Class of 2014

The end of Plebe Summer, end of 4/C summer and the beginning of academic year. They are still "PLEBES" until Herndon. Still have some garbage but not as bad.
 
USNA2014PP said:
When discussing Plebe Summer w/DS he said he loved it!
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No he didn't.

When a Plebe says that they "loved" Plebe Summer, one of several things are true ...

1.) They are lying
2.) They are trying to make Mom feel good.
3.) That is their way of saying, "It wasn't as bad as I thought. I did pretty well!"

In most cases, #3 is the real answer.

I can assure you, your son is looking very much forward to it all being over.

If he truly "loved" it, you would think he'd be sorry that it is all coming to an end. I'll bet he's not sorry.

Yet, there will be some who will struggle mightily with academics. They may rather be marching on Worden Field and reciting rates instead of trying to decipher the mysteries of Avogadro's Number. Yes, to them, Plebe Summer will be "the good 'ol days." Nobody ever flunks out of Plebe Summer.
 
I'm also just in from PPW. This may be the best in the 'injury free' category but DS said it's also the 'fattest' class ever! I think that speaks to the performance of initial prt's and how bad they were!! But, on the bright side, DS said they are the smartest class ever! Validations, etc. were off the charts. Am sure a lot of plebes will still have a rude awakening with the kind of academics they will face during ac year along with the tough physical and mental demands! VERY PROUD to have a DS in the class of 2014!!:biggrin:
 
usnaproud said:
I'm also just in from PPW. This may be the best in the 'injury free' category but DS said it's also the 'fattest' class ever! I think that speaks to the performance of initial prt's and how bad they were!! But, on the bright side, DS said they are the smartest class ever! Validations, etc. were off the charts. Am sure a lot of plebes will still have a rude awakening with the kind of academics they will face during ac year along with the tough physical and mental demands! VERY PROUD to have a DS in the class of 2014!!:biggrin:
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Smartest? Seems to me high schools are just better supplying the college level courses these days.
 
usnajosh said:
Man, I don't know how to take all this info. I've been working on getting accepted for 2 and a half years. I don't want to get there and be disappointed by mediocrity. That would defeat the whole desire of wanting to attend. Anyone have any thoughts?
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Don't worry. Your positive experiences at USNA will definitely be enhanced by the efforts of Adm Fowler over the past three years. You will be a better officer for it.
 
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USNAJosh: I know I'm "just a parent" but I can tell you that my son has seen growth in all areas during his Plebe Summer. He maxed out a few areas of his CFA and still has made improvement there. He has also learned that others have strengths in different areas and, instead of getting annoyed with them where they are weak, he can give them a hand. He may need one himself someday...and that is exactly the point.

As far as your momentary indulgence, from being on this forum it sounds to me like you will actually learn how to perfect the art of complaining about others if you attend the academy. And someday you, too, will "earn" the right to say..."Class of _____ had the last REAL plebe summer!" (I will tell you right now, if I EVER hear my son utter those words, I will take him out!):hammer:
 
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Originally Posted by usnajosh View Post
Man, I don't know how to take all this info. I've been working on getting accepted for 2 and a half years. I don't want to get there and be disappointed by mediocrity. That would defeat the whole desire of wanting to attend. Anyone have any thoughts?
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QUOTE=USNA2014PP;132994]Just back from PPW. When discussing Plebe Summer w/DS he said he loved it! Doesn't know what some of the other plebe's are complaining about as he said " its not that hard, do what your told to do, shut up, and help out when and where you can. Not sure how some of these plebs got in? They may be book smart but there are many that don't have a dimes worth of common sense!"
As are most things in life, you get out what you put in. Go to USNA to just get by and you will; go with a meaning and a purpose and the world will be your oyster. It is truly an incredible institution, if you choice to live it to its fullest potential.
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Originally Posted by Memphis9489
No he didn't.

When a Plebe says that they "loved" Plebe Summer, one of several things are true ...

1.) They are lying
2.) They are trying to make Mom feel good.
3.) That is their way of saying, "It wasn't as bad as I thought. I did pretty well!"

In most cases, #3 is the real answer.

I can assure you, your son is looking very much forward to it all being over.

If he truly "loved" it, you would think he'd be sorry that it is all coming to an end. I'll bet he's not sorry.

Yet, there will be some who will struggle mightily with academics. They may rather be marching on Worden Field and reciting rates instead of trying to decipher the mysteries of Avogadro's Number. Yes, to them, Plebe Summer will be "the good 'ol days." Nobody ever flunks out of Plebe Summer.
12 Hours Ago 12:56 AM
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You may have missed my point. Is he looking forward to the end of PS? Absolutely. Did he fall, fail, make mistakes, and get Yelled at? Yes, but he got up, corrected his errors, and answered to his detailers. He challenged himself every day to get better. He has gone to the USNA with the attitude to embrace the culture and be one of the best. The academic year will be a new set of challenges with failures and success stories. Attitude to just get by and you miss the experience presented to you. Attitude to improve one's self and grow, take pride in your accomplishments, you love the experience. :thumb:
 
Fat is a national trend

usnaproud said:
This may be the best in the 'injury free' category but DS said it's also the 'fattest' class ever!
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I also just returned from PPW and was very surprised to see so many overweight mids, inlcuding plebes. It will probably not endear me to this crowd... but there were some seriouly overweight parents walking about the yard as well. This is a societal snapshot... and we will be collectively rolling into a heapload of trouble if the trend is not reversed.
 
Well, based solely on my observations, my son and his two roomates were extremely fit. My son did tell me that he had 1 football O-lineman in his squad and that he kept up with everything, despite his size.
 
