for putting this book together and hope he has much success with it.

* Captain James W. Bill Dickson - AOCS Class 33-63

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR

The best kept secret in the world of the Marine Corps Drill Instructor (DI) was assignment to NAS Pensacola Florida to transform Naval Officer candidates into self confident, aggressive men and women who had been tempered by the emotional blows of the Drill Instructors and their bodies hardened by a rigorous physical training program with quick tempered DIs administering unending brutal Physical Training (PT) sessions to test the commitment of the candidates to the Navy. The option to quit the program was always immediately available by simply stating, Sir, this officer candidate requests to DOR and immediately the pain and harassment ceases and the candidate is removed from the training program.

Assignment to AOCS for DIs meant the freedom to be as creative as they wanted to in administering discipline to get desired results.  The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was paper thin in comparison to the 3" thick SOP for enlisted Marine recruit training and the chain of command at AOCS was very supportive of their methods of creating controlled, artificial stress, testing the commitment of the candidates as the DIs used every tool in their tool box of leadership to separate the wheat from the chaff to end up with the best possible officer to invest the worlds premier aviation training program into.  Not all of the candidates at AOCS intended to become pilots, many were to be in aviation supportive roles, others desiring to be pilots would learn they were not physically or academically qualified but would be placed in other career fields, mostly aviation related occupations.

Every Drill Instructor whom I have spoken to regarding their assignment to NAS Pensacola to either AOCS or the later hybrid Navy OCS program [Merging of AOCS and Navy OCS] has said it was the best tour of their career and it wasn’t necessarily the weather or the recreation that made it so, it was the mission and the ability to accomplish the mission with the most accommodating rules of engagement in how the DIs developed discipline and esprit de corps.

It wasn’t always that way though, it took a couple generations of AOCS program development to reach that crescendo of intensity.  The assignment of Marine Drill Instructors to Pensacola started in 1947.  In the early years the DIs were forbidden from having any discussions about Marine Corps life.  They were also told they could not use profanity or coarse language toward the officer candidates because they would soon become Ensigns or Second Lieutenant’s in the Navy or Marine Corps.  In the early years of the program the relationship between DIs and candidates was more like that of mentor and student such as within the ROTC program rather than the intimidating persona known as the Marine Corps Drill Instructor of present day.

In the early 1960’s there was a significant pendulum swing in ideology of how to train the candidates. The intensity of the program shot upward rapidly and the typical DI persona from the two enlisted Marine Corps boot camps became commonplace to the AOCS program.

I am sure that if you were to take any AOCS candidate from the very early 1960’s or earlier and place them in a later decade at AOCS, chances are they would not recognize the program too much in regards to the conduct of the Marine Drill Instructor as you will notice when reading the stories within this book.

NAS Pensacola is the cradle of aviation going back to 1914 when the first Naval Air Station was designated there.  During WWII the Marine 2nd Lieutenants received additional mentoring by the Marine Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) and Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCO) assigned to maintain the training aircraft used by the Marine Lieutenants.  The Marine Corps wanted to ensure their 2nd Lieutenants received continuity training in the art of leadership and the Marine Corps fundamentals of close order drill and discipline.  The performance of the typical Marine 2nd Lieutenant was much higher than that of the Navy Ensigns in the aviation-training program to earn their aviator wings. Upon close examination it was determined the additional mentoring by the NCOs and SNCOs contributed significantly to the Marine Lieutenants self-confidence and success.

During the military drawdown in post World War II, with significant cuts in personnel staffing for each branch of our military the Navy presented the Marine Corps with a very generous offer. If the Marine Corps sent a few of their best NCOs and SNCOs to mentor and train the Naval Cadets in military indoctrination called Pre Flight then the Navy would release the Marine Corps from the requirement to provide aircraft mechanics to maintain the training aircraft used by the Marine Corps student pilots.  This was a huge incentive for the Marine Corps to not allocate a couple hundred mechanics to support aircraft operations in exchange for a handful of top notch Marines to indoctrinate their future officers, allowing the Marine Corps to better use those Marines elsewhere or swap them out for other, more essential jobs in the Marine Corps.

From 1947 to 1994 DIs were the only enlisted personnel to mentor and train the future Naval Aviators in their Officer Candidate School at NAS Pensacola.

