Ask a Plebe

blueplate99 said:
How was the week after PPW? I know there is already a thread going about it but wanted to hear from someone who just experienced it directly. Hell-o night? What were your favorite and least favorite parts of plebe summer? Do you work out with the entire brigade or just your company? Are classes difficult, and do you have an idea what you want your major to be?
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The week after PPW will vary per company, but mine was incredibly boring. I honesty can't remember what we did after parents weekend. Hell night, wasn't hellish at all. In fact it was mostly funny. The upperclass did a great job of creating clever ways to mess with you, while at the same time introducing themselves and their personalities. I did a lot of really cool things over plebe summer that I would not have had the opportunity to do anywhere else, and you truly do form incredible bonds. Conversely, there is a ton of stress in each evolution. Stress that I imagine won't dissipate the entire time that I'm in the Navy/Marine Corps. The worst part for me was having a combination of homesickness, stress, inability to communicate with those who propped me up previously in life, being overwhelmed constantly, and possessing extreme fatigue (I learned that I am able to fall asleep while standing at attention). During plebe summer you work out with the entire regiment; during the ac year it's with your company. As I am only a week into classes I don't believe I am of the proper authority to answer the question about difficulty level, however I will say that there is already a lot of work. I am considering poly science and economics.
 
FloridaToUSMA2021 said:
What tips do you have for nomination essays? Ex. Should they tell a story? Getting them done? Etc.
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For my essays to the academies/nominations I tried to tell a short narrative story about the specific moment that inspired me to come to the naval academy. I wrote about when I went to the Arizona Memorial and I saw the names of those sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice, and then looking over the edge of the marble monument and seeing the very ship below my feet. It was a very powerful moment in my life with emotion embedded very deep in that memory, which made it easier to write more fluidly about it.
 
Conversely, there is a ton of stress in each evolution. Stress that I imagine won't dissipate the entire time that I'm in the Navy/Marine Corps. The worst part for me was having a combination of homesickness, stress, inability to communicate with those who propped me up previously in life, being overwhelmed constantly, and possessing extreme fatigue (I learned that I am able to fall asleep while standing at attention)
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Hopefully plebe summer taught you some ways on how to cope with stress -- it will pay dividends throughout some of your time at USNA, but especially once you are commissioned. As you correctly point out, it is unlikely to dissipate throughout your career -- the dynamics change -- but stress, in some form, always seems to be present.
 
Normally I'd have a much better question but I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask since I don't think I could get this answered better elsewhere: How many hours of sleep do you average per night and from what time to what time? ( 6.5hrs "23:00–5:30" )
 
SOP during Plebe Summer mandates that we get 7.5 hours asleep a night, even though it doesn't feel like it. The Monday-Saturday schedule during the summer is 2200-0530 is blocked off for sleep. During the AC Year, Taps is at 2300 and you are not allowed to leave deck until 0530. 2-3 times a week, Plebe Workouts go at 0530, so you wake up ~0500. On off days, I usually wake up ~0600-0615 depending on the first Military Obligation of the day. Long story short, it depends on workload, but I would say the average is 6 hours for Plebes.
 
Or, if the plebes are not up to standards, the training staff will reward you with a "happy fun time" workout at Hospital Point in full NWU's on a Monday morning
 
There's a rule of no music for plebes but does that extend to playing personal musical instruments?
 
I understand what is recited during chow calls but I don't get *how* they are done. Do all the plebes do it together at one time? Do they do it one after another? Do some recite to one group of upper class and others
recite to another set of upper class? Are certain plebes picked at random to recite on any given day?

It seems like it would take a ton of time for everyone if every plebe to participate three times a day every day.
 
grace said:
I understand what is recited during chow calls but I don't get *how* they are done. Do all the plebes do it together at one time? Do they do it one after another? Do some recite to one group of upper class and others
recite to another set of upper class? Are certain plebes picked at random to recite on any given day?

It seems like it would take a ton of time for everyone if every plebe to participate three times a day every day.
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While you are waiting for a current mid/plebe to respond, I would bet at least one aspect continues: lightning fast delivery.

