PPW - Things not to do

Mongo said:
If one were to poll the fleet several years ago for the one single trait that defined most USNA grads, ‘Arrogance’ would probably lead the list. Admiral Fowler recognized this and, when he checked on board, commenced a push for “confidence with humility”, the term I think he used. Where does this attitude come from and why does it appear to be worse at USNA than the other two S As?
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Also, I think a lot of non-Academy officers are overly defensive and oftentimes put a pejorative label on their Academy peers for no other reason than their own, self-imposed, insecurities.

The dirty little secret is that many of these non-Academy officers either applied to a service academy and didn't get accepted -or- knew that they could never get into the academy because of their lackluster credentials - but would have loved to have attended ... if they could have.

Which reminds me of Shakespeare quote, "Me thinks the man doth protest too much." :smile:

West Pointers and USAFA grads face the same kind of discriminatory accusation of "arrogance" and elitism that the Naval Academy grads get. I don't think it is unique to the Naval Academy in any way.

Are there arrogant Naval Academy grads? Sure!

I think there are arrogant Harvard grads. I think there are arrogant Stanford grads. There is always this pitfall when one graduates from a school that is perceived as prestigious and elite. I'm wondering if an officer, who graduated from Vanderbilt's NROTC program, would be any less prone to exhibit "arrogance."

Is it common -or- something running rampant throughout the fleet? Is it a real problem? Nah.

I can think of so many other, more important, issues to address than perceived "arrogance" of Naval Academy grads.
 
No matter how long I lurk, I don't think I'll ever get the hijacks and trainwrecks.

Little late now, but for future visits and next year's plebe-parents-to-be, may I mention the following? Not all plebe 'rents are able or willing to make the trip to PPW. If you see a stray plebe, and it is within your means, offer to have the plebe tag along for a meal or a few hours of down-time off the Yard.

Likewise you plebes-to-be, make sure your classmates have plans to get off the yard if their 'rents can't make it, and if they do not, offer to have them come with you.

My parents were still PO'd at me for choosing a SA. They did not come to PPW. I was very grateful to my roommie's 'rents and to a squad-mate's dad for making sure I got to leave the Yard, eat at rest, take a glorious eight-minute shower, get my butched hair fixed, and take two naps. It made all the difference for my "readiness" for Reform Week and ac year.
 
LongAgoPlebe,

Thanks for the reminder. We were very fortunate to attend our DS Parent weekend and offered to have some plebes join us for meals. We learned a whole lot more when the plebes would talk amongst themselves and forget we were there than if we had peppered our poor plebe with all the questions of the day.
 
Mongo said:
If one were to poll the fleet several years ago for the one single trait that defined most USNA grads, ‘Arrogance’ would probably lead the list...Where does this attitude come from and why does it appear to be worse at USNA than the other two S As?
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The other 2 SA's? Hmmmm. That comment seems fitting with the comment above about arrogance...

Please note...tongue planted firmly in cheek....sort of. :cool:
 
Just got back from the Sponsor Meet and Greet...

We just met our 5 plebes at the Sponsor Meet and Greet, a fine group who were very happy to munch on brownies and enjoy some downtime as we talked. They are all looking forward to PPW. I asked them what are their top things they wanted to do on PPW: (1) take a really, really long shower (2) get online or on the phone (3) eat favorite foods. Of course, get hugs from family. They are all going to the Bowie Baysox minor league baseball game one night this week, so they have another relaxation period to look forward to. :thumb:

Safe travels to everyone heading this way.
 
One thing that I wish I hadn't done is listen so much to what other people told us to expect. I heard a lot about how the plebes will want to sleep, take long showers, etc.

So what did we do? We took the redeye from CA, arriving early Friday morning. Dropped the luggage off at the hotel, made our way to the yard...everything was perfect until we got back to the rooms in the afternoon. Based upon what we had read/heard we expected the Mid to crash and take a nap...we certainly needed one, after all that had been the plan. One by one my family members couldn't stay awake anymore, all except for the Mid. He was a bit disappointed :redface: but he understood.
 
Pachrian said:
One thing that I wish I hadn't done is listen so much to what other people told us to expect. I heard a lot about how the plebes will want to sleep, take long showers, etc.

So what did we do? We took the redeye from CA, arriving early Friday morning. Dropped the luggage off at the hotel, made our way to the yard...everything was perfect until we got back to the rooms in the afternoon. Based upon what we had read/heard we expected the Mid to crash and take a nap...we certainly needed one, after all that had been the plan. One by one my family members couldn't stay awake anymore, all except for the Mid. He was a bit disappointed :redface: but he understood.
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Our DS has told us that he's gotten more sleep during PS then he did before starting plebe summer. He says he's not tired and he doesn't want to spend the time with us sleeping. We're prepared either way.
 
Our DS has told us that he's gotten more sleep during PS then he did before starting plebe summer. He says he's not tired and he doesn't want to spend the time with us sleeping. We're prepared either way.
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That is exactly what our son told us. He has stated that the 8 hours of sleep per night is driving him crazy! He also has been sending letters home with "subjects" written down to remind him all of the stories that he wants to tell us when we're with him. He told me to bring all of the letters with me so that he can remember all of the stories. There will definitely not be a lack of conversation with this Plebe!
 
