Care Packages to USNA

My DS was known as “tuna boy” by his company mates during plebe summer until they got a chance to get to know him. This monicker derived from the stench of those tuna packs in foil That we placed into his care packages and Which he opened in 90 degree Maryland heat. He will probably be tuna boy at his 50th reunion.
 
ders_dad said:
My DS was known as “tuna boy” by his company mates during plebe summer until they got a chance to get to know him. This monicker derived from the stench of those tuna packs in foil That we placed into his care packages and Which he opened in 90 degree Maryland heat. He will probably be tuna boy at his 50th reunion.
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My mother sent me a beer-cheddar bread loaf via FPO mail to my first duty station in Spain, in the summer. It arrived as beer-cheddar ooze, ready for penicillin harvest. And the aroma. I got my personal mail, as many did, via the box number for my department. I was teased for my entire tour of duty about that.
 
Capt MJ said:
My mother sent me a beer-cheddar bread loaf via FPO mail to my first duty station in Spain, in the summer. It arrived as beer-cheddar ooze, ready for penicillin harvest. And the aroma. I got my personal mail, as many did, via the box number for my department. I was teased for my entire tour of duty about that.
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OK, just one here. One of my classmates was more than a little confused on I day and maybe the first 3 or 4 times the detailers worked us over and would say "Any Questions, stick out a paw", this kid had a question. Sadly, the die was cast as by the 5th or 6th time the detailers would pause, instead of asking "Any Questions", they started saying "Any Questions ____________ <---(insert name)" and it continued throughout the summer and the year.
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We're about to hit 46 years of life past and opening but just about any time we're together, someone will say "Any Questions _______?"
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Mind you that this is a highly regarded Naval Officer with a great post-Navy career and alumni parent but he still hears it.
 
We had a young man who was local and a hot mess. Certain Plebes struggle, but everyone knows they are trying and they will eventually be fine. Others... it’s just not the right place. His parents decided to drop off food at Main Office for him. The detailers had to go pick it up. They left him a McDonald’s super size meal. He sat at Blue & Gold that night in the middle of the hallway eating it while 79 other Plebes and a dozen detailers watched. He left a few weeks later. His parents constant hovering at chapel each week, that kind of stuff and everything else did not help.

Parents.... Blue and Gold will be something they do nightly during Plebe Summer and for parts of the academic year. They all stand in the hall after showers and ‘Personal time’ and pass word, hand in thoughts of the day, mail call, check for injuries. Not sure how it is now, but for us we always wore our shower shoes (flip flops) so we could see their feet and what shape they were in.
 
NavyHoops said:
We had a young man who was local and a hot mess. Certain Plebes struggle, but everyone knows they are trying and they will eventually be fine. Others... it’s just not the right place. His parents decided to drop off food at Main Office for him. The detailers had to go pick it up. They left him a McDonald’s super size meal. He sat at Blue & Gold that night in the middle of the hallway eating it while 79 other Plebes and a dozen detailers watched. He left a few weeks later. His parents constant hovering at chapel each week, that kind of stuff and everything else did not help.

Parents.... Blue and Gold will be something they do nightly during Plebe Summer and for parts of the academic year. They all stand in the hall after showers and ‘Personal time’ and pass word, hand in thoughts of the day, mail call, check for injuries. Not sure how it is now, but for us we always wore our shower shoes (flip flops) so we could see their feet and what shape they were in.
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That’s exactly how we still run B&G. And wow, I cringed reading that story. The poor kid, I’m assuming he felt awful being put in that situation. Surprised an impromptu delivery like that was even allowed by the OOW and the PS chain of command. Pretty sure it wouldn’t fly today.
 
I think the Company Officer called his parents after and told them to cut it out. It was the detailers way of trying to run him out. Not saying I agree with that, but he did leave. It was not the right fit for him and hopefully he found a path that he wanted, not his parent’s path. But this was awhile ago and we did lose quite a few along the way. I can still remember the day Tangoe company opened and watching Plebes moving there and detailers screaming in the stairwells destroying them for quitting and the other half PTing us for hours telling us all to quit. I don’t think things are quite like that anymore and in many ways for the better, but I will never forget that.
 