I have fond memories of hearing the decibels ramp up at certain points during the day as plebes poured out of their rooms and stood in the p-ways throughout 8 Bancroft Hall wings, (passageway, corridor) yelling out memorized menus. So convenient to just stick my head out of my BattO office and decide, yep, chicken tenders, believe I'll mosey on down to King Hall and join a table in my batt area.
 
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Plebes usually make a schedule for chow calls in designated spots. There are catches to it... You never leave a classmate to be flamed on (yelled at) by themselves and some companies may require all Plebes to do chow calls so they would be broken up into different company spots. It's very early in the academic year so companies are still finding their routine. Chow calls are normally done for mandatory formations and/or meals. Dinner usually isn't mandatory nor has a mandatory formation (not sure the current routine, but usually there is 1-2 mandatory dinners a week). The officers and meals get very repetitive so Plebes catch on to them quickly. I graduated awhile ago and could still do a lightening fast chow call with the exact meals we had from back in the day... That is how engrained they get. Chow calls become second nature and boring very quickly.
 
grace said:
I understand what is recited during chow calls but I don't get *how* they are done. Do all the plebes do it together at one time? Do they do it one after another? Do some recite to one group of upper class and others
recite to another set of upper class? Are certain plebes picked at random to recite on any given day?

It seems like it would take a ton of time for everyone if every plebe to participate three times a day every day.
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Every company is different in their ways. My company has 4 of us stand on deck plates and yell in different directions. One person will call out " X Company X minute chow call.... Ready? Execute!" and then every plebe joins in. The only reason a plebe is allowed to miss chow calls is if they are SIQ or have another obligation. The upperclass will walk around as we do it, and judge whether we are performing admirably or not.

You really hit the nail on the head with that last sentence. Correct me if I'm wrong OGs, the point of almost everything plebe year is to limit your time so that you learn to prioritize your duties, and learn to manage the time you are given. Chow calls also serve the purpose of being able to memorize long lists quickly; a talent that I've been told is very useful in flight school. Something I've learned that has helped me with the extraneous tasks they give us is to look for the purpose. Signature sheets are so you meet your upperclassmen. If they give you a difficult or embarrassing task you're going to remember their name, plus it gets you used to being uncomfortable. Boards are a way of expressing information given to you in a way that gets the point across very quickly as well as creatively. There are many more examples, but if you can think of a purpose it'll make it much easier to complete.
 
NavyHoops said:
Plebes usually make a schedule for chow calls in designated spots. There are catches to it... You never leave a classmate to be flamed on (yelled at) by themselves and some companies may require all Plebes to do chow calls so they would be broken up into different company spots. It's very early in the academic year so companies are still finding their routine. Chow calls are normally done for mandatory formations and/or meals. Dinner usually isn't mandatory nor has a mandatory formation (not sure the current routine, but usually there is 1-2 mandatory dinners a week). The officers and meals get very repetitive so Plebes catch on to them quickly. I graduated awhile ago and could still do a lightening fast chow call with the exact meals we had from back in the day... That is how engrained they get. Chow calls become second nature and boring very quickly.
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My DH still remembers one with sirmixedsaladroastlambrissolepotatoesbutteredpeasrollsandbutterblackwalnuticecreamsir. I just asked him. Vintage.
 
Hahaha! Glad to see I am not the only OG who can remember them.

Yeap, the current Plebe nailed it. Fleet life and training is full of checklists. Every community including the Marine Corps has a long list of things that need to be memorized. USNA grads generally thrive in this area because they learn memorization under pressure. That is what chow calls do, demand information to be provided in a high stress environment. Sure it seems like a ton to do on top of ~20 credit hours. It forces you to learn time management, plan ahead and prioritize. In another 6 weeks socnorb will have nearly every menu and officer memeorized and chow calls will be barely a blip in the day (trust me they get easier every day, hang in there). Boards are a glimpse to future fleet life when you have OOD boards, SWO or sub pin boards, nuke qual boards, screening interviews, etc.