Be prepared

We had two plans for PPW. Things we thought our mid might want to do and to be prepared to change those plans when reality meets the road. Agree with the last couple of posters what we found is that our plebe did not wish to waste his freedom sleeping. He wanted to go the entire time we were there. We did the Smithsonian one day, out to dinner, to a movie etc,. We held off on Cantlers, we did that as the pre I Day dinner and he was afraid to eat crabs with his whites on. Although I think one of his favorite meals was when take out was ordered for the room and we just hung out and talked and watched Tv. As always be prepared to be flexible.
 
Take out was one of my son's favorite meals too. We stayed at the Loews - called Rams Head and then my husband walked down and picked up dinner. The other thing that he really liked was room service for breakfast - not something as a family we ever partake in so he felt like that was a huge treat.

He too did not sleep much. We went to DC and did a walking tour of the Mall. Many foreign tourist mama's asked for son to pose with their daughters for pictures. He actually got a kick out of that. He did not want to spend anytime with any other Plebes. Internet time and cell phone time was very important. Caught up with a lot of HS friends who were just leaving for college.

For Parents - one of the things that we really enjoyed was the departmental displays in Alumni Hall (They are in Dahlgren this year) You can talk to all of the different department reps, learn about your Plebes validations or possible even meet their advisors - we were fortunate to get to meet his advisor. Many of the EC's had tables as did the O Club with information about Parents dining at the O Club. They also had a computer set up and you could look up your Plebes email address and send the first email to their ....@usna.edu address, so when they set up their computers the next week they will get your message. Touring the library also was very good - although that may only appeal to parents of kids who already are library users. We found out about the Library being a "safe Zone" with employees being civilian and no upper class allowed to hassle a plebe in the library. Our son pretty much only studied in the library all four years. He found the hall too distracting. The tours of the Math and Science buildings and Luce Hall offered on Friday morning are also very good.

Sunday afternoon we arrived back on the yard about 5pm so that we had plenty of time to take pictures - weather was great and still are some of the best pictures we have. We also were able to meet up with the other two Plebes that he was going to room with for Plebe year and meet their families. It was very festive on the yard especially the Christmas music blaring out of Bancroft. He left us about 5:45 to go in and change for evening meal formation.
 
In our last questionnaire, we asked the kid what he might want to do during PPW. Here is the question with his responses:

What do you want to do on Parent's Weekend?
a) Sleep, eat, repeat!
b) I'll just be glad to see you guys, but I don't want to do a lot of stuff because I'm worn out.
c) See the movies I've missed.
d) I'd like you to meet some of my friends.
e) Surprise me!

And the Plebe responds by circling:
a)
b) and circled the part "I'll just be glad to see you guys" plus added note "I'm not that worn out! Come on, I'm a midshipman! Let's go crazy!"
c)
e)

He did not circle answer (d) but did note: "I'm making some great friends and maybe a quick hello would be good, but mostly I just want to get out into the world and enjoy hanging out with you."

We used to live in MD, so we have done and seen most things and know the area well. We wouldn't have been disappointed if he just wanted to hang out in the room and rest. If your plebe just doesn't want to be around Annapolis (after all he/she will be spending lots of time there in the next four years) there are so many wonderful things to do in the tri-city area. The Baltimore Aquarium and Inner Harbor and our Nation's Capitol, especially the Smithsonian, are wonderful places to visit. Just make sure you get back to Annapolis with plenty of time to spare!
 
Profmom2 said:
Take out was one of my son's favorite meals too. We stayed at the Loews - called Rams Head and then my husband walked down and picked up dinner. The other thing that he really liked was room service for breakfast - not something as a family we ever partake in so he felt like that was a huge treat.
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The Loews' greatest attributes are cleanliness and location. The only thing I didn't like is that they have no free parking (although there is a way around that) and no free internet. In fact, you have to pay a daily fee for in-room internet on a per computer basis. Of course, it's free in the lobby - not very convenient.

Your Plebe is definitely going to want to spend some time on the internet. I had twins, so it was a little pricey. They each had their own laptop.

I like the Loews but we now stay at the Sheraton (Jennifer Rd) which is cheaper and is across the street from the Annapolis Mall. Tons of places to eat (walking distance) and still very close to the Academy. Also, FREE internet with about 6 computers in their lobby ... with a printer.
 
USNA2014PP said:
Is anyone familiar with Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis? http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/sandypoint.asp
By the looks of the pictures it seems to be a decent beach with lots of room. Depending on the weather this is one option we are considering?
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We live in the Annapolis area, my son happens to be finishing up his summer at West Point, and we are going up this Friday for their A-Day weekend.

Sandy Point is a nice park. However, it gets really crowded on the weekends. People from DC and Baltimore come by the busload to picnic and swim. We launch our boat there often during the week, but stay away on weekends.
 
One last thing

Things not to do: Do not miss that last dinner formation after you return your plebe to USNA on Sunday. I know many parents choose to leave as soon as their mid returns to Bancroft but after hearing about the tradition I wanted to stay and hear the Chritmas Carols being played out of the windows of Bancroft during that last formation. Many parents have left and we were able to walk right up and sit in the stands that surround T court. I enjoyed hearing Alvin and Chipmunks singing Christmas Carols in the background as the plebes formed up.
 
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