Parent participation events for West Point

nzpete

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Dec 29, 2014
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Could any West Point cadet parents give opinions as to which West Point events are most worth going to during the year . Living a long distance from NY, it unfortunately makes you have to chose which events to go to. Thanks
 
A-day for sure. That's of course when your Plebe has completed 6-weeks of Cadet Basic Training and is "accepted" into the Corps of Cadets, going from a "New Cadet" to "Cadet." They get get off post privileges but must be back in the barracks in the evening. If you have to pick, you certainly want A-day over R-day.

A relatively new event is the Parents Weekend in October. Last year and this year, it has centered around a home football game on Columbus Day weekend, a three-day weekend for the Cadets. They can take a pass and spend the night with you in your hotel. They have tours available of the barracks, mess hall, the Supe's house and the uniform factory. You can eat in the mess hall with your cadet on Friday IIRC. It can be crowded though as it is a football weekend and this event is for ALL parents, not just plebes.

Finally, there is the Plebe Parent Weekend in March. The upperclassmen are released on Friday and there is a hop for the Plebes that the parents can attend also. Again, tours of Supe's house and uniform factory. Only the parents of plebes are usually there and the plebes are the only cadets there so they feel more relaxed. Or so I've been told.

Those are the four big parent events during plebe year.

I'd rank them

1) A-day, a must, don't miss
2) Plebe Parent Weekend - I haven't been yet but I think seeing the hop would be neat and a lesser crowd would be really nice compared to A-day
3) R-day - you drop your new cadet off in the AM after the 60/90 second goodbye and you can tour around after that but no more close contact with the cadet.
4) Parents Weekend - could be higher, a home Army football game is something to experience.
 
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A-day for sure. That's of course when your Plebe has completed 6-weeks of Cadet Basic Training and is "accepted" into the Corps of Cadets, going from a "New Cadet" to "Cadet." They get get off post privileges but must be back in the barracks in the evening. If you have to pick, you certainly want A-day over R-day.

A relatively new event is the Parents Weekend in October. Last year and this year, it has centered around a home football game on Columbus Day weekend, a three-day weekend for the Cadets. They can take a pass and spend the night with you in your hotel. They have tours available of the barracks, mess hall, the Supe's house and the uniform factory. You can eat in the mess hall with your cadet on Friday IIRC. It can be crowded though as it is a football weekend and this event is for ALL parents, not just plebes.

Finally, there is the Plebe Parent Weekend in March. The upperclassmen are released on Friday and there is a hop for the Plebes that the parents can attend also. Again, tours of Supe's house and uniform factory. Only the parents of plebes are usually there and the plebes are the only cadets there so they feel more relaxed. Or so I've been told.

Those are the four big parent events during plebe year.

I'd rank them

1) A-day, a must, don't miss
2) Plebe Parent Weekend - I haven't been yet but I think seeing the hop would be neat and a lesser crowd would be really nice compared to A-day
3) R-day - you drop your new cadet off in the AM after the 60/90 second goodbye and you can tour around after that but no more close contact with the cadet.
4) Parents Weekend - could be higher, a home Army football game is something to experience.

This may be a stupid question, but are Parents Weekend and Plebe Parent Weekend only for parents? Can/do cadet siblings attend these weekends or is it only for parents?
 
Siblings, grandparents and girl/boyfriends are welcome at Parents Weekend and PPW. From getting most of my info on the FB Parents and Moms pages, it sounds like a lot of siblings attend the formal dinner, although it should be limited to older kids/teens/young adults, not infants/toddlers. The only issue is that each cadet is alloted 3 seats for the dinner, which includes the cadet, but there are usually extra seats available and cadets just need to relay how many seats they need to the cadet in charge of seating within their company. Cadets/families will sit with their company for the dinner.

My 21 y/o DD will be attending PPW with me. We didn't attend Parents Weekend in October, since we had just attended A-Day. Don't forget Parents Weekend is for all classes and this past year there was a football game that weekend (it was also the first Parents Weekend, so they are likely tweaking how it will work in the future). It was probably more crowded than PPW, and I imagine harder to get the coveted limited spots for certain tours (Sups house, mess hall).
 
A-Day is a must, IMHO. While the time is limited, it is extremely premium.

We can only come up once a year, more or less. That was our trip for Plebe year and both DS and we felt it was well worth it.
 
Is A day the day on the calendar that says A day parade? Trying to figure out when we should be there.
 
A-Day for class of 2019 is August 15 (Acceptance Day). If you live close by, you will want to be on post very early in the morning. Parking and spots in the bleachers are limited. And there will likely be a line of cars at Thayer Gate and Stoney Lonesome Gate. If you are driving/flying in from a distance, plan to spend the night before nearby or in one of the neighboring towns (within 30 min drive). After the parade, cadets will be released in staggered times (or so it seemed) based on when they have completed their tasks within their company and been released. We waited an hour or more for our DS, but some cadets were released within 20 minutes. Communicate with your cadet at some point during Beast for a suggested meeting spot (they will be allowed to call home at the ice cream social and one other time). Good places to meet are near the barracks/library and statues or Trophy Point. Your cadet can suggest a spot.
 
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