OCS tips and tricks
How to change your socks quickly on a hump, courtesy of Swiss. On humps (hikes/marches) you were required to change your socks during the short breaks.
Before the hump, take one pair of clean dry socks, put them on, pull them all the way up, and then roll them down so they look like little booties. Take socks off keeping bootie form. Put some foot powder in the socks. Put socks in a Ziplock. Store in an easy-access pouch of your pack.
When the time comes to change socks, you stick your foot in the bootie shaped sock and roll it back up your leg. At night this took me literally less than 60 secs to change both socks.
How to get on top of a rope to do a ranger crawl, courtesy of Kremlorn.
Start out facing the start of the rope with your back towards the end of the rope where you want to go. Then, put the rope under your right armpit. Take your left foot and hook the rope. You should now more or less be hanging off the rope with your left foot hooked around the rope and your armpit supporting your weight. Your right foot should be hanging free. The key to getting on top is using your right foot. Lift your right foot into the air and violently swing it down and towards the left side of your body. The momentum from that action should roll your body over on top of the rope.
How to make a name stencil for OCS, courtesy of MasterHaynes86.
Go to a local Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples and have them do this:
Page setup: landscape
Font = stencil
1 inch = 108
1/2 in = 53Type your last name in all caps in each size with about 2 inches in between them (example)
Have it printed on white, 65-110lb stock (65 is optimal) paper
Now take a blade (Exacto knife) and cut the letters out carefully
Return to office supply store and get the thinnest laminate possible on it (3mm is amazing, flexible, and strong. 5mm laminate is stronger but much tougher to cut. Perforating it with a blade makes cutting it easier.)
Re-cut out the letters carefully
Total cost: $4
Time: about 2hrs
How to prepare for remarking your gear, courtesy of gogators.
Take a 6 inch ruler and start wrapping tape around it. Wrap one length of the ruler, then turn it over and wrap the other (never tearing the tape). After the second wrap, stencil your name on the tape. Then wrap the third side onto the ruler. Repeat this over and over again. So basically, the 6 inches go, blank, stencil, blank, blank, stencil, blank, blank, etc. You can carry this in your cargo pocket wherever you go. Then after chow or something you can remark your canteens and other gear. I found this worked better than putting the labels on the lid of the footlocker because it stayed sticky better.
I found the “How to prepare for remarking your gear” tip somewhat confusing, could someone post pictures or explain it Barney style for me please?
@Joe
At OCS, certain gear items need to be marked with your last name stenciled on a piece of white tape. As the tape gets dirty, it has to be replaced, or you’ll get a hard time from the staff. The staff teaches you to make a bunch of 6″ pieces and keep them in the lid of your foot locker. Unfortunately, the only time you really have to be messing with your foot locker is at night, which isn’t very useful. The above tip will allow you to remark your gear wherever you are, since you often are waiting around for others (i.e., after chow).
Take a roll of 1″ white tape and run it long ways down a 6″ ruler. Without ripping the tape, stencil your name in the center. Wrap the tape around the other side of the ruler, and stencil again. Repeat as desired. If you have other specific questions regarding the technique described, let me know. And good luck!