"Civi" clothing rules during plebe parent weekend

I know nothing about military rules, other than members need to be in uniform within a certain radius of the Academy. But when a plebe is in the privacy of his lodgings (like if we rent a house) or if he is sitting in the backyard, can he wear normal clothes? What about if he is in the yard but it is the front or side yard and is visible to the general public? If nothing else, can he wear casual Navy clothing, like a PE shirt and shorts? I can't imagine him having to stay fully in uniform the whole time!

During PPW your Plebe should always be in his White’s when in public. In the privacy of your hotel/Airbnb PT gear is okay. Also, is you go to the pool at your hotel he should wear the swimsuit the Academy issues him.

He’ll know what to do. It’ll be made very clear before PPW. In short: He’ll need to be in summer whites whenever in public, i.e. in public view. An exception would be if he’s swimming, in which case he’d need to be in USNA-issue swim trunks. Do not encourage him to flaunt the rules, no matter how well meaning you may be.

Cross-posted with @Temple17. Nice mind meld.

He will be in the prescribed uniform, probably summer whites, the short-sleeved white shirt and pants. In the hotel room or rental house, he can wear his “reg PT gear,” blue rim T-shirt, Navy shorts. That is an actual uniform at USNA, suitable for athletic activity and relaxing inside or in the confines of the yard. It’s what our sponsor plebes wear at our house.

He’s the one who took the midshipman oath and raised his right hand to “well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office,” so he can decide whether he wants to abide by his oath or hang out in his favorite jeans you brought from home. He has a duty to know the applicable regs, and it’s up to him to what extent he upholds standards.

You don’t have to worry about this at all; he gets to do all the thinking.

MidCakePa said:

. Do not encourage him to flaunt the rules, no matter how well meaning you may be.

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Capt MJ said:

You don’t have to worry about this at all; he gets to do all the thinking.

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^ This ...Trust me, DS/DD will know the rules, and at the end of Plebe Summer you can expect them to follow them to the T. There are plenty of eyes and ears in Annapolis, particularly during Parent's Weekend (when the Brigade is starting to reform), to do anything stupid.

This question raises one of my pet peeves .. I often see Parent's Club programs with gouge about attending Parent's Weekend or Commissioning Week. They inevitably contain well intentioned advice about what the Midshipmen can wear, or warnings about making sure your Midshipmen get back to the Yard in time. I find it funny, particularly with Commissioning Week, that parents feel the need to even think about getting their Midshipman back in time. I can assure you, after 4 years, Midshipmen know exactly how long it takes to get back to Bancroft from any corner of the globe !

kit kat said:

I know nothing about military rules, other than members need to be in uniform within a certain radius of the Academy. But when a plebe is in the privacy of his lodgings (like if we rent a house) or if he is sitting in the backyard, can he wear normal clothes? What about if he is in the yard but it is the front or side yard and is visible to the general public? If nothing else, can he wear casual Navy clothing, like a PE shirt and shorts? I can't imagine him having to stay fully in uniform the whole time!

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Being brand new to all things pertaining to service academies, I had some of the same questions that you did. Thanks for getting that conversation started. It's good to be informed even if DS will have learned the procedures and protocol over the summer. I'm catching up, though. Congratulations to you and your family.
Go Navy!

Old Navy BGO said:

I find it funny, particularly with Commissioning Week, that parents feel the need to even think about getting their Midshipman back in time. I can assure you, after 4 years, Midshipmen know exactly how long it takes to get back to Bancroft from any corner of the globe !

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How true this is! Kiddo come home for spring break a couple of weeks ago...about a six hour drive. Mom says on Sunday "Don't you think you need to leave to now to make sure you get back on time?" ....This Firstie responds "No worries Mom, I've got about a half an hour before I need to go...and that will give me at least fifteen minutes to spare".......Kids.

Old Navy BGO said:

This question raises one of my pet peeves .. I often see Parent's Club programs with gouge about attending Parent's Weekend or Commissioning Week. They inevitably contain well intentioned advice about what the Midshipmen can wear, or warnings about making sure your Midshipmen get back to the Yard in time. I find it funny, particularly with Commissioning Week, that parents feel the need to even think about getting their Midshipman back in time. I can assure you, after 4 years, Midshipmen know exactly how long it takes to get back to Bancroft from any corner of the globe !

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Ermmm... Well, for the Plebe Parents perhaps the point is (or should be?) educating the parents? I definitely know a few parents who would need a *program* to explain to them that they are suddenly no longer in charge of their DS/DD's schedule. LOL

Temple17 said:

During PPW your Plebe should always be in his White’s when in public. In the privacy of your hotel/Airbnb PT gear is okay. Also, is you go to the pool at your hotel he should wear the swimsuit the Academy issues him.

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Tip for parents during PPW: Your plebe will be absolutely terrified of getting anything on their dress whites. Bring along a small Tide (or whatever brand)
stain remover stick just in case. Don't be surprised if they are checking their uniform for possible (imaginary) stains every 10 minutes.

