Recent content by 08Marine

I graduated USNA in 2008. And from what I saw visiting friends at other colleges, USNA is the last place to be worried about the safety of your daughter. While there are still a few who have their disagreement with women being there, they are very very rare and any such sentiments are kept to...

From the Marine perspective, I strongly agree with Jadler03 on the need for greater professional training through the rest of the years. Youngsters just kind of hang out after plebe year, as if a tough first year warrants a year devoid of professional development. Too many continue with that...

Ah proboards. Such a good time. For my plebe year ending in 2005, proboards were the culmination of the year long "proknowledge." Proknowledge, or Professional Knowledge, consists of a book that has weekly subjects. The subjects range from classes of submarines and Marine Corps Organization...

"air force = planes, navy = ships" is definitely misleading. It is a quite beloved expression at USNA to identify that the navy has more planes than the air force. Top Gun, yea, that's Navy. Navy also has the Marine Corps. I'm yet to be spend extended time on a ship in my Marine Corp career...

It is definitely highly competitive to go to grad school straight out of the Academy. That being said, a good friend of mine graduated and went to grad school in Heidelburg, Germany where she spent a few months in Bangladesh doing thesis research. If you don't get one of those slots though...

As an officer you should never stop learning, and as you're about to enter the military I would place particular emphasis on that topic. You shouldn't show up your classmates. But that means don't raise your hand and show off that you know the answer when everyone else in your squad is...

When 4.3 out of 100 AA Females are fully qualified and all 4 are admitted while 16.3 out of 100 CA Males are fully qualified and only 8 are admitted, something's going on. The most important thing to remember with statistics is to look at the numbers that actually matter. If all 100 of...

USNACandidate2012, I agree with what Hurricane12 says, but please allow me to just restate some of my thoughts previously posted a couple weeks ago: Prior to Service Selection, at the beginning of senior yr, midshipmen submit their preferences. You have options of Navy Surface Warfare Officer...

USAFA may have plenty of cool ECAs for flying around in the sky, but with the Naval Academy I travelled to Japan, Italy and England, rowed top tier crew, sailed Annapolis to Boston 40 miles off the coast on a 40-ft yacht, performed w/ world class symphonies across the US and in the Vatican and...

Prior to Service Selection, at the beginning of senior yr, midshipmen submit their preferences. You have options of Navy Surface Warfare Officer (SWO), Subs, Navy pilot, Marine Ground, Marine Air or EOD/Special Warfare etc. If you want to become a Marine Officer then put it at the top of your...

In Response to: Memphis9489 "Maybe some of the Blue & Gold Officers have some insight to this rumor. It appears the Brigade is too large - over 4600. The size of the incoming Plebe classes are largely based on the expected attrition. The past few years, attrition has been at an all...

What's to come Gents and ladies, No harm no foul with giving the candidates a heads up on what's to come. Even without the youngsters providing tips prior to I-day, there are plenty of ways that some candidates have a leg up on the others. Consider those who've gone to Summer Seminar...

I graduated the US Naval Academy in 2008 as an officer in the Marine Corps. I am currently deployed to Afghanistan. I loved my time at the Academy and am definitely enjoying my time in the Marine Corps. I am more than willing to talk to any candidates or prospective candidates about...