Holy Crap! A lot has changed, and a lot is still the same. My gouge is way old (I was AOCS 20-89) but the chow hall gouge seemed right. The only differences were that it was "Hatch-body" and always "hatch", and there was no big deal with forks and knives. When the hell did that start? Also, being a secured class meant that you could sit down by fours instead of waiting for the whole damn class to get there before you could eat. As the 4th squad leader, my chow was always cold if my squad entered the chow hall last. Much better to be secured.
What are you guys calling "the big 4"? When I was there, there were two meanings: The Big 3 was either a reference to the 3 major academic classes (aero, nav, and engineering) or to the required items that had to be in your possesion at all times (ID card, dog tags, and a hankerchief). The "Big 4" was when the required items were unofficially expanded by candi-o's to include a condom before going on libbo. What does it mean now?
Also, anybody who wastes his time doing anything other than drinking lots of beer and screwing off prior to showing up in Pensacola is doing himself a MAJOR disservice. You're going to get thrashed when you get there anyway, no matter what. Enjoy the rose garden (if they still use it) and the room known only as "hell".
For those of you headed to Quantico instead, disregard the above paragragh. I've graduated from both OCSs (a very long story) and they're very different. Marine OCS is a non-stop PT red-ass where you can get kicked out at any time. Navy AOCS (and presumably OCS) was had lots of PT as well, but if you just shut the hell up and blend in (and don't DOR), you'll make it.
Thank God I'm done with that. Have fun!