Commissioning paths:

1935 – 1968, the only program that existed was Naval Cadet (NavCad). Most had some college but were required to attain their bachelor’s degree by year seven.  The program had many tweaks over the years regarding program requirements.  Prior to the Marine Cadet program (MarCad) a NavCad who declared USMC designation would wear the Marine Corps Emblem on their uniform throughout training however all candidates had the pleasure to declare USMC or USN at any point in their training.

1955 - 1994 a second type of candidate arrived for basic officer training called Aviation Officer Candidate (AOC).  AOC’s had already acquired a four-year degree and would be commissioned upon graduation.  This is when the term AOCS (Aviation Officer Candidate School) came into use.  The NavCad program was kept and integrated into the AOCS program, however the NAVCADS would not receive a commission upon graduation until they met both the flying requirements and the college requirements.

1959 – 1968, a new program for the Marine Corps was added, the MarCad (Marine Cadet).  Like the NavCad, a MarCad would not be commissioned at graduation until later when they earned their wings and achieved the minimum required college education. The majority of the MARCADS ended up in the helicopter community.

1975, women were finally allowed to attend AOCS.  The first class that included women graduated on February 18th, 1975.  They were Sue Ann Mason, Barbara C. Habedank, and Patricia Welling.

In 1986 – 1993, the NavCad program was activated again to meet the recruiting needs of the Navy.

AVROC (Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate) was a program for a split training program over two summers. Candidates would attend for an average of six to eight weeks and then return within two years for their second half of AOCS training, joining a class already in progress.

Warning Order:  I gave great thought to the decision if I should include profanity.  I decided to keep the profanity.  To remove it completely or sanitize the stories with suggestive or incomplete words like Sh__ vs. Shit would be tantamount to whitewashing the intensity of the program and insulting to those who attended AOCS and successfully dealt with the adversity of the DIs. Many stories were submitted to me that used incomplete profane words; I completed the words to keep the authenticity of the experience and establish a consistency in the writing style so the book would flow well.  Just because the profane word is spelled does not make it any more profane than if you are reading the suggested or incomplete profane word which always results in the reader having silently pronounced the word in their head as it was read anyway.

AOCS was an extremely intense program, in my opinion the most intense officer commissioning program in the world and much more intense than enlisted Marine boot camp or Marine OCS.  There is a good story in this book comparing the three programs from Commander John Owens of AOCS class 19-84 who attended all three entry level programs; the story is titled 1984 – Which was harder, Marine Boot Camp, Marine OCS or AOCS?

If AOCS was still an active program I would be very hesitant to write this book because I would not want to risk ruining a good thing for the Drill Instructors who would hopefully still be training with little restraint or oppression from the chain of command in their pursuit of ensuring only the good one’s with potential earned a commission.

For you readers who were never exposed to such an intense program, I can understand your concerns of, has embellishment run amuck in these stories? I assure you; it really was that intense of a commissioning program.  I did my third tour as a DI at the newly merged AOCS and Navy OCS commissioning program at NAS Pensacola from 1996 – 1998.  It was the most enjoyable two years in my career, training candidates with little to no interference from the chain of command and doing my best to only let the good one’s make it to the end made it a most rewarding tour of duty. 

AOCS was never intended to be exclusively an academic program.  Yes, the academics were tough, but it was also a gut check and a test of ones commitment to the program to ensure only the best received the high quality training that lay ahead after graduation. Naval aviation is one of the most competitive arenas known to man.  Each seasoned officer seems cut from the same cloth, 2nd place is known as 1st place loser. All that matters is you moved forward without hesitation and full of aggressive confidence that you shall rule the day; you learned to handle fear of the unknown because your whole career to this point has been compartmentalizing stressful events and addressing them with the hardened nerves of a Warrior.

Where did this competitive culture begin its incubation?  At AOCS, that's where. At AOCS everything was done with a competitive zeal, whether it was competing against the standards, against your fellow candidates, your class against other classes and your Batt (Battalion) against other Batt's; AOCS was not an academic based program of attendance.  No sir! It was a pressure cooker of challenges:

To the psyche...Am I a good fit for the applied stresses of this program?

To the heart...I think my heart is going to burst from this PT!

To the brain...Is it really possible to memorize one more thing and recall it under stress?

When it came time to assemble the several hundred stories I felt the best choice was to place them chronologically by year starting with the earliest story submitted. I did this for two reasons:

Former candidates are going to want to immediately read the stories of their generation experiencing AOCS and then compare and contrast against the other generations of AOCs.

