Plebes Dropping Already

Just to remind everyone, the ROM handlers’ job is not to train the plebes, it’s to ensure they are kept healthy and stable to be handed off to the detailers on Oath Day, while still upholding a basic professional standard. They’ve been instructed to be professional but not to impart stress, which is Detail’s job. There is some variation in how strictly the the plebes have been kept just depending on what personalities got randomly drafted to do lead the ROM Task Force, but I promise that once training begins, Plebes in each company will be challenged.

Certain policies like no OTC meds have always been in effect, even simple stuff like vitamins, bacitracin, and acne medication. Plebes can get all that stuff from Brigade Medical free of charge however if the docs deem it appropriate. They can always ask their chain of command to see medical and they will get seen. I can honestly say that the safety and wellbeing of the plebes is the number one priority during Plebe Summer. Detailers receive a lot of training and are subject to strict boundaries designed to ensure safety. Yes they will be pushed hard physically and emotionally, but it’s within a tightly controlled environment. During a tough physical evolution for example, there are always numerous safety observers watching for signs of dehydration, heat stress, etc. And there are always many experienced officers and enlisted around monitoring things. These young men and women are in good hands!
 
You know what? They aren't Plebes yet, they're just cattle.
After they take that oath on Saturday and get acquainted with the Detailers, they'll be Plebes.
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Didn’t each plebe get sworn in by a standing officer when they handed over their signed “Agreement to Serve” document. That would have been Sunday 28 June, or soon thereafter, for our daughter .... Isn’t this coming Saturday’s Big function just celebratory in nature.

I also thought that Plebe summer would begin staggered in small groups. Our daughter had already been in her room 16 days from yesterday when her roommate arrived. I thought they would start Plebe summer in the smaller discrete units starting yesterday, Tuesday 14 July.
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Well if they are, then they aren't being treated like Plebes yet. I have had it described to me as a limbo before the radically-shortened Plebe Summer begins in earnest on Saturday. They have been handling direct-admits with kid gloves and making NAPS and priors toe the line a little more. That is where some of the disparity comes from, I would imagine. They should expect more out of priors and NAPSters.
 
I don't even have a Plebe there, but I'll be watching it just because I have never seen it without a throng of parents there behind the wall.
It will certainly be something new.
 
this has been the longest I-Day in history, and will finally end late Saturday night. legally, contractually they are already usna midshipmen, but in all practical matters they are plebe candidates until after the oath on Saturday. they will know instantly when they hit that milestone and become actual Plebes.

their time so far has been waiting, holding, limbo. the task force mids who have been managing the day-to-day so far have had their hands tied, and they have had to bite their lip rather than train, correct, and discipline. they have been camp counselors, not detailers, by design, less so even than in NASS. a large number of those task force'ers will move over to different companies this weekend and become actual detailers.

i would assume that the next few nights will be full of the usual excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and sleepless nights leading up to the real I-Day, minus the family but plus the new friends and company mates.

congrats to all the parents who will be watching! hopefully PPW will happen as some later date in the not too distant future
 
the weak ones get weeded out fast and that's as it should be. If you can't hack life at an academy or military college you won't be able to handle the pressures of combat or a fast paced operational tempo.
 
We watched the video of the marching into Bancroft with our youngster the other night. When we got to the part where the doors slam behind them, his exact words were "And that's when they started yelling at us". Of course, we thought it was hilarious. I'm sure the day of reckoning is coming for these plebes/candidates and there will be no doubt left in their minds as to the official beginning of plebe summer.
 
the weak ones get weeded out fast and that's as it should be

While this was certainly a common feeling back in the day..."weeding out" the weak ones isn't the mindset anymore. The guidance now is that everyone who is admitted has the potential and is given the opportunity to succeed. That is why attrition rates are very low compared to what they were back in the day. It remains to be seen how effective this approach is.
 
My sentiment goes out to Nicdav17, his daughter, and any other soon to be plebe that may be experiencing this level of isolation. I don’t know what is actually happing inside the walls of Bancroft. I can only imagine. Some parents are “hearing” things and so are some plebes. As mentioned earlier, scuttlebutt can be rampant. The astute plebes ones will tune it out.

With the discussion of standards not being applied consistently between companies, I’d argue that the 1/C detailer that permitted a call or email in this situation, at a plebe’s personal moment, exhibited some real leadership. Rather than being “consistent”, he or she made the right decision at that exact moment. Sometimes it’s better to be right than consistent. And it isn’t going “soft” on the indoctrination system. No two or three situations are exactly alike. Part of the leadership equation is an understanding of the human condition. Detailers can still be tough and demanding. They will have made judgment calls this summer that will serve them later in the fleet: Am I being suckered or is this case legit? How can I help the individual cope? Hopefully, the decisions detailers make will provide the motivation for a plebe to meet the challenges that await. Grace indeed.

Good luck to all this Saturday.

I am deeply, profoundly grateful for the steps being taken to keep our kids safe and healthy and have no doubt the hard work will begin this weekend. It has not been a cake walk for kids, esp. those in isolation—but will make them stronger for sure.
 
Anybody have any insight as to when or if youngsters might need to report. I got a “might not be going back until after New Years” this afternoon.

From Everything I have read and seen, 3/C return is still a big TBD. I think the Dant even addressed that in a Dant Daily the other day.
 
Would it be A social distancing/spacing issue keeping 3/C’s home?
 
That would be my guess. Having room to isolate those with positive tests or exposed. Need a few floors in a wing for when that happens. Also, if they will remain only two to a room that takes a lot of room. Maybe a current Mid can answer... Will Plebes remain 2/room for PS once ROM is done? Room to space out and eat also. I know they are setting up tents for that. But USNA could work around the food space issue with longer meal times and tents. It would be disappointing as a 3/C to do that but I am sure USNA is working on a plan.
 
Anybody have any insight as to when or if youngsters might need to report. I got a “might not be going back until after New Years” this afternoon.
This is the rumor flying around USMA. I have a '23 returning this week and a '21 returning in a couple weeks. It is going to be an adjustment for our home but it's time.
 
It would be disappointing as a 3/C to do that but I am sure USNA is working on a plan.
It would be. Most have yet to have any summer training. If my DS were in a regular college I would strongly advise a gap year - regular college is going to be a cluster. 3/C’s are lowest priority. My DS is having a hardEr time feeling a part of USNA.
 
1/C must lead the Brigade and prepare to commission. 2/C must sign two-for-sevens. 4/C must be trained. 3/C serve an important mentorship role, but are last in the list of priorities for reform. 23's return is TBD and the assumption is that space will be needed to isolate COVID positive mids and anyone they had contact with.
 
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Thanks for the insight. My wife and I will plan on feeding and housing our 3/C for the foreseeable future. He works out 2 hours a day and eats 4000 cals of protein. We just bought a whole butchered hog to put in the freezer. With two of his bros at home, too, it is a grocery “ouch!”
 
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