NavyHoops said:
I don’t think things are quite like that anymore and in many ways for the better, but I will never forget that.
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Even though the stories are out there and many/most have read/heard them, it is tough for folks exposed to the USNA of today to
really "get" the level of adversary-ness that the system used to have. Especially the concept of "running people out" which I think
can't really be fully grasped in today's world.
 
Back in the day there was definitely an agenda of “weed ‘em out,” and PS was more of an elimination round.
Endless debates on theory, practice and philosophy.
 
MidCakePa said:
According to DD, a 2/C detailer, she’s not allowed to receive any packages until ROM is over. So it only makes sense that the same is true for plebes. (DD has a care package from a cousin that’s been sitting in the mailroom since spring break. Cousin said not to worry — nothing perishable in it. Thank goodness.)
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I sent a package to 1C DD who is working ROM and it was received in about 2 days.
 
THParent said:
View attachment 6096

I sent my DS a tube of this over Plebe Summer, knowing full well that he had a female Detailer who watched him unpack his care package.
He said she turned beet red. He told me not to do that again. Mission accomplished.

Semper Fi.
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I am dying, that is just perfect! I want to try it (not the lotion) with our son. Will think on this......
 
I hope the difficulty of isolation in ROM (many without roommates, mine included) is something the plebes can power through. Letter we got yesterday from our son said he is looking forward to 4 brutal weeks of plebe summer. Boredom and isolation is taxing, but he is folding/refolding clothes, learning rates, reading military stuff.
I grew up hearing about how my Uncle was 'weeded out' in mid '60's. He wasn't a good fit for USNA and as brutal as it was for he and my grandparents, it was likely the right thing and proper outcome.
Wishing the plebes (mine included) fortitude.
 
Heatherg21 said:
I hope the difficulty of isolation in ROM (many without roommates, mine included) is something the plebes can power through. Letter we got yesterday from our son said he is looking forward to 4 brutal weeks of plebe summer. Boredom and isolation is taxing, but he is folding/refolding clothes, learning rates, reading military stuff.
I grew up hearing about how my Uncle was 'weeded out' in mid '60's. He wasn't a good fit for USNA and as brutal as it was for he and my grandparents, it was likely the right thing and proper outcome.
Wishing the plebes (mine included) fortitude.
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No roommate? That stinks. On the bright side, it will be over and done with in the blink of an eye. Things will get better.
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Many don’t have roommates bc there are a lot in iso/observation due to covid. So when one goes to isolation, that means the roommate is also alone.

It for certain is mentally challenging...just blah. COVID has its tentacles in everything!
 
justdoit19 said:
Many don’t have roommates bc there are a lot in iso/observation due to covid. So when one goes to isolation, that means the roommate is also alone.

It for certain is mentally challenging...just blah. COVID has its tentacles in everything!
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It sure does. But we and our plebes will prevail.
 
OldRetSWO said:
You may think so at this time but getting through Plebe Summer is only the very beginning of the relationship with classmates. What the detailers allow or not is less of an issue than being asked for the next 50 or more years "Got any new cookies to share?" or "Tell your mom to send some different deoderant", etc. I had companymates who "stuck out" during plebe summer and still hear about it after 45 years (about to click another number this week). I can tell you that the best thing for the PLEBE is to NOT stick out as the care package king (or queen). If you want to send things to make yourself feel closer or whatever, that is fine but realize that it becomes more about you as opposed to them.
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When my DD went "rogue", dropped out of college and enlisted, her first letter told us no "pogey bait". The basic trainees would have to do 1 push-up for every 10 calories of pogey bait and the food would go straight into storage. Well, once her uncles found out (USNA '78 and USNA '82) that was it. They found the pogey bait with the highest calories and shipped it. In some cases, they even did the math for the drill sergeants and wrote it on the food packages ("Drill sergeant, this box of Doublestuffs has 4200 calories. Wow. That's 420 pushups for Private _______"). The 82' really had a sense of humor and would include things to embarrass her or poorly doctor a package of cookies to look cough drops. When we went to her graduation the drill sergeants came up to us and told us how she was a legend for the amount of bogey bait she got and the ensuing pushups she did.
 
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