I want the reader to understand the gradual changes that occurred over the years, it seems that for every change that did occur, something else never did change and was a consistent experience to be savored by each generation of candidates such as:

Room/locker/personnel inspections (RLP)

The shock of the first week of military indoctrination (INDOC)

Endless incentive PT (unscheduled PT to correct deficiencies)

The constant testing of one's commitment to the Navy

Enjoy this book; I sure as hell enjoyed putting it together for you!

* 1stSgt John E. Crouch, USMC, Ret.

LT - Sign that all candidates marched past daily to and from academics.  (Photo courtesy of Rich Fite, AOCS Class 40-85)

AOCS Class Chief Petty Officer Stories

...and the best part Gunny, there weren’t any CHIEFS at AOCS!!!!!!

* MGYSGT Jerry W. Holtry - USMC, (1984 - 1987)

Context:  Either in personal conversation at the time or 15 years later via e-mails, the above quote was often infused into the ending of another AOCS story having been told by MGYSGT Holtry. 

AOCS never had Chief Petty Officers (CPO's) as part of the cadre of instructors; it was a Marine show with a few class officers from the Navy and occasionally a couple from the Marine Corps.  When GYSGT Holtry returned as a MGYSGT and the Chief Drill Instructor to the recently merged programs (AOCS and Navy OCS) he had to deal with the CPO's being part of the three-person class team of Class Officer, Chief Petty Officer and Marine Drill Instructor. The addition of the CPO to the class team at Navy OCS was often fraught with much frustration due to the institutional differences of the two-service branches -John Crouch.

THE VOICE I SHALL NEVER FORGET

How is it possible that a person who only had four months in your life can leave such an indelible imprint on your psyche that you mimic his mannerisms and after decades with no contact can still remember his voice with perfect pitch and if you heard it for the first time in decades, the hair on your neck stands erect at attention and you are immediately covered with goose bumps and feel a fast moving flow of warmth all over?

I remember when I attended Drill Instructor School; the First Sergeant said something similar to this:

"These recruits you train, they won't forget you. In fact, when your recruits lay on their deathbed in about sixty years they will still remember your face and your unique voice with such clarity that it will seem as though you are standing at his side.

Because of your professionalism they will study your every motion. Because of the fear and trepidation they have of you, your voice will be indelibly imprinted into their memory of things that they should fear because of the danger associated with making a mistake. And by the time they near graduation they will realize how important you have become in their life and will cherish every spoken word you have shared with them. Only a few of them will ever have the chance to speak to you again as your careers cross paths but you have always been with them when they are on hard times, feeling sorry for themselves, it is then they will remember your voice and the words you spoke and how nothing is as tough as living up to your expectations.

When they celebrate their career achievements long after they have left your authority they will think of you and how special it would have been for them if you were there to bear witness as a guest. And when they are reminiscing with friends and family of their time in the military, you are spoken of often and reverently. They are proud to have survived the challenges you gave them, you allowed each of them to measure their self against a standard, a very high standard. You are the man they will never forget!"

When I first heard this speech I was somewhat doubtful of the alleged truth it was to bestow. I had only been away from my own four Drill Instructors seven years but I wanted to trust what I was just told as gospel so I tried to act accordingly during my years as a Drill Instructor. At my 25th anniversary of having graduated boot camp I went on an Internet search to find my Drill Instructors. Of the four DIs who trained me I was able to locate one of them. I had discovered that he retired in Colorado and there were six first and last name matches listed as living in that state. The first two calls definitely were not him but the third call went to a voice mail after a few rings. When the recorded greeting message began I immediately knew I had found my DI because the first word he spoke, the hair on my neck stood up, goose bumps covered me and my heart raced; I didn’t need to hear any additional words, I knew I had found my Drill Instructor. I left him a message and he returned my call the next day and we had a great conversation and have maintained contact ever since.

I realized my First Sergeant was correct, Marines and those trained by Marines will never forget the voice of their Drill Instructors. GYSGT Ronald L. Jennings voice, like the other three DIs who trained me shall never be forgotten.

I received a rather humorous story about a Naval Aviator who attended AOCS and was in class 45-66. He relates the following:

After commissioning from AOCS and finishing my primary flight school I had moved on to advanced flight training. I was now married and had a newborn. We rented a house in a four-unit condo. With the windows open and enjoying our dinner my wife and I heard a person shout Tevebaugh…get over here".