Pilots- memeorizes tons of checklists. No time to look at a checklist when the cockpit is on fire or you are losing altitude. You have to recall it all, make the best decision all while you are crashing.

Marines - 9 liners, 5 paragraph orders and all their details, call for fire, casevac and a million other things. All memorization that is needed. Oh not so easy when you are under fire and the comms are bad.

SWO - qualifications, boards, etc. As the OOD you are responsible for the ship. What happens if there is a fire in a compartment or you are taking on water? Or making a decision on what to do with Iranian boats floating around you too close?

Subs - same as SWO. Throw in emergency procedures for a nuke reactor.

SEALs - emergency procedures for diving, parachute procedures and a million other things.

It's all prep for the future. It doesn't necessarily all make sense as a Mid and especially a new Plebe. But as one of those OGs who made it to war and back... It prepared me well and I am thankful for the training I received.
 
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Chow calls already almost feel like a blip in the day. We practiced them so much over plebe summer that now everything from what to say to which deckplate to stand on gets decided before the chow call, out of earshot of the training staff, so it looks smooth when we are actually out there. As candidates, I really wouldn't concern yourself with chow calls just yet. You won't even practice them until 2nd set of plebe summer. They look super complicated, but in reality are pretty simple once you have the basic outline down. Then it's just playing fill-in-the-blank
 
While chow calls vary by companies, most (if not all) will start the AC year off with all plebes performing them. As time goes by and as a "reward," the requirement in number and frequency decreases (i.e. only one plebe per chow-call station and only at specific minutes versus every minute). For plebes...you will get there! There is "rolling" chow calls (think of a moving party line) that circles the company living area while yelling out the information. The best kind of chow call is when you lose a bet and have to do one at 0200 in one of your 1/C or 2/C room (same sex) -- and scramble out before being caught (all in good fun).
Some of the posted questions should probably be re-visited as the year progresses...it will provide better insights on increased experiences.

Rates are typically asked between chow calls, too. So when plebes are standing there not chow-calling, they might be asked various rates (the days, newspaper articles, etc.). I am not sure how the current group of plebes view chow calls...but for us, it was more about being rated than yelling out information.
 
Socnorb said:
I am also a plebe, and I would be willing to answer questions. I'm a direct, I went to both STEM and NASS, and I feel like I represent a very average plebe here; which is good for the purposes of this thread.
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Just the person I've been looking for! What do you consider average? Do you mind elaborating? My DS has very average test scores which he is working on improving. He has all the EC's,varsity sport, club president, Eagle Scout and goes to a highly competitive school. The SAT seems to be the setback. He went to Stem and CVW and had an opportunity to meet a lot of great "average" Plebes. What do you think made you stand out? Any advice for the average test taker?
 
Swag said:
Just the person I've been looking for! What do you consider average? Do you mind elaborating? My DS has very average test scores which he is working on improving. He has all the EC's,varsity sport, club president, Eagle Scout and goes to a highly competitive school. The SAT seems to be the setback. He went to Stem and CVW and had an opportunity to meet a lot of great "average" Plebes. What do you think made you stand out? Any advice for the average test taker?
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My GPA was not stellar, I believe I had a 3.75ish cGPA. In the subjects that USNA looks at for the ACT I scored a 32 and a 28 in English and math respectively. I was team captain of my swim team junior and senior year. I started my own Triathlon club at my school which promptly took a nose dive into the ground. I'm not an eagle scout nor did I go to a highly competitive school. Two things that I believe made me stand out was my essay to the academy, and I had over 500 hours of volunteering at my local foodbank. I am not sure why I got in, but everyone gets in for a reason. Perhaps they find that hidden golden egg in each persons application that tells them that we are right for the academy. I haven't got a clue what will get someone in here, and it sounds like no else really does either. I spent a lot of time as a candidate wondering what everyone else's stats were, when I really should've been looking at my own. If your son can do something to improve himself every day, nothing will stop him from getting in.
 
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