How do you get mailed things during plebe summer? Aren't we assigned to a specific company, platoon, etc? So how do our friends/family get that information? Can we obtain that information beforehand? Also, what things are allowed to be mailed? can textbooks/papers/notes be mailed?
Receiving mail in plebe summer?
- Thread starter 1mathboy1
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You'll find out your company and platoon either before I-Day, or on I-Day at the latest. You will definitely have that information by the oath of office ceremony that afternoon and can tell your family then.
Generally speaking, it'll be something like this:
MIDN 4/C Mathboy
X Company XX Platoon
Annapolis, MD
21412
It'll change during the Ac year to a PO box.
As for how you actually receive mail, the company mail will be checked daily by the detailers and distributed that night. You will be required to open any packages in front of your squad leader to make sure you don't have any contraband. If you get something weird you will probably get made fun of.
There's an official list out there as to what is actually considered contraband; it might be sent out to candidates but can't remember. Just use common sense. You're not going to want anything more than letters from home and snacks anyway.
For the life of me I can't think of why you'd want textbooks/notes/etc. You will not have time to study and it will be one more thing to move to your new company spaces during the ac year (and moving day is already The Worst). If you really want something like that have your family bring it on PPW.
Generally speaking, it'll be something like this:
MIDN 4/C Mathboy
X Company XX Platoon
Annapolis, MD
21412
It'll change during the Ac year to a PO box.
As for how you actually receive mail, the company mail will be checked daily by the detailers and distributed that night. You will be required to open any packages in front of your squad leader to make sure you don't have any contraband. If you get something weird you will probably get made fun of.
There's an official list out there as to what is actually considered contraband; it might be sent out to candidates but can't remember. Just use common sense. You're not going to want anything more than letters from home and snacks anyway.
For the life of me I can't think of why you'd want textbooks/notes/etc. You will not have time to study and it will be one more thing to move to your new company spaces during the ac year (and moving day is already The Worst). If you really want something like that have your family bring it on PPW.
Do you get your new room before PPW? Can you talk about how moving day works and what makes it tough?
Also, I really appreciate all of your tips the past year-from beginning to end you have been helpful.
usna1985
15-Year Member
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Moving day involves . . . moving all your PS stuff to your Ac Year room. For some (like me in my day), the move was very short -- same floor, next wing. We just carried our stuff down the hall. You get creative about putting stuff in duffle bags, etc. to make it easier to move. I don't recall there being carts -- at least not for the plebes.
You could have to move "across the world," say from 1-0 to 8-4 (first floor, first wing, to fourth floor, eight wing). That's a LONG walk carrying all your stuff. Maybe there are carts or other moving implements available today but even if there are, carts don't climb stairs (and plebes don't rate the elevator).
As you can imagine, the less junk you have to move, the easier it is.
You could have to move "across the world," say from 1-0 to 8-4 (first floor, first wing, to fourth floor, eight wing). That's a LONG walk carrying all your stuff. Maybe there are carts or other moving implements available today but even if there are, carts don't climb stairs (and plebes don't rate the elevator).
As you can imagine, the less junk you have to move, the easier it is.
Stuff with protein (bars, mix, etc.) was confiscated last year. You will not have time to be reading textbooks.
What I saw was mostly food and letters.
We got carts with our technology issue. They're small and dinky; you won't be moving much with it, if your detailers let you use it at all.
It's not that hard. You'll figure it out.
The move is only a few days from Reform anyway; morale will be high.
What I saw was mostly food and letters.
We got carts with our technology issue. They're small and dinky; you won't be moving much with it, if your detailers let you use it at all.
It's not that hard. You'll figure it out.
The move is only a few days from Reform anyway; morale will be high.
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When I did detail (which is two years ago now and this may have changed) most nonperishable food was good to go, to include baked goods, candy, and stuff like clif bars with the caveat that it had to be stored in a sealed plastic container in the plebe's con locker. Drink mixes (gatorade, crystal light, that sort of thing) were also fine, as long as they mixed them into a nalgene and not a canteen.
Things that are bad to go are supplements and protein powders.
Also, to clear up something that I made confusing earlier in the thread: moving day is after PPW (so my "have your parents bring it!" suggestion actually doesn't make sense).
Unlike usna1985, I made one of those "across the world" moves from the top floor of one corner of Bancroft to the top floor of another corner. There's not much of the harassment package from the detailers, it's just annoying because you have to move your entire room, often without a cart, and even though Bancroft is technically all connected "you just can't get there from here." As plebes it was pitched to us as a "quest to the Promised Land" (and we spun it the same way as detailers) but it just sucks.
A letter will be mailed a week or two before I-Day.
And yes, I meant protein supplements and protein bars. Candy, trail mix, jerky, baked goods, Gatorade mix were fine. Detailers were mostly just checking for protein content in some energy bars and the like.
And yes, I meant protein supplements and protein bars. Candy, trail mix, jerky, baked goods, Gatorade mix were fine. Detailers were mostly just checking for protein content in some energy bars and the like.
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