We both froze and looked at each other with big eyes. My wife had heard the stories I shared about my Drill Instructor, SGT Len Tevebaugh and she knew of the anxiety I still had regarding him. Upon investigation we found out that our neighbor was trained by the same Drill Instructor and he had named his new dog Tevebaugh. We had a good laugh about that one.

And now forty-five years later I can honestly say "I miss the sound of my Drill Instructor, Sergeant Len Tevebaugh’s voice.

I think the reason so many Marines and Navy Officers have been affected this way is because the sound of the voice of their Drill Instructor is not one that is deceitful but instead honest, sincere, and filled with passion and conviction in the pursuit of all things military. Yes, I miss those things very much.

*1stSgt John E. Crouch - USMC

Candidates Ron Mullis and Kirk Smith clowning around. (Photo courtesy of Kirk Smith, AOCS Classes 05-87 & 06-87)

MY FIRST 24 HOURS OF HELL - INDOC!

We were on our way to get that first haircut as part of Class 15-83, GYSGT James P. Washington's class. I was eyeballing Batt-I and GYSGT Robin Walker from up on the 2nd floor saw me look in that direction, SCROTUM HEAD, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND I'LL BE COMING FOR YOU. GYSGT Washington wanted to know whom it was that GYSGT Walker was talking to. I yelled out that it might have been this candidate. It was the first of many private PT sessions.

* LCDR Todd Strasser – AOCS Class 15-83

I have two indelible memories; all I remember about the first day was constantly being called from our rooms on the second deck to the quarterdeck by *SSGT Micheal A. Mikitis, seems like we never got to the quarterdeck fast enough to please him. The first thing the class learned was that being the last cadet down invited the good SSGTs personal attention and a round of push-ups. We also learned that being slow going down the staircase was a sure way to get run over by those behind you. [SSGT Mikitis was KIA in Viet Nam on 1/27/1968]

My fondest memory (yes, there was one and only one) was the Thursday night before we moved to our battalion the next day. The three bar Cadet Officer at INDOC was a MARCAD who entered Pre Flight from active duty USMC. He announced that all smokers were to report to a certain room in ten minutes. We didn't know what to expect but by then we knew that, despite the fact we had not smoked in almost two weeks, we better report if we were smokers. Once we were there he told us what a good INDOC group we had been and reached down into his sock, took out a pack of cigarettes and gave us each one. I still think that was the best cigarette I ever had.

* CAPT James C. Kennedy - AOCS Class 08-65

I remember checking in to INDOC and wondering if this was going to be similar to the Marines Receiving platoon for new recruits at MCRD Parris Island SC; I would soon learn that no, it wasn’t similar at all. A Candidate Officer who was about to be commissioned an Ensign later that week who was fresh out of college was in my face screaming at me to sound off. I think he couldn’t quite figure me out, one of those been there done that kind of guys. His buddy starts jumping in screaming into my other ear and I was enjoying this deep down because they must have been having a bad day. When it got to around 4 candidate officer's circling the wagon the Regimental Commander came into the space with a look of, what in the name of sweet Jesus is going on here?  He got the wolf pack at bay and was eyeballing me with that knowing look. Found out he too was a Marine graduate of Parris Island and he said under his breath, they are good guys. Let the games begin, along with a lot of PT.

* LCDR Tank Shireman - AOCS Class 19-85 & 21-85

I arrived at the gate of NAS Pensacola and they summoned me a ride to INDOC. I expected to arrive there, register in and be shown to a room and given a schedule for the next day's events. Instead, what I got was, UP AGAINST THE BULKHEAD, YOU DO KNOW WHAT A BULKHEAD IS DON'T YOU BOY, and lots of DON'T EYEBALL ME BOY! YOU, YOU, DO I LOOK LIKE A EWE TO YOU BOY?

Another INDOC memory, was our first assembling as a class, and the Drill Instructor telling us not to worry about Suzie back home, as she's already schtupping our best friend, and to keep our mind on the program!

Then there was the day we were getting our uniforms, we were coming outside and out onto a porch. Our Drill Instructor was alone on the grass facing us and started rocking back and forth on his heels and belted out, THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT GIRLS! (Women did not attend AOCS back in 1967) TAKE YOUR TIME. WE GOT ALL GODDAMN DAY!

* LTJG John Casoni - 20-67

My strongest memory of AOCS was my second summer as an AVROC driving through the gate. The wind must have been just right and I could smell those paper mill plants I hadn't smelled since I left the first time. It made every prior sensory recording return all at once. This must be a sample of what PTSD must be like. I thought I was going to throw up. Continuing the drive into base and reporting anyway may have been the bravest thing I ever did.