Or just get take-out or room service and let them eat in their PT outfit in the room. This will have the added benefit of increasing the amount of time available for sleep.

I laugh at your Tide stick. Nothing is better for getting stuff out of dress whites than Shout wipes
They look like wet naps and come 12 (individually wrapped) to a package.

Macgyver fix: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and Peroxide toothpaste, a damp toothbrush or damp washcloth. Also works on scuffs on white leather shoes (not Corfam) and white combo covers. Plus adds a minty fresh aroma! It’s got to be the all-white stuff, not anything with a blue or green gel.

Safe enough for tooth enamel and Navy white uniforms/shoes, mild abrasive and mild bleach - works magic.

Sandydesert said:

Temple17 said:

During PPW your Plebe should always be in his White’s when in public. In the privacy of your hotel/Airbnb PT gear is okay. Also, is you go to the pool at your hotel he should wear the swimsuit the Academy issues him.

Click to expand...

Tip for parents during PPW: Your plebe will be absolutely terrified of getting anything on their dress whites. Bring along a small Tide (or whatever brand)
stain remover stick just in case. Don't be surprised if they are checking their uniform for possible (imaginary) stains every 10 minutes.

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LOL, Before DD sat in any chair, I sat in first and squirmed around after seeing one Plebe get something on their backside in a restaurant.

My husband laughs at me because I still look at the seat before I sit down anywhere, and do not hesitate to go get napkins to wipe it off in a fast food place.

Tidesticks, Shout and Toothpaste are all well and good...but there are some spills beyond hope.
We were walking back from movies in Eastport , late spring Plebe plebe year, and one of the group (not me) tried to jump a puddle...misjudged the landing, and flopped back on his butt. (I can neither confirm or deny the involvement of alcohol). Summer whites and mud puddles are not a good combination. Fortunately, it was a "carry raingear" day, so he was able to cover most of the mess, he walked in the middle of the group, and we successfully got back to 5-0 without getting caught.

Capt MJ said:

My husband laughs at me because I still look at the seat before I sit down anywhere, and do not hesitate to go get napkins to wipe it off in a fast food place.

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I avoid anything white, including dress shirts when I can help it.

I really don't know how I ever survived wearing whites without any special stain remover pens, wipes or whatever. My parents were abusive because they did not bring
me uniform cleaning stuff and my dad as someone who was well experienced certainly knew about stains. I furthered the family tradition of midshipman abuse by
not bringing stain removal equip to MY son when he was a plebe. Somehow, he made it through and learned to take care of his whites by himself so I don't need to follow
him around the world bringing him stain sticks.

Pro-tip - I heart Capt MJ's hack but when you don't have that, I've found that a simple finger rubbed on plain white soap and lightly applied to the stain with water works pretty well. Use of a washcloth will help if available but I've used that pretty simple soap method with uniforms and variety of garments across a LOT of trips from deployments to business travel. I even (gasp) have done that with "Dry Clean Only" stuff and nobody has arrested me for it yet.

BLUF: Don't shortchange your kids!

So that people don't think that I'm making fun or otherwise mocking different parenting styles, please understand I'm saying this from my standpoint after a military career.
The difficulty with taking care of whites is just another of the challenges that your mid has accepted to be part of the defense of our nation. Just as you can't be in the ring
helping them box their opponent in plebe/youngster boxing or sitting next to them when they are taking their Chem or Calc finals, you also will not be with them to help
when they are standing a midwatch as OOD with the lives of hundreds of shipmates in their hands or they're on short final calling the ball and trying to catch a three wire.
Or they're leading a platoon that is engaged with real world badguys or whatever scenario you can imagine a military officer might get caught up in. What those situations
have in common is that our training is supposed to be what helps us prevail and bring our people through safely. That training includes things as silly/elementary as plebe
rates and dealing with uniform regulations.
Helping junior through these hurdles SHORTCHANGES him/her of training that is actually important. THEY need to be the ones who take care of their uniform and THEY
have the ability to find their own Tide Pens, etc and need to step up as adults and do so. When they fail to do it, they get corrected and learn from it whereas when YOU do
it, they don't get corrected and don't learn.
As a BGO, part of my interview is finding out what the candidates know about plebe summer/year and if they don't know much, I try to help that. I do this with the parents
as well and I relate the memorization of plebe rates and "chow calls" to specific things that I experienced later in my career including during shipboard emergencies. I sure
as hell hated getting grilled on my rates and doing chow calls but saw their importance later.
I realize that I'm giving gouge that is different from what lots of the parents clubs will tell you:

For the record, my Plebe turned me on to shout wipes. I had never heard of them, and I am now a believer.
I have a light cream-colored car interior which is gorgeous when clean. Not so much when dirty, though.
My car has to be spotless, and I have some serious OCD.