Navy ODS Tips and Insights

[mstanley614]

Bump! Anybody reporting to ODS Class 16060 in a couple of weeks?

I will be there. Heres the Facebook Group we created. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1619483211711461/

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[usctarheel19]

I will be there. Heres the Facebook Group we created. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1619483211711461/

mstanley614, awesome, thanks so much!

 

[jgrigg]

This is a bit of a cart before the horse question (seeking a 2016 commission), but I like info/data. You buy your uniforms at ODS. To graduates and active duty, do they sell Marlow White dress blues at the NEX in Newport? Is it worth it to buy a higher quality set of dress uniforms or just go with whatever you can afford/is sold at NEX at ODS? I am particularly thinking of the intangible espirit de corps of knowing your uniform is a quality product over a more generic product. Thanks for your insight!

 

[Perrotfish]

This is a bit of a cart before the horse question (seeking a 2016 commission), butSavike info/data. You buy your uniforms at ODS. To graduates and active duty, do they sell Marlow White dress blues at the NEX in Newport? Is it worth it to buy a higher quality set of dress uniforms or just go with whatever you can afford/is sold at NEX at ODS? I am particularly thinking of the intangible espirit de corps of knowing your uniform is a quality product over a more generic product. Thanks for your insight!

There are tremendous numbers of unexpected financial stressors in medical school and residency. Save aggressively, and don't waste money on extra special uniforms.

 

[pgg]

don't waste money on extra special uniforms.

I think Navy O4+ are required to have a set of Mess Dress. Pretty sure I'm supposed to own a sword, too.

Though come to think of it, 5 years from now, the sword would do me more good than all those blueberries.

 

[eqkc]

I am particularly thinking of the intangible espirit de corps of knowing your uniform is a quality product over a more generic product.

Knowing your dress blues are more expensive than everyone else's makes you feel... Esprit de corps?

Guess my French is pretty ****ty. :/

 

[pgg]

Knowing your dress blues are more expensive than everyone else's makes you feel... Esprit de corps?

Well, the opposite is probably true. Espirit de corps is hard to come by when you're wearing a pair of the cheap glossy plastic white uniform shoes, the kind that crack while the sole crumbles or just falls off. Some of the standard uniform items are just made from really, really poor quality materials. I haven't bought a "uniform shop" shoe or boot since the 90s.

I usually dress like a bum, but there's something to be said for wearing quality, well tailored clothing.

That said, no way I'd blow $1000 on a set of Dress Blues the way I might on a good suit. But Google tells me Marlow White sells a set for $370. That's not outrageous.

 

[jgrigg]

Knowing your dress blues are more expensive than everyone else's makes you feel... Esprit de corps?

Guess my French is pretty ****ty. :/

I think it does! Not necessarily it being more expensive than a particular person or group, but knowing you look sharp and are wearing a uniform that will last relative to a cheaper, less well-fit product. Research (and I don't want to look up the citations) does show the more you invest in something/a group the more valuable you perceive your ownership/membership to be. By spending the not outrageous $370 on a higher quality uniform, I will perceive it maintenance and proper presentation as more important than something I know is going to wear out faster no matter my efforts. Maybe I am just a Polly Anna. Perhaps I will get jaded with time. But as a guy studying behavior, I have seen evidence that dressing for success does, in fact, make a difference.

And I took Spanish...so I have no idea what espirit de corps means. I just hear people say it whenever they mean they take pride in their group (light hearted sarcasm)

 

[jgrigg]

That said, no way I'd blow $1000 on a set of Dress Blues the way I might on a good suit. But Google tells me Marlow White sells a set for $370. That's not outrageous.[/QUOTE]


Thanks pgg. This insight is specifically what I was looking for. Is the Marlow White price outrageous or reasonable and you say it isn't. Anywhere else I should look as the time gets closer or just go for the NEX stuff and upgrade as necessary?

 

[pgg]

Just keep in mind that after ODS you might not wear that uniform again for years and years. You buy a nice set of blues there, the 3rd time you take it out of your closet might be to get the stripes on the sleeves changed after you graduate from med school.

I have the same set of dress whites I bought at OIS (what they used to call ODS). I think I've worn them about four times. They've been in my closet for almost 20 years.

I don't know how it works at OIS/ODS these days, but when I went through with 300 or so other new doctors lawyers and dentists, it wasn't a shopping trip to the NEX. We got in a line, they dumped stuff in carts for us, and then they demanded cash or gave us a line of credit. A week later we got the tailored stuff in a massive dump. You might not have the opportunity to pick stuff out from the fancy aisle (if there is one). It's not boot camp by any means, but individuality in clothing isn't really a thing.

 

[jgrigg]

I have the same set of dress whites I bought at OIS (what they used to call ODS). I think I've worn them about four times. They've been in my closet for almost 20 years...We got in a line, they dumped stuff in carts for us, and then they demanded cash or gave us a line of credit. A week later we got the tailored stuff in a massive dump. You might not have the opportunity to pick stuff out from the fancy aisle (if there is one). It's not boot camp by any means, but individuality in clothing isn't really a thing.

Thanks, again! This is the kind of real-world data I am looking for- You don't wear them enough for it to matter. Sounds like peanut butters and NWU III for everybody!

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

I don't know how it works at OIS/ODS these days, but when I went through with 300 or so other new doctors lawyers and dentists, it wasn't a shopping trip to the NEX. We got in a line, they dumped stuff in carts for us, and then they demanded cash or gave us a line of credit. A week later we got the tailored stuff in a massive dump. You might not have the opportunity to pick stuff out from the fancy aisle (if there is one). It's not boot camp by any means, but individuality in clothing isn't really a thing.

This literally has not changed.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

Well, the opposite is probably true. Espirit de corps is hard to come by when you're wearing a pair of the cheap glossy plastic white uniform shoes, the kind that crack while the sole crumbles or just falls off. Some of the standard uniform items are just made from really, really poor quality materials. I haven't bought a "uniform shop" shoe or boot since the 90s.

Yeah, the law (Berry Amendment) requires that all uniform items be manufactured in the US. Considering just about all other clothing items are made in China/Indonesia/etc., the few uniform manufacturers in the US know they can put out poor quality items and still have a captive consumer.

I don't know how it works at OIS/ODS these days, but when I went through with 300 or so other new doctors lawyers and dentists, it wasn't a shopping trip to the NEX. We got in a line, they dumped stuff in carts for us, and then they demanded cash or gave us a line of credit. A week later we got the tailored stuff in a massive dump. You might not have the opportunity to pick stuff out from the fancy aisle (if there is one). It's not boot camp by any means, but individuality in clothing isn't really a thing.

.
It's a bit more like going to the mall these days, just with less selection. You get to walk around the uniform store with a list of stuff you need and if there is selection available, you get to choose what you want (like PT gear). But there are also some assembly line parts as well.

 

[jgrigg]

I have another question. For planning purposes, how long before ODS did you receive your orders? What about your commission? I am applying for the psychology postdoctoral fellowship (ODS in August, yay!) and am tentatively trying to figure out how the PCS, ODS, and end of internship would all fit together.