Letters During Beast/CBT?

AcademyFriend1

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One of my former students will be starting at West Point this year, and I was thinking of trying to rally some in the school community (favorite teachers, coaches, etc) to send him letters during Beast/CBT. For parents/cadets/grads, is it nice to get this sort of thing from a well-wisher such as a former teacher or are you really only interested in hearing from close friends or family? Thanks for any input.
 
New Cadets LOOOOOVE having their mailbox overflowing with letters. Just make sure that they don't stand out ( pink or flowery envelopes :shake:) because that might get them some extra unwanted attention. :eek: :biggrin: We wrote every day and had many other people writing too! Write - write - write!!!! This New Cadet, I promise, will appreciate it soooo much!
 
Thanks for the response. I understand that in addition to plain envelopes, it is very important to call them "New Cadet Doe" in the address line and not "Cadet Doe" so that they will not get more of that "cadre love." I will make sure to police the faculty appropriately (which is a bit like herding cats . . . but that's another story).
 
Are we allowed to write back? I feel bad having my friends send letters if they are never going to get any back.
 
I couldn't speak for the cadets but that would sound like a fantastic idea. The only mail I get is from party colleges. I'm always a little happy when I get personal mail :biggrin:. It's like a little book that I like to read over and over.
 
Thanks for the response. I understand that in addition to plain envelopes, it is very important to call them "New Cadet Doe" in the address line and not "Cadet Doe" so that they will not get more of that "cadre love." I will make sure to police the faculty appropriately (which is a bit like herding cats . . . but that's another story).

A BIG no-no to be called 'Cadet Doe" during Beast. :eek::eek::eek:
They have not earned the right to be called 'Cadet Doe' until A-day.

What we did was to print address labels and put them on plain business envelopes and gave them to friends/family. That way there is no chance of an attention getting mistake on the envelope.

This is really a wonderful thing that you are thinking about doing. Some New Cadets hardly get any mail during Beast. :frown:


Are we allowed to write back? I feel bad having my friends send letters if they are never going to get any back.

Yes - yes - yes, by all means you are can write back!
Believe me, those letters are gold to the parents/family/friends. We have very little communication with you while you are at Beast (except for the three limited phone calls), and we love hearing from you via this ancient mode of communication. :biggrin:
Letters from YOU help US survive Beast too!
 
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Are we allowed to write back? I feel bad having my friends send letters if they are never going to get any back.

Absolutely write to your family and friends! We got more letters from our son than we ever anticipated and they were wonderful! Also, you will be issued stationery with the West Point crest. I think it made our son really proud to be writing on "official" WP stationery and we were equally as proud to see those letters in our mailbox. Be sure and take some stamps with you. As the weeks went on we included extra stamps in letters we sent - just made it easier for him to write:shake:
 
School here will be out a month before R Day. I like the idea of preprinted address labels. When will the class get addresses?
 
The Beast address should also include the Beast company. We did not find that out until R-day. I'm not sure how else you find out unless you wait until they write you. Parents attending R-day can find this out at Eisenhower Hall.
 
The Beast address should also include the Beast company. We did not find that out until R-day. I'm not sure how else you find out unless you wait until they write you. Parents attending R-day can find this out at Eisenhower Hall.

Seems like that defeats the purpose of being able to give friends/family self-addressed envelopes in advance.
 
The Beast address should also include the Beast company. We did not find that out until R-day. I'm not sure how else you find out unless you wait until they write you. Parents attending R-day can find this out at Eisenhower Hall.

You do not need the Beast Company. All you need it the PO Box number. I saw that the instructions they had sent had a spot for it but we made some printed address stickers for me and I received all my mail just fine during Beast (I even received the leatherman I mailed myself prior to R-Day). The letters are dropped off in your box and what company you are in doesn't play a role in sorting.

The only time you will need to put in the company is when you mail things to CGR. Certain places do not mail packages to PO Boxes so cadets can have stuff mailed to the Central Guard Room which will deliver packages to your specific company area. This won't really matter until the academic year though.
 
AF, why did you mail the Leatherman to yourself? Could you not take it with you on R-Day? I thought it was an approved item.
 
AF, why did you mail the Leatherman to yourself? Could you not take it with you on R-Day? I thought it was an approved item.

He probably flew in and only had a carry on. Can't get it on a plane.

Good point. Didn't think of that.

Livinlarger is right. I flew to R-Day by myself and only had a carry on since that was all I needed for Beast so I mailed myself the knife since I couldn't take it with me.
 
How are you notified of you P.O. Box number? If it's two weeks ahead of R-Day is it sent to you via mail or email?
 
How are you notified of you P.O. Box number? If it's two weeks ahead of R-Day is it sent to you via mail or email?

Via mail, but this was 3 years ago so I guess it could have changed.
 
When does more info regarding R-day and beast get sent out? We are under 60 days away now :eek::eek: (Oh and with AP exams starting Monday most seniors have our last real day of school left tomorrow :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::jump1:)
 
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