* LT Walker Hester - AVROC 08-79

I was responsible for our class’s first punishment PT. We had just gotten our 30-second head shaved haircut and we were about to go to Poopie Christmas where we got measured for uniforms, covers, etc. There was no sidewalk leading up to the entry door, only grass. As we marched over to that location, I was in the front right of the class, right next to SSGT Randy McQuigg as he called cadence.

None of us knew where we were going, or what was next, we just marched. We did a right face march along the sidewalk. No problem! But then he called out another right face march, wanting us to march up to the door over the grass. In my fevered mind, he was tricking us to walk on the grass, which we were not supposed to do probably, and then he would PT us for it. So, I hesitated going across the grass, the candidates behind me were all running into each other, totally screwing up the formation. SSGT McQuigg went ballistic and that was good for about 15 minutes of punishment PT.

I remember hearing CDR Mike Scully telling those of us in the Twilight Zone (Candidates awaiting to rejoin a class or be discharged) how different it was when he reported; I believe he said it was 1964 or so. He said he flew in from upstate NY, took a cab to the base, and as soon as he got out of the cab, DIs were all over him.

* AOC Bobby Lott - AOCS Class 31-83

I arrived at NAS Pensacola on Friday for a Tuesday, May 1st, 1973 start date, coming from NAVFAC Bermuda. I spent the weekend in the old Splinterville INDOC barracks. On Tuesday I collected my full sea bag and footlocker and made the hike to INDOC. I remember GYSGT Delaney standing at the top of the steps just shaking his head as I struggled to make it up the steps before he welcomed me to AOCS.

* LCDR Dwight Cardwell - AOCS Class 18-73

A college buddy and I showed up at INDOC a day early (big mistake!) When we walked in the front doors there were two Candidate Officers sitting at a small desk. They must have been waiting for us as they were very friendly and had two sign up sheets for us to fill out. The first one was to select what we wanted for dinner that evening at the 'O' Club, steak or lobster. As I recall I selected lobster. On the second sheet we selected what aircraft we wanted to go up in the next day for a fam-flight [familiarization flight]. I picked the F-14 of course! After that the nice Candidate Officers showed us to our room. From then on things went down hill very fast. The demeanor of the Candidate Officer changed very quickly and the next thing we knew we were doing push-ups and trying to make our racks properly. Several other candidates showed up early and we all had a nice night together!  Then the real fun started after a very brief night's sleep and the rest of the candidates began to trickle in. Oh, and of course I never had my lobster or the ride in the F-14. But then, I sort of thought that was never going to happen!

* CDR Glen Foster - AOCS Classes 03-73 & 05-73

A large percentage of AOCS Class 05-78 had been on the same NAVIP trip (Naval Aviation Very Important Prospect, a two day visit during which you got to see what you thought you were getting yourself into). We parked our cars at the seawall, and showed up en masse, even posting our own Road Guards, oh, excuse me, Road Hogs as we crossed the street between Batt-II and regiment. It felt pretty darn good…for about 30 seconds.

* LT Dave Space Cadet Scott – AOCS Class 05-78

In Feb 64' I drove down from northern NY in a 1949 Willy's Jeepster not knowing how long it would take. Every fueling required oil too. Anyway I arrived on a Friday afternoon and drove by INDOC barracks. I tried to let them know I had arrived and would check in Sunday afternoon and started to leave when I heard, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING BOY!

Well, I was the only candidate in INDOC for a long time until the others came dribbling in Saturday and Sunday until we were filled up Sunday night. Since I was the old hand I was showing the others how to properly make a military rack. All of a sudden there was a huge racket in the back of the dorm, which sounded like a brawl, and the Drill Instructor came running in and I happened to follow him to find that a candidate had slashed both of his wrists. The Drill Instructor was going off high order until I said let me through I'm an ex Corpsman. I held Pressure Points on both his wrists till the ambulance arrived and also all the way to the dispensary. I finally got back to INDOC covered in blood to find a very grateful Drill Instructor and Candidate Officers. Somehow it seemed like I didn't get harassed as much as the others for the rest of INDOC. I was in class 08-64 and we were assigned two Vietnamese cadets. One was my roommate, P. T. Quan. Batt-II and Batt-III were in Splinterville and Batt-I was where the Air Crew barracks are now.

