Advice
Hey all,
First off, congrats on getting accepted to OCS (especially you SNA types). Here are some suggestions I think might be helpful to you:
1. Like everyone said, learning the "Big 3" is good. It's not imperative, but it will help. Don't be afraid if you don't know it all your first day there. You'll get it.
2. GET IN SHAPE! You don't need to be a marathon runner or anything. If you can get to the point where you can consistently do 3 miles in about 24 minutes, or 1.5 miles in about 10 or 11 minutes, you're going to do just fine there.
3. Get good shoes. Remember, most of your running at OCS will be street running. Make sure your shoes are built and cushioned for that (as opposed to track running). It wouldn't hurt to go to a specialty running store before hand and get fitted with the right shoe for your foot. You'll be glad you did. You may even prevent yourself from some pretty painful injuries.
4. Careful what gouge you buy into. There's a lot of bad stuff floating around out there. Knowing everything there is to know about OCS won't necessarily help you get through it. When I was there, there were a lot of people who thought that they had the system pegged, but still didn't make it through. Just take what comes and you'll do fine.
5. Most importantly (and the OCS staff would be really mad to hear this), remember while you're in OCS (especially for the priors) that OCS and the "real Navy" bear only a passing resemblance to each other. You are going to spend 12 weeks yelling and getting yelled at and then never do either one again. Don't get discouraged when you're sitting alone at night thinking how much OCS sucks. It's designed to. Keep your eyes on the prize, get your "butter bar" and life gets a whole lot better, I promise.
There're my ramblings. Take them at face value.
By the way, for the SNA's, if any of you are wondering about life after OCS I just finished primary and will be selecting tomorrow. Feel free to email me any questions you might have. If I don't know the answer, I'll try to get it for you.