My Plebe did express some frustration with other Plebes who seemed to get a medical chit every other day. Said that it hurt the company overall because those Plebes just couldn't compete in races, courses, etc. because they didn't put the time in and couldn't acclimate like the others. Of course, there were Plebes who needed the medical chit, but those were ones who were ordered to go to medical rather than the ones who requested it. Said that those Plebes who didn't make the best effort may think that they got away easy, but the Detailers know who they are and they may have a more difficult time than others on "Hello" night.
 
futuremid said:
Why are there fat people at the academy ?? That's ridiculous!
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futuremid, if you do a google search for "too fat to fight" you will see this has become a serious problem in several of the world's military forces. In a U.S. DoD report issued earlier this year (from memory...) it was estimated 25% of military aged enlistees are ineligible due to excessive weight. Retired U.S. Army General John Shalikashvili went so far as to declare the issue a national security threat. In the last three or four years, I recall reading a leaked British Army report to the media where it was disclosed high numbers of troops are unable to be deployed to Afghanistan for this reason. Germany is grappling with a similar bane.
 
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#State

Watch us grow fatter at the link above from the Center for Disease Control.

15 years ago I gave a talk at a town hall meeting about childhood obesity. The statistics were grim even then; they are much worse now. As a former personal trainer I notice when someone is overweight. What caught my attention on the yard were two overweight (middle-aged) OFFICERS I saw. Not a very good example.

I would say that it is going to become more and more difficult to find "fit" young men and women as the years go by unless this trend changes.
 
My DS also mentioned 'chit surfers'? He was very frustrated with the sick when things were tough and well the next day when it was kind of fun!! But he felt that when the Brigade forms and the PRT is administered (today?) that there will be hell-o to pay!!! These Mids enjoying a kinder gentler plebe summer may be just delaying the inevitable when they are in physical fitness remediation during the ac year!! We'll see. Things usually work themselves out and the cream will rise to the top. We'll have another great class of Mids to lead our future Navy and Marines:thumb:
 
USNA2014PP said:
You may have missed my point. Is he looking forward to the end of PS? Absolutely. Did he fall, fail, make mistakes, and get Yelled at? Yes, but he got up, corrected his errors, and answered to his detailers. He challenged himself every day to get better. He has gone to the USNA with the attitude to embrace the culture and be one of the best. The academic year will be a new set of challenges with failures and success stories. Attitude to just get by and you miss the experience presented to you. Attitude to improve one's self and grow, take pride in your accomplishments, you love the experience. :thumb:
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All that is absolutely true!

Yet, nobody ever "loves" Plebe Summer. You may have grown ... gotten stronger ... matured ... excelled ... persevered ... and adapted; but "love" is not really the right word. "Proud" is probably a better term. But, I get your point. You're right.
 
usnaproud said:
My DS also mentioned 'chit surfers'? He was very frustrated with the sick when things were tough and well the next day when it was kind of fun!! But he felt that when the Brigade forms and the PRT is administered (today?) that there will be hell-o to pay!!! These Mids enjoying a kinder gentler plebe summer may be just delaying the inevitable when they are in physical fitness remediation during the ac year!! We'll see. Things usually work themselves out and the cream will rise to the top. We'll have another great class of Mids to lead our future Navy and Marines:thumb:
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I think the aspect of the academy that has become "kinder and gentler" is not so much the physical aspect of it -rather- the psychological aspect.

I recall times when we were downright scared of the upperclassmen. They didn't have any of the touchy-feely encumbrances that are in place today. Getting "singled out" was our biggest fear. And it happened with regularity. The "system" was not always administered in group fashion as seems to be currently in vogue. They even do chowcalls in groups, for the most part. There is nothing lonelier than hearing that clock tick, start your chowcall, and then, all of a sudden, you can't remember who the Officer-of-the-Watch is, or, you forgot the main course for noon meal.

We did "come arounds" where it was just one Plebe getting grilled in an extremely punitive manner because, maybe, the day before, he forgot to read a newspaper article.

The physical stuff was never the thing that concerned us the most. It was the fear of being asked what the 12th Law of the Navy was and, when failing to answer it, being asked to "come around" every day for the next week. We would have gladly done 100 push-ups in exchange.

During Plebe Summer, they had us believing that we might not make it. Although that was never really true - they did an excellent job of making us believe it. We truly felt that if we screwed up too much - they may ask us to leave. That's pressure.

The attrition rate was around 30% in those days - and they reminded us of it from the very beginning.

Don't get me wrong. I think there have been vast improvements in the way things are done these days. I think the Plebes are learning more about the Navy than we did. We didn't have SMT (Saturday Morning Training) - we went to our regular academic classes. I don't recall sitting in classrooms during Plebe Summer and learning stuff. We loved mandatory lectures during Plebe Summer because they were frequently in air-conditioned buildings - we got to sit down - and the upperclassmen were not around.

On the other hand, these days, it seems many Youngster cruises are on ships that just sit pier side. In my day, the academy seemed to make a big effort it get us all on deployed ships, even if they had to fly us to Europe and helo us out to a ship. That may be a cost consideration these days, however.
 
Memphis9489 said:
All that is absolutely true!

Yet, nobody ever "loves" Plebe Summer. You may have grown ... gotten stronger ... matured ... excelled ... persevered ... and adapted; but "love" is not really the right word. "Proud" is probably a better term. But, I get your point. You're right.
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Welcome back!

Love was his word and I agree it was used as an expression of accomplishment. But then again I don't know how many other plebes went for a run on 2 of their 3 days of liberty? He ran 3 miles on Saturday and Sunday! Sometimes I wonder if I should have the DNA test done to confirm that he is my kid. I never did like any type of long running!:biggrin:
 
Sounds like he has been brainwashed out of his senses. Hope he doesn't lose his grip over the course of the year. Good luck.
 
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