Kevin-
I made it about a week of training before my hernia popped...which was really a bad deal. I had an "upper umbilical hernia," basically right above my navel I had a 1 cm wide X 1.5 tall protrusion of "stuff." I had this pain for a couple days prior to my injury, like I had done too many situps and my abs were sore, right around my belly button. On a fartlek run my stomach was hurting like hell and the sucker popped. That happened on a Wednesday and I was driving home on Friday. Depressing. I went under the knife the following Thursday in my hometown and had PRK one week after that.
OCS initially is comprised of 2 1/2 days of medical and administrative inprocessing. In the first day you report, get issued basic war gear (canteens and cartridge belt), get issued the small and large bags with all your standard stuff (books, pens, soap, towels etc.) and get put in your platoon. You sit/stand around lots during those first couple days, waiting for either exams, blood draws, UA's, whatever...it's boring. After you pass all the medical screening you'll interview with your company XO, which consists of him looking at you and you telling him your name. Day 3 you take the initial PFT, then later that morning you 'meet' your company and platoon staff. Thats when the Sgt Instructors and Plt Sgts go crazy and you move at light speed at almost every waking moment from then on.
OCS is not fun, but it isn't that bad either. My advice is to keep a positive attitude during training and remember that the cousre is designed to be passed. (granted I have yet to do so due to injuries) The thing that is going to suck the most about class 182 is the weather. The average temp in VA that time of year is like 42 degrees so we're going to be freezing our tails off most of the time.
Advice: Remember that Integrity is paramount at OCS. No matter what you do, someone is always watching you at all times. Whether it be your Plt staff or your fellow candidates, someone will notice everything you do. I'm not trying to sound salty or anything in all this rambling but seriously, a candidate's integrity will get them through OCS barring physical injury, but even that can get ignored by the Company staff if you're an excellent candidate and your injury happens late in the training cycle.
The best way to prepare for OCS physically, especially the winter class is to PT outside in the AM when it's cold. Run, run, run and run some more. I ran a 291 prior to shipping (20 PU, 100 Curls, 19:17 run) and a 295? (20,100,18:40) for the initial at OCS. Learn to do true dead hang pullups, b/c the PT Instructors won't let you 'kip' your hips forward or bounce or cheat the pullup in ANY way. Lots of candidates complained that the 3-7 pullups they got credit for weren't an accurate picture of their potential. Run hills too, incorporate them into your daily PT b/c the hills at OCS can get sort of steep, especially if you've only gotten 2-3 hours sleep the previous night. Break your boots in prior to OCS too. Ask your OSO how. Do some runs in boots to get the feel for it, slower pace (60-70%) and about 2-3 miles to start. It'll get good callouses (sp?) started that will come in handy on humps. If you can handle the PT without problems it takes alot of pressure off you b/c the Plt Sgts and Sgt Instructors won't give you as much negative attention if you're a PT stud.
One more thing, try not to be the 'Nasty Candidate' early on. And pay attention to the prior enlisted candidates, they'll be locked on right away and will be a big help, especially if you're lost. My rack-mate was a prior when I went through PLC Jr's and helped me out tremendously in the beginning.
Good luck and hope to see everyone at Class 182. Email me if you have other ??'s at taylor_je@hotmail.com
-John