Life as a Wife during Army OCS - Part I

Please be prepared as this might be a long post since Army Officer Candidate School is 12 weeks long.

Before my husband left for OCS (he was college op) we rented our house out in western Colorado. He left in early November of 2009 for OCS and I drove out to live in Columbus, GA the beginning of December. We wanted to be together if he had weekends or evenings off. This worked out really well for us. I was also committed to being a part of the Family Readiness Group. I was lucky enough to be pinned by the Battalion commanders' wife at the final social. It was so special to get to talk to her and I learned so many things. I got an apartment off of exit 10 in Columbus. His company got 2 weeks off for Christmas exodus and that was great. Two weeks after that was the branching ceremony. Wives - this is a decision you need to be aware of. How your husband branches determines many things so please ask questions. They get to choose based off of the Order of Merit list (OML).

After that they have the Senior Class Ceremony. This is early in the morning and should not be missed by a spouse if you are in the area. It is worth the drive and there is lots of pomp and circumstance. I was so proud of my husband and all of the other candidates. Bring your camera. They will have a covered awning for spouses and guests. The candidates leave directly after to go into the field so dont plan to hang out with your spouse.

The next two to three weeks are tough for the spouses and the candidates. The candidates are out in the field with limited cell phone access. Looking back the weeks did go by very quickly and they did get one weekend off. I had so much fun hearing about the time they spent in the field.