* CAPT Michael Scully - AOCS Class 08-64

GYSGT Hudson yelling in my face, Outboard over inboard boy! When I had no idea what the hell he meant...later I would learn it was how I laced my shoelaces.

* LTCOL (USAF) Jim Molinari - AOCS Class 13-90

I remember sometime that first morning of INDOC, GySgt Jones came into our room and picked up someone's pillow and a retainer falls out and onto the floor. He looks at it, laughs, and stomps on it with his boot!  That is when I realized that this shit was for real!

* CDR Eric Milstein - AVROC Classes 29-87 & 23-88

I can still remember that after lights out we would sneak into the head to finish polishing our brass and spit shine our shoes. We had four candidates to an INDOC room. The next morning we would have an inspection and Gunny Montemeyer came in and looked at our shoes that we had worked on for hours and he would throw them on the deck as he said LADD, YOUR SHOES LOOK LIKE SHIT, GET OUT (to the passageway) AND GIVE ME 45 PUSH-UPS!

* John Donnee - AOCS Class

I may have been the first of my class to check in around noon on Sunday as a first summer 1968 AVROC. The Drill Instructor helped me carry my tennis racket and held my Madras Sport Coat while climbing the front steps until I signed in - then all hell broke loose. There may have been 10 of them, or maybe just 2 or 3 moving very fast and in my face. I quickly learned how to brace, sound off, and all about eyeballing. At first I thought it was a joke, but that thought didn't last very long. I was finally marched to my room where I was told I had better learn the Navy chain of command and Eleven General Orders of Sentry from a book that was just pounded into my chest to receive. When I was left alone, I was seething at my older brother who attended AOCS in 1966 who was now flying Navy helicopters in Viet Nam for setting me up without any warning whatsoever. The rest of the day was a lot of yelling and meeting my three other shell-shocked roommates. That night was hell running up and down stairs (ladder) to and from a classroom until about midnight for lights out. At 4 A.M. we were called out to P.T. in a thunderstorm, then sent back to bed for an hour, then Reveille again shortly after we fell asleep. The rest of INDOC is a blur of quick shaves with a double edged razor, haircuts, P.T., marching, making a rack, folding clothes, attention to detail, shining shoes and brass, and trying my best to be invisible.

* LT Denis Waldron - AVROC - yrs. 1968 & 1970

We marched across the street shortly after the 0500 trashcan reveille. It's still zero dark thirty and I'm on my back in the grass under the F4-Phantom sweating like a pig after being PT'd for the last hour or so. SSGT William Wild Bill Carney is teaching us (Class 40-85) how to do leg lifts. He is walking amongst us hurling insults at us, just as he passed me I hear him say to a candidate a near me, GET YOUR LEGS TOGETHER BOY. THIS AIN'T CALIGULA!

I was smart enough to suppress it, but not even an hour into my AOCS experience and I already had my first laugh.

* LTCOL (USAF) Carl Oesterle - AOCS Class 40-85

My memories of that first 24 hours are, when I walked through the door I had several candidate officers screaming at me....HEELS TOGETHER, FEET AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE, SHOULDERS BACK, FOUR INCHES FROM THE BULKHEAD CANDIDATE!  First, I didn't know what a bulkhead was. There was a couple of 3-bars and one 4-bar rank insignia wearing candidates but I didn't know what a candidate officer was and I thought these guys were real officers. I couldn't figure out the rank but I guessed the 4-bar must be a LCDR or something. This was my first exposure to the military and I thought this must be what the rest of my life was going to be like followed by the thought, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?

When I finally got to my assigned room a few Candidate Officers went through my personal stuff looking for contraband. I knew I wouldn't be going to the store any time soon so one of the things I had brought was this giant-sized bottle of Scope mouthwash. After giving me a load of shit about that they threw it in the trash. That night it was sweltering hot and we slept with the windows open, which didn't help anyone fall asleep. I don't think I slept at all that night and then the sound of the trashcan getting kicked down the passageway with screams of, GET ON LINE! And then the real fun started!  What I wouldn't give to do it all over again though.

