A Day question

nukepharm

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Messages
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I have to turn in time off requests today and I want to be at the "things" I need to be at for my DS. On the calendar it says A Day parade. Is that when we should be there? How long should we stay?
Thanks
 
I have to turn in time off requests today and I want to be at the "things" I need to be at for my DS. On the calendar it says A Day parade. Is that when we should be there? How long should we stay?
Thanks

I think the parade is at 1000. There will be people in the bleachers at 0800. Get there early.

Get there on Friday at least. Leave Sunday. Your cadet will probably want to get off post with y'all and do some shopping for school supplies at a place like Target. Plus eat in a nice restaurant. It's an emotional time for them.
 
Yes, the A Day parade is an important event! This is when the New Cadets are accepted into the Corps and the parade is a wonderful sight to see. Later, after the parade, the plebes are free to travel with their family to their hotels but must be back in time for formation. The same thing on Sunday....plebes are released early and can spend time with their family but many of them will want to be back at WP in the afternoon to get ready for the first day of classes.

So if you can arrive on Friday in order to be at West Point early on Saturday to secure a good seat and then linger through Sunday to spend time with your plebe until he/she is ready to go back, definitely do it.
 
Thanks for the replies! Feel like we are jumping on a new roller coaster and am so happy to have the tour guides on here to make sure we stay strapped in.
 
Thanks for the replies! Feel like we are jumping on a new roller coaster and am so happy to have the tour guides on here to make sure we stay strapped in.

Nukepharm, are you planning on R-day also?
 
Yes, we are planning on R Day too. Any pointers for that?

There will be a reception at the Thayer the night before R-Day. It was Texas hot and humid last year. I hope y'all have better weather.

On R-day, in Ike Hall, after your new cadet departs after the 60 second goodbye, there are numerous vendors set up to sell you USMA gear and/or tell you about USMA-related organizations. There will be a vendor selling T-shirts and tote bags with the names of every member of the class of 2019. That line can get long. Look for it and get in line early.

Also, sometime in that morning, in Ike Hall, you will be able to find out your new cadet's Beast company and mailing address. The USPS will have a table set up where you can buy posted envelopes and drop off your new cadet's first letters.

All day, there will be static displays of military equipment in the field between the plain and Trophy Point.

In the afternoon, before the parade, sometime around 1400, the Superintendent or Commandant will give a brief in Ike Hall. They will tell you all about the composition of the Class and a brief overview of plebe year schedule and classes.

Since you will have your new cadet's Beast company, you can look for them in the parade that afternoon. Unless they are very distinctive (tall, female, etc), it's kind of hard to spot them.

You will park in the lots near Michie stadium and there will be shuttles running all day between those lots and Ike Hall.

There are also free bus tours of USMA leaving from Ike Hall. I highly recommend one of these bus tours. The guides are good and it doesn't take long.

Given the above, the time between drop off in the early AM and the parade in the late afternoon is not hard to fill.
 
Check out available places for lunch...we were in such a daze that we didn't realize there were nice meals int he air conditioning available...and we ate a sandwich on the curb outside Grant Hall. Enjoy the sights and sounds...if you spend the whole day trying to stalk your CC, you'll miss a great deal. Sign up for tours, get to know people from your area and elsewhere. Buy stuff--but not too much.
 
My view is that A-day weekend is more critical to attend than even R-day. Fri-Sun.

Following years you won't have as much reason to come on post, but plebe year priority would be: PPW, A-day, Fall weekend, and then R-day. But attend them all if you can!
 
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