Gordon is pretty small compared to other posts I've been to. Also don't be suprised if you're an inac for a while. They start new classes all the time but you may wait a little bit for one to start.

The last thing I would do is show up to fort Gordon early. You want to be there as short as possible, trust me. And S is a long MOS so you really don't want to get there waely.

Ignore the horror stories. Ft. Gordon isn't that bad. Augusta is laid out kind of weird, but you figure it out fairly quickly. I don't see any point in getting there real early, but a few days in advance to get checked in/settled in and learn the area isn't a bad idea. If reporting early gets you on an earlier cycle then I'd definitely do it. A lot of these guys don't like Ft. Gordon because they got stuck on TAC detail waiting for their slot to open up. That and they were IET still while they were there. You'll have a lot more freedom being permanent party. Basically, do whatever makes sense for your personal situation.