* Brian Cyphert – AOCS Class 41-85

My most vivid early memory of AOCS Class 13-85 under the charge of GYSGT Washington USMC (though I'm not sure it happened in the first 24hours) was our first haircut. Amongst our 70 or 80 bodies at the start was Matt Woodside (Currently a Captain); Matt had spent some part of his time right before checking in to AOCS backpacking thru New Zealand, and I believe his long flowing red locks had the same effect on GYSGT Washington as the red bullfighter's cape has on the bull. We marched over to the barber shop, held in formation at the foot of the steps, and Matt was culled from the mob, brought to the top of the stairs, told to 'about face and face the class’, while GYSGT Washington said something to the effect of:

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO DOR BEFORE WE SHAVE ALL THOSE PRETTY GOLDILOCKS AND MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A PRISON INMATE BEFORE WE SEND YOU BACK HOME TO SUZY Q. YOU SHOULD DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND JUST QUIT NOW.

I remember thinking, oh man, my hair and I’m glad that's not me up there.

When Matt answered the Gunny with sir, this candidate wants to be right here, sir! at the top of his lungs, I thought; now that guy is motivated!

In they went, and a little over a minute later, out they came. Matt was the perfect model of military bearing and resolve, transformed from a nameless slimy civilian into Aviation Officer Candidate Woodside.

GYSGT Washington was gleeful as he presented Matt to the class, saying, EYES UP HERE GIRLS--TAKE A GOOOOOOD LOOK. I WANT YOUR DOR OR WE'LL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A LIGHT BULB TOO.

I couldn't help but smile at the difference, and figured, what the hell...it's just hair, it'll grow back. I didn't see it happen, but I heard some weeks later as we were recounting that story that one member of the class toward the back of the line did actually DOR before going into the barbershop.

* CAPT Paul Haas - AOCS Class 13-85

I have a lot of great memories of AOCS class 21-82. I arrived there in outstanding physical condition because I was running 5-7 miles per day. I also did some sparring with a college buddy so I would be prepared for the boxing I had heard about. One of my fondest memories is meeting GYGST Goforth, USMC for the first time. He woke us up with the traditional 0500 trashcan tumbling down the passageway after a sleepless night. I thought his voice sounded like a monster's. We lay on top of our racks that night with our Poopie suits on and our shoes tied so we got on line pretty quickly when we heard his yelling and screaming. There were approximately 55 of us and when we lined up for the first time and I was number 27 or 28, I was right in front of where GYSGT Goforth was barking out commands. He treated us to the usual ON YOUR FACE!  TOO SLOW, GET BACK!  ON YOUR FACE, PUSH-UPS BEGIN!  YOU'RE NOT TOGETHER, LADIES!  FEET, BACK, BELLIES! for 30 minutes or so when he asked me WHAT'S YOUR NAME, BOY? with the brim of his Drill Instructor cover bumping against the bridge of my nose.

I nervously cried out Sir, Mark Trembly, Sir, Forgetting to include Aviation Officer Candidate. Naturally, he lit into me with Well?  Well?  Are you an Admiral, boy?"

Later on, with all of us panting, I was worried that he would see me shaking so I locked my knees. I recall seeing my vision go to a pinpoint and I fell forward towards the deck. Apparently GYGST Goforth caught me with one hand so I avoided a face plant. Seeing this scared my classmates who thought, Oh crap!  The running guy is down!  What is going to happen to me?  I came to with him opening my shirt and hearing him yell, YOU, CALL AN AMBULANCE!, I presume to one of the Candidate Officers. I responded by yelling out Sir, this candidate is ok sir! from a position of attention on my back. He replied, GET UP AND DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!

Later that morning we were getting PT'd in the grass because one guy turned left when we were told to right face. I happened to be doing leg lifts with my neck right on top of an anthill. I tried to slap them off and some Candidate Officers joined in by hitting me on my face and neck in an effort to get the ants off me. One of my shipmates told me later that he thought, Man, that guy passed out earlier and now they are beating the crap out of him!

My other memory of that morning is that GYSGT Goforth couldn't get Candidate Steve Olson (a collegiate wrestler from Minnesota?) to fall on his chest when doing push-ups. When the rest of us had failed, Olson kept going.

* LCDR Mark Trembly - AOCS Class 21-82

I recall the Candy-O's really emphasizing the basics of close order drill and sounding off LOUDLY to the class. They seemed to be going out of the way to tell us, JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR DRILL INSTRUCTOR HAS TO CORRECT YOU!  We are all on line in the narrow passageway outside the rooms and GYSGT Crenshaw appears out of friggin nowhere, gives the command to count off. The first candidate has no clue and we all immediately get dropped right there to start pushing. There is not enough room to do a correct push-up or leg lifters so we look like a giant turned up 100-leg centipede flailing on a