BGO Gender???

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usna1234

Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2018
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35
My preliminary application has been moved on to candidate status and I have been assigned a BGO. My BGO reached out to me first to give brief insight on the application process and what the role of a BGO is.

I would like to reply with a brief introduction of myself and where I stand in the application process at the current moment. However my BGO has a gender neutral name. For privacy reasons I will not disclose the name.

How should I address my email? Mr. or Mrs. so and so?
 
usna1234 said:
My preliminary application has been moved on to candidate status and I have been assigned a BGO. My BGO reached out to me first to give brief insight on the application process and what the role of a BGO is.

I would like to reply with a brief introduction of myself and where I stand in the application process at the current moment. However my BGO has a gender neutral name. For privacy reasons I will not disclose the name.

How should I address my email? Mr. or Mrs. so and so?
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Have you tried public profile searches on Facebook? LinkedIn? You can use “(name) in (state) LinkedIn.”

If the BGO by any chance mentioned they attended USNA, the classes of 1979 and prior had no women.

Or, I bet one of the USNA BGOs here might have access to that knowledge and have a private discussion with you.

Lastly, tackle some classic technology, early telephony, call him or her, and say, “hello, may I speak with Taylor Hornblower?” (Listen carefully to the voice.) “Hello, (sir) (ma’am), this is usna1234 and I wanted to briefly touch base and thank you for your email. I look forward to working with you and am very excited to pursue an appointment at USNA.”

If you still can’t tell (I have a deep voice, and have gotten “sirMA’AMS! for years), just buckle up and ask. “I apologize, from your name I couldn’t tell whether it was a man’s or woman’s name, and I want to be accurate in my correspondence.” They have surely run into this before.
 
Always a tough call. .. I usually punt and use a gender neutral greeting like Good Morning... or skip the greeting altogether. The other alternative is to do some internet sleuthing to find out whether the BGO is male or female. If the name isn’t too common, you can usually figure it out. The only thing I would caution against is making any assumption and being wrong.
 
I agree - do an internet search. I was actually surprised by what DS learned about his BGO in a 5 minute search - his current job, his grad rank from USNA, most of his billets, where he went to grad school etc. A lesson for us old folks about our digital life.
 
If your BGO has a gender neutral name, this will definitely not be the first time that he/she has been incorrectly addressed. Trust me on this. :)Obviously, if you can easily sort it out with a quick Net search, go for it. But if your BGO doesn't have a huge Internet presence and you make an error, it's no big deal. Just politely apologize and move on.
 
Capt MJ said:
Have you tried public profile searches on Facebook? LinkedIn?

Lastly, tackle some classic technology, early telephony, call him or her, and say, “hello, may I speak with Taylor Hornblower?” (Listen carefully to the voice.) “Hello, (sir) (ma’am), this is usna1234 and I wanted to briefly touch base and thank you for your email. I look forward to working with you and am very excited to pursue an appointment at USNA.”

If you still can’t tell (I have a deep voice, and have gotten “sirMA’AMS! for years), just buckle up and ask. “I apologize, from your name I couldn’t tell whether it was a man’s or woman’s name, and I want to be accurate in my correspondence.” They have surely run into this before.
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After thorough research on the internet using sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, I was still unclear of my BGO’s gender. So I just manned up and called my BGO per the recommendation above. Thank you for this wise advice.

By the way, I knew within the first two seconds of communicating with my BGO. His voice was really deep!! :)
 
AROTC-dad said:
usna1985 said:
Many BGOs are civilians.
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Do you mean the majority of BGO's never served in the military at all?
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I'm an AC in Massachusetts, and I am a civilian. In fact, 2 of the 3 Area Coordinators in MA are civilians. In my case, I am an Annapolis native and a Class of 2017 parent.

I don't have data, but I would estimate about 25% of BGOs are civilian based solely on my unscientific observations from various trainings and gatherings.
 
usna1985 said:
Many BGOs are civilians.
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AROTC-dad said:
Do you mean the majority of BGO's never served in the military at all?
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I think the original response was to the suggestion that OP use military rank (which would be appropriate if applicable). Some BGO's are retired military, and rank would be appropriate However, many BGO's (including myself) left the service before retirement, would not use their former rank, and are considered "civilians." That being said, there is no requirement that a BGO be a graduate or even served in the Military. I've seen BGO's that are Grads, non-Grad Reservists, Parents and Guidance Counselors. Keep in mind, the BGO interview is only part of the role -- the BGO is officially an "Naval Academy Information Officer, " and the duties include promoting awareness of USNA, counseling candidates and conducting the BGO interview.
 
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