Gifts for the SA kid?

If you are actively involved with these people and the results then I am interested in your observations. Most of the time that is not the case.


Of course. This forum is chock full of experts. Some with incoming appointees and others with multiple graduates in the family. That's the rub of it, right? How to determine the validity of the advice given.

Sadly, I fear the "warrior" label we have so proudly applied to newly minted ensigns and 2nd Lts. will be gradually replaced with something much less impressive, for the experience is becoming less impressive. IMO.
 
For USNA midshipmen I find this gift package is very useful.
;)
 

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Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!


If you are actively involved with these people and the results then I am interested in your observations. Most of the time that is not the case.


Of course. This forum is chock full of experts. Some with incoming appointees and others with multiple graduates in the family. That's the rub of it, right? How to determine the validity of the advice given.

Sadly, I fear the "warrior" label we have so proudly applied to newly minted ensigns and 2nd Lts. will be gradually replaced with something much less impressive, for the experience is becoming less impressive. IMO.
 
My mother-in-law shared with me the shipping-proof cookie recipes from the boxes she used to send my DH both as a mid and a deployed officer, back in the 20th c. DH also says his parents set up a $20 monthly credit at the Little Campus Inn, now Galway Bay, on Maryland Ave., so he could walk out on liberty and have a decent dinner. That was a long-standing tradition for many parents; Little Campus opened in the 1920’s. DH’s chest candy is eye-watering, so I don’t think he was overly corroded by the familial love expressed in food support.
 
My son did not attend an SA... but Mom sends care packages all the time to him in Okinawa filled with his favorite homemade cookies and candies. She also sends some to share with his 78 person platoon. This past Valentines Day they all got bags of Skittles. I think his Mom is now the platoon mascot, or something. :D Everything seems to survive the two (or more) weeks of travel just fine.
 
My son did not attend an SA... but Mom sends care packages all the time to him in Okinawa filled with his favorite homemade cookies and candies. She also sends some to share with his 78 person platoon. This past Valentines Day they all got bags of Skittles. I think his Mom is now the platoon mascot, or something. :D Everything seems to survive the two (or more) weeks of travel just fine.

Pro tip: using Skittles or popcorn as packing material for deployed package destinations.
 
Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!

Nice to hear from you again.
 
Last edited:
Maplerock,

This was not your original response, was it?

Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!

Nice to hear from you again.
Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!

Nice to hear from you again.

No, I reconsidered and edited it. I know it's best to measure twice and cut once, but sometimes ai forget.
 
What you originally posted is important as it shows your state of mind and how you approach cadets, parents, and ultimately those who serve to protect and defend our nation.

Thanks!

Maplerock,

This was not your original response, was it?

Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!

Nice to hear from you again.
Maplerock,

I forget which SA you attended. Could you describe, specifically, how you believe the experience has changed to diminish and make less impressive the "warrior" label?

Thanks!

Nice to hear from you again.

No, I reconsidered and edited it. I know it's best to measure twice and cut once, but sometimes ai forget.
 
Sadly, I fear the "warrior" label we have so proudly applied to newly minted ensigns and 2nd Lts. will be gradually replaced with something much less impressive, for the experience is becoming less impressive. IMO.

Please enlighten us, what will become less impressive?

Will the Seas become more calm and the Air more forgiving?
Will the ground be softer
Will the distance jumped from a helicopter in a hurricane be shorter and less windy.
Will bullets become softer and bounce off
Will IED's become just a puff of smoke
Will deployments only occur at Club Med
The list goes on....

So are we in fear that a box of Oreo Cookies will destroy the fabled warrior, that a SA cadet or mid may receive something from home is somehow subversive to their training. If that's the case then those poor souls that attend a traditional university with ROTC must have no warrior ethos whatsoever.

I am pretty confident that these newly minted Ensigns and 2LT's could really care less if they impress you in any way, I know that when I served, it was the last thing on my mind.
 

You're right of course. My opinion is no better than anyone's. I should learn to keep some of them to myself. Thank you.
 
I'm going to skip all the rhetoric about "who's a what kind of father/mother/parent..."

I entered USAFA in 1979. I went to prep school in the late summer of 1978; and that November I received a HUGE box in the mail. All my classmates wondered "What did Steve get?"

So I opened it in my room with my roomates (Northwestern Prep, six of us in that room). It was a lawn/leaf bag filled with fresh (okay a week old) popcorn; salted to perfection, just like my dad used to make when we'd watch football together. In the popcorn (enough to feed a room of six for a week) was a note that said "dig deep." So I did and found an aluminum foil wrapped bundt cake. It was my mothers pound cake; an entire one, and it had a birthday card attached.

From that year (1978) until November 2008 (three months before my mother lost her battle with cancer) I received a cake for my birthday; wherever I was in the world: Guam, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Kuwait, Egypt, CONUS locations by the grouping...it didn't matter, that cake always arrived and I always was transported back to my youth. When I received my cake in November 2008, my mom had a note attached: "I almost didn't make this, the pain is so bad, but I've done it for you since you were a small boy...and I wanted to do it one last time."

I froze each piece and it lasted three years.

Don't listen to folks that say "oh, it's silly, it won't mean much" and "it's no big deal..." FIND something that relates to their youth, their family, and closeness...and go with that, even if its only once per year. Mom taught me to make that cake when I was a kid...I've done it for decades; and I do it each year for my birthday.

But it never tastes as good as hers.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
That story even cracked my stony heart.

I got maybe one or two packages during Plebe Summer/year and probably a max of one more during the next three years and really didn't think myself deprived. My parents
grew up in the depression, dad served in the Pacific during WWII and "care packages" were just not their thing nor was it really common among my classmates. When
SonOfOldRetSWO entered USNA, I know we sent a couple of packages over his time there but not very many. His birthday was during the summer so even that was not
an issue.
.
Nonetheless, flieger83's story was pretty awesome and it almost makes me want to have sent more packages (ALMOST)
 
Agree flieger83's story was pretty awesome...must have been some dust in the air when I read it because there was something in my eye...

I think the whole care package thing is a personal decision where there is no right or wrong. If it's not your thing and you don't send anything I'm sure your Mid/Cadet will survive and you don't need to feel guilty. If you do send something I don't think there is much risk that you will spoil them so they get too soft and ruin their military career. We send care packages to both of my kids (USNA and SMC) from time to time. Usually it's snacks or some of their favorite homemade treats that they share with roommates and friends. They say that they appreciate it so we do it from time to time. Other family members send gift cards or use local services to deliver treats on birthdays, holidays or finals.
 
We still send boxes of yummies to our son and he truly is a "warrior" at the spear's tip. Steve's story is a very nice tribute to his mom who along with dads and spouses are the backbone of American military might. Without a strong home front, the job at sea and down range is more difficult. Receiving a touch of home at times helps get through the next evolution. Keep 'um coming, or going.
 
My Uncle Arnold was at Fort Bragg when President Kennedy authorized SF to wear the Hat. He was one of the first in Vietnam and did more than one trip in country. I remember his wife saying that the only thing he asked for was socks. Good, dry socks are as important as the TO weapon. When the feet go down, the warrior soon follows. My number one prescription back in the day: Motrin and change your socks.
 
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