My daughter has accepted her appointment in the class of 2019, and we will be traveling to New London the weekend before her June 29 report date. When we attended the Genesis Invitational, one of the officers indicated that there was an event one day in July or August in Mystic where the cadets make their first public appearance and we may be able to see and briefly visit with our daughter. As we live a short six hours away by car, we don't want to miss the opportunity to see her and visit, even if it's only for a little while. Does anyone have any information on this day so that we mak begging making our preliminary plans to be there? Thanks! - Bill
Class of 2019 First Public Appearance
- Thread starter Whales
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From the Cadet Handbook you will receive:
Flag Ceremony: Traditionally at the end of the fourth week of Swab Summer, the Summer Regiment will travel to nearby Mystic Seaport (a national maritime museum; see http://www.mysticseaport.org/) for a class recognition ceremony. You may observe this ceremony, which is quite impressive, and visit with your cadet for several hours afterwards. Admission to the Seaport is free for cadet families and cadet sponsor families that day. Some companies will be sailing on Eagle the day of the ceremony and therefore will not be in attendance, so please contact the Cadet Watch Office to confirm if your cadet will be participating.
So, my guess would be July 24 or 25. You'll get a couple solid hours in. Bring a towel and a tide pen. Your swab will be very concerned about not dripping food on their new uniforms. Adopt a lone cadet or two...there may be quite a few who have no one to share the time with.
Flag Ceremony: Traditionally at the end of the fourth week of Swab Summer, the Summer Regiment will travel to nearby Mystic Seaport (a national maritime museum; see http://www.mysticseaport.org/) for a class recognition ceremony. You may observe this ceremony, which is quite impressive, and visit with your cadet for several hours afterwards. Admission to the Seaport is free for cadet families and cadet sponsor families that day. Some companies will be sailing on Eagle the day of the ceremony and therefore will not be in attendance, so please contact the Cadet Watch Office to confirm if your cadet will be participating.
So, my guess would be July 24 or 25. You'll get a couple solid hours in. Bring a towel and a tide pen. Your swab will be very concerned about not dripping food on their new uniforms. Adopt a lone cadet or two...there may be quite a few who have no one to share the time with.
Last year Alfa, Bravo, Charlie and Delta companies were on Eagle. Echo, Foxtrot, Golf and Hotel attended the Flag Ceremony. The swabs bus from the Academy to Mystic Seaport. I think they arrived between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. They march into the Seaport and then are allowed to be with parents, family and friends for a couple of hours. At 11 or so they form back up for the Flag Ceremony, where the Seaport presents them with their class flag. They then march out to the buses and head back to the Academy. Parents and family get free admission to the Seaport that day.
The swabs get granted leave between 12:30 and 1:00. The first thing my son wanted to do was go to McDonald's. They get their phones back for the afternoon. They also might want to head back to a hotel room to catch some sleep. They need to be back in Chase at 6:00 PM. For many of the swabs and parents, this goodbye was a lot more difficult than on R-Day.
The swabs get granted leave between 12:30 and 1:00. The first thing my son wanted to do was go to McDonald's. They get their phones back for the afternoon. They also might want to head back to a hotel room to catch some sleep. They need to be back in Chase at 6:00 PM. For many of the swabs and parents, this goodbye was a lot more difficult than on R-Day.
This was true in past years as well. When one group is on Eagle, the other group participates in the Mystic flag ceremony, so don't plan anything yet until you know what companies will be doing what. That said, if your swab will be on Eagle during the planned Mystic Flag ceremony, you should will still be able to meet up with her at their port call and spend quite a bit of time with her then. She'll probably get an assignment on deck at some point while Eagle is open for tours and you can see her then. They should get some well needed liberty...Don't be surprised if they just want to go to your hotel room to sleep and just relax.
While what AlexT says about Eagle during Swab Summer is true, you can't count on it. Last year half the transport that was supposed to take the 2nd group from the Academy to Rockland, ME never turned up. So half of the group arrived a day late. Had I gone Eagle chasing, I wouldn't have been able to see my son as he didn't get liberty and had duties below deck.
Although the story comes from the 3/C cruise on Eagle the 2nd summer, there is a Mom who flew to meet Eagle in Rejkjavik several years ago. Due to changes in schedule (Semper Gumby) the only time she saw Eagle was from her airplane as she was departing to fly back to the U.S.
Although the story comes from the 3/C cruise on Eagle the 2nd summer, there is a Mom who flew to meet Eagle in Rejkjavik several years ago. Due to changes in schedule (Semper Gumby) the only time she saw Eagle was from her airplane as she was departing to fly back to the U.S.
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The Class of 2019 will be different this summer. Due to the large size of the class, they will divide the companies into three groups for Eagle instead of two like in years past. Alpha, Bravo and Charlie sail first, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot sail second, and Golf and Hotel will sail third. Your new appointee will receive their company assignment before they leave for Swab Summer, usually mid-June. Always be flexible in any plans you make, as the schedule is subject to change at any time.