AIM Question

hdhouse3rd

10-Year Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
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During AIM since the swabs have already reported, is there much interaction between them and the candidates of AIM?

Morning PT, Meals or any activities? Thanks, Just Curious.
 
Good question but no they are kept pretty much separate. They may pass each other at some point but there is no interaction. Both are too busy I guess for that.
 
By virtually all accounts I have read, AIM is the most realistic to the first summer. My son knows he needs to improve his upper body strength over the next month. This is based off of his CFA he did at NASS. He said he only broke a sweat twice at NASS during workout. To me it sounds like he needed pushed more.

Is there any knowledge he should know?

He is not looking to bilge on other candidates, but rather be seen as being prepared.
 
My son did not do AIM so I am relying on second-hand info...however I have heard from many sources that AIM is the "toughest" of the summer sessions. I wouldn't worry too much about memorizing "knowledge" going into AIM. However being physically fit, open minded, and "semper gumby" is. Good luck to him. When is he going up there?
 
He is happy to be in Session II, starting July 15.

Funny you should mention "Semper Gumby". One of the things he got at kick out of at NASS was the Gumby Cadence. But always flexible, think he can manage that.

As mentioned before, he rarely needed to "break a sweat" during NASS. His upper body is under developed but he was in about the low - middle of his group for pull ups. Because of his height, second tallest in the squad, he was paired with the tallest candidate in the squad who had him by, my guess 40-50 lbs. This is also the candidate that won for best physical performance during this NASS session.

But he came back undeterred and ready for AIM. He was putting up the pull up bar we had to buy on the way home today. Hopefully a month will whip the remainder of him into shape.
 
Pull-ups

These are my son's bete noire if I may be allowed to use that phrase. This is despite(brag alert) being a champion weightlifter and crew team member. Upper body strength doesn't seem to make that big a difference. Pull-ups are the one PT he seems to have trouble with. He just missed the red star(450) twice, due in part to them. Anyway, running is key as well and he should get acclimated to the heat since mid-July can be brutal in New London(weather-wise :shake: )
 
Having lived in Providence several summers during my college time, I am familiar with NE summers. MD summers away from the water tend to be very hot and sticky:thumbdown: , but we survive.

Thinking about letting him camp outside the week before, since the CGA isn't soft enough to have A/C.

He is getting ready for his final year of club and HS soccer so running is top of the list. But he really needs to squeeze in some ab and pull up time. I am sure he will. If he wants it bad enough he will.
 
As mentioned before, he rarely needed to "break a sweat" during NASS. His upper body is under developed but he was in about the low - middle of his group for pull ups. Because of his height, second tallest in the squad, he was paired with the tallest candidate in the squad who had him by, my guess 40-50 lbs. This is also the candidate that won for best physical performance during this NASS session.

But he came back undeterred and ready for AIM. He was putting up the pull up bar we had to buy on the way home today. Hopefully a month will whip the remainder of him into shape.[/QUOTE]


dhouse3rd ...

Canyou please be specific on how may chin ups he did @ NASS? Help us to know specfically what you're saying and what it means. My understanding is they measure chinups, pushups, etc. on an absolute scale, not on a "curve" or relative to what others in the squadron did.

Your son's experience seems to contradict what I've heard in talking to 4 NASS 'alumni' from this summer. All are superior athletes and all said they broke sweats. Your son must be truly amazing. :thumb: And they were all dog tired @ week's end, with laudry verifying they'd broken several sweats. :eek:

In fact when I asked my son about "not breaking a sweat" he belly-laughed. Told me, "Heck, you break a sweat there just standing in the hall.":smile:
 
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Here's a post from the CC forum re: the PT items. Poste went to NASS and is enrolled @ West Pt.

"I remember my NASS. Bravo 4-4! Ms. So was the best! The ending ceremony is pretty big. I was pretty impressed.

NASS was pretty amazing. You don't forget it too quickly. Lol, even if I did chose West Point over Navy, I still think NASS is the best of the summer seminars in and of itself. It is the most physically demanding (I heard AIM is supposed to be worse, but idk)
 
Sorry been away tending to a variety of other things. Including becoming a grand dad for the first time. Atleast it happened before my boy heads off to AIM on Friday.

I think these were the factors in him "Not Breaking a Sweat".

1. He had been training prior to not hearing he was going to Summer Seminar for it. His offer came in a week before he needed to report.

2. He was content to try to stay near the top of those running and most other activities.

3. The pull ups accomplished were 4, two above his personal best. Since that point we have placed a pull up bar for him to hopefully improve.

4. The weather was not like a traditional MD June. In other words you could breathe outside and not have to worry about your clothes gluing to your flesh. In fact the only truly seasonal day was Thursday, the day he left.

5. He was trying to brag to me about how good of shape he was in.

I am sure at AIM he will break a sweat, probably did so at NASS. Also his approach to NASS was a bit different, told him to have fun while trying as hard as he can. He wasn't in the initial round of offers for NASS, so enjoy the experience, leave a positive impression and don't sweat the small stuff. With AIM I hope he is focused like a laser beam to try to excel all day long. Of course he gets to sit in the car for 6 hours of lecture as we drive up Friday.
 
First of all congrats, Gramps! :thumb:

He will definitely sweat at AIM because the forecast for the next five days is 90-plus weather. They do have rules about taking it easy when the temp-humidity index goes over a certain number.

But anyway he'll be fine and I'm sure he'll do well. Good luck to him!

:director: Cadre
 
Well thanks for the congrats. Yes we just got back home from the little drive. Unfortunately he seems to be struggling a bit so far. Apparrently quite different from NASS. He so far is not a happy camper, I hope and pray that will improve as the week goes on.
 
Welcome back hdhouse3rd.
How was the traffic on the route to and from New London? Map Quest suggested for shortest route taking I81 then turning onto I78 towards NY and up around on I287. I opted for I81 then due east on I84 from Scranton. I did a little bobbing and weaving south of Hartford Ct. but I believe the route I took had less traffic (I hate driving in NJ). In fact I never encountered a big rig the whole way from Newburgh NY to just north of Harrisburg on the drive back saturday.
 
Take 84 E into CT, then 691 East to 91 north; Pick up Route 9 south to I-95 North to the Academy. I know it sounds complicated but it avoids Hartford and New Haven traffic.

HHouse what are the difficulties he is having? I know AIM is tough physically and the weather is very hot this week.
 
Actually I take I-81 to Scranton then I-84 just North of Danbury. At that point you exit onto Rt 34 to New Haven to I-95. It takes about 45 -60 mins on Rt 34 which is single lane for the most part. But normally traffic moves pretty decently. Then it is a short drive up I-95. I used this route virtually exclusively through my college years and it was the best I found.

Of course the other day got stuck on behind the accident that shut down I-95. Wound up getting off exit 69 going 45 minutes on back roads to get our hotel near CGA. Only 13 miles from the exit and had to drive up through Haddam??

So far no more updates from the boy, I hope he is adjusting. He seemed really stressed out in the messages he sent me. So either they confiscated his phone, he is really ticked at me, or he is adjusting.
 
No news is good news. My boy told his mother over the phone Sat. night that the next time they can call would be Thrusday evening. I think the Boot Camp atmosphere had them all dazed over the weekend.
 
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