My son is a 3rd class at KP. He was in the middle of his first leg of sea year and was in a car accident as a passenger that cost him 30 days of sailing. When he finally got back to a ship, his ATR, who is no longer at the academy, did not send him to the correct type of ship and as a result he was not able to get the proper signatures on part of his sea year project and the grader, who said it was a b- project, had to fail him on it because of the signatures. After an academic review he was given a status of "suspend/disenrolled" which I assume is academic probation. My question/problem is that there were extenuating circumstances involved including the incompetant actions of his ATR which made it impossible for him to complete the project. His grades have been decent (3.1) up until now and he has never been in any kind of trouble. I am worried that one bad grade could end up getting him disenrolled and do not believe it is right. Any thoughts on this would be helpful.
Need Advice
- Thread starter ktreon
- Start date
If he is marked down as suspended/disenrolled then he should have an appeal to the superintendent and present all this information. The ATRs are really bad and should be replaced with people who actually care about the Midshipmen but the powers that be refuse to do this. Have him also talk to the Dean and the department heads to explain the situation. They can't all be heartless.
kp2001
10-Year Member
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This is obviously a very unique situation that there really isn't anyone on this board can give you much advice/guidance beyond well wishes.
The main advice I would give is for your son to not call a commissioned officer "incompetent" even if he feels that way. During any appeal/review process he needs to state the facts as they occurred and try to keep emotions/blame out of it.
The bottom line problem is that he did not complete the sea project (whether this was through the fault of the ATR is irrelevant at this point) and therefore will likely need to repeat sea year. There are likely USCG requirements to achieve licensing involved as well. There simply is no way that I can see that someone who needs to repeat a vast portion of a sea project can be retained in their current class. There just may not be enough sea days available to make it up.
Now, there may be the possibility to get enough days on the Kings Pointer during weekend/week break cruises, if they have any. Depending on how many days left needed he possibly could make them up on a second sea year.
It's harsh, and definitely don't give up hope yet, as mentioned above there's likely at least one more review/appeal process to go through. Past history would likely have this person set-back; however, administrations change and so past history is not necessarily a predictor of future actions.
I wish him the best, sounds like he's doing well so far (3.1 GPA is no slouch) and that is a positive factor which may help his case.
The main advice I would give is for your son to not call a commissioned officer "incompetent" even if he feels that way. During any appeal/review process he needs to state the facts as they occurred and try to keep emotions/blame out of it.
The bottom line problem is that he did not complete the sea project (whether this was through the fault of the ATR is irrelevant at this point) and therefore will likely need to repeat sea year. There are likely USCG requirements to achieve licensing involved as well. There simply is no way that I can see that someone who needs to repeat a vast portion of a sea project can be retained in their current class. There just may not be enough sea days available to make it up.
Now, there may be the possibility to get enough days on the Kings Pointer during weekend/week break cruises, if they have any. Depending on how many days left needed he possibly could make them up on a second sea year.
It's harsh, and definitely don't give up hope yet, as mentioned above there's likely at least one more review/appeal process to go through. Past history would likely have this person set-back; however, administrations change and so past history is not necessarily a predictor of future actions.
I wish him the best, sounds like he's doing well so far (3.1 GPA is no slouch) and that is a positive factor which may help his case.
My Words
My son has never been disrespectful to any officer. The word incompetent came from me. My son was trying to be sure of getting to the right type of ship and asked his ATR what type of ship he was being sent to, the reply he got was: "A big grey one." It is that flippant remark and what I consider irresponsibility on the ATR's part that led me to choose that word. When the accident occurred, my son asked to be set back when he realized how much time he had lost but was refused. He is handling everything in a mature and respectful manner, I am just frustrated with what is happenning. As for the Naval Officer thing, I am ex-Navy and know that accountablility is supposed to go along with respect. My son is being held accountable for the ATR's actions as far as I can tell. To be clear, every word here comes from me and in no way reflects my son's attitude.
I came back and edited this because I read it and realized it sounds angry and is not intened that way. I don't want my son getting into any kind trouble becuase of my words. I appreciate the good wishes of those posting here.
My son has never been disrespectful to any officer. The word incompetent came from me. My son was trying to be sure of getting to the right type of ship and asked his ATR what type of ship he was being sent to, the reply he got was: "A big grey one." It is that flippant remark and what I consider irresponsibility on the ATR's part that led me to choose that word. When the accident occurred, my son asked to be set back when he realized how much time he had lost but was refused. He is handling everything in a mature and respectful manner, I am just frustrated with what is happenning. As for the Naval Officer thing, I am ex-Navy and know that accountablility is supposed to go along with respect. My son is being held accountable for the ATR's actions as far as I can tell. To be clear, every word here comes from me and in no way reflects my son's attitude.
I came back and edited this because I read it and realized it sounds angry and is not intened that way. I don't want my son getting into any kind trouble becuase of my words. I appreciate the good wishes of those posting here.
Last edited:
kp2001
10-Year Member
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From your description of events it sounds like he got a "raw deal" for sure, so hopefully things will work out.
Just from my experience I don't see this causing someone to be completely disenrolled; a set back probably though. I wish him the best.
My prior comments were just to make sure your DS wasn't the one using those words in a review, no problems at all in your venting them.
Just from my experience I don't see this causing someone to be completely disenrolled; a set back probably though. I wish him the best.
My prior comments were just to make sure your DS wasn't the one using those words in a review, no problems at all in your venting them.
