Does my mid hate me?

We found that our DS was very independent when he first left home. As time went on (especially 2nd and 1st Class year) he would invite us to come see him all the time. I would not give it a second thought as far as him not wanting to try to fit you in during a Summer cruise. It's their first time out in the fleet (sort of), and don't want to miss out on what all the other Mids are doing.

Call me strange but other than missing him, I was always a bit more at ease with DS being away from home once he started at USNA. I always thought "Idle hands make the Devil's work" when he was home just hanging out with his friends. You know. Don't want them to blow the "Golden Ticket". I never worried so much about him making bad decisions, but just ending up in the wrong place at wrong time. Does anything good happen after 12am when you are out with HS friends? I heard about what went on during down time while on actual Summer training :cool:, but it still seemed like a "better" option than being home when we had nothing planned.
 
I appreciate all the replies. As I mentioned, the title was in jest. I'm actually happy he was adult/mature enough to let us know his wishes rather than just go along with us. My wife's mantra while raising our children has always been..."we are not raising boys, we are raising men". She did a good job.
 
ProudDad2022 said:
I appreciate all the replies. As I mentioned, the title was in jest. I'm actually happy he was adult/mature enough to let us know his wishes rather than just go along with us. My wife's mantra while raising our children has always been..."we are not raising boys, we are raising men". She did a good job.
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You did a good job also.

It is not for the timid to support a kid's dream/goal to attend USNA. It is, however, extremely rewarding to: (1) see the actual appointment (it did not count in my book until the BFE arrived); (2) watch a civilian go though the gate and then swear in with white works on; (3) see pictures of the plebes the first time in public in dress whites; and, most importantly (4) know the Yard is the best place on the planet for a young adult to dial in on a dream/career with a new (additional) set of friends and family. Truly an elite club.

It is a privilege and a pleasure to know DW and I must have done something right for DD to: (1) want to be part of it and serve our country and (2) embrace the suck of Plebe Summer to go on to the next level (or in @Capt MJ 's words - the next roller coaster).

As an observation, your wife's mantra is spot on (with one tweak if I may ). We were (past tense intentional) not just raising men and women - we were culturing raw talent to be in a position for the USNA to develop leaders that will make a difference in this world.

Although my heart is telling me otherwise, my head is telling me to enjoy whatever time DD wants to spend with DW and I. Otherwise, we need to pick up our own routine (and keep the popcorn at the ready).

Proud parent of Plebe - class of 2025.
 
Back in the 80's when I came home from college the last thing I wanted to do was spend time with my parents. I guess some things don't change. I might think differently now...
 
Betelnuts said:
Back in the 80's when I came home from college the last thing I wanted to do was spend time with my parents. I guess some things don't change. I might think differently now...
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Me too. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, it's not all that fun for me. But hey, I got to see him for three whole days this Summer. I will take what I can get. ;)
 
ProudDad2022 said:
That title is in jest.
We sent my mid back to Annapolis this past Thursday and he is currently en route to his fleet cruise as we speak. His ship is about a 6 hour drive away and I mentioned "oh wow...Maybe your mom and I will take the drive to see you". He said "Well....I was planning to just hang out with my friends and I don't know if I would have time to see you guys". While mom and I were a little bummed, we were both excited for what he is going to get to do and both of us were excited that he is fitting in with his crew. I guess we'll see him at Christmas.

For those of you who have "been there, done that", I'm assuming you didn't want your parents hanging around either. Please chime in and make me feel better.
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Which ship was he assigned?
 
Got a call from a very tired yet exhilarated DS last night. He had just gone feet dry post 30 hours underway on a submarine.
He stayed awake, along with 2 girls from his plebe year company to soak it all in. The rest got some rack time.
I won't go into detail (as he couldn't) but suffice it to say he is wholly impressed with the capabilities of the crew and vessel. He went in leaning SWO(N) and may be swayed to subs after this trip. The jury is still out.

We always knew USNA would be an opportunity few could rival----if he could get in. Now, just over a year in, he's already experienced more than I could have imagined. Leadership opportunities are everywhere. He is XO of his PROTRAMID training group and learning from his CO. Taking it all in and leaning into everything he can.

He spent 10 days in Iceland, the trip of a lifetime.

He spent the summer on the Yard getting two classes out of the way and had great chances to spend time with instructors, upperclassmen, and leadership.

He is tired, but that doesn't seem to bother him (plus he's young soooo). He's too thrilled with all of the opportunity and experiences to gripe much. I know Covid took training away from so many, and they didn't get this chance to experience different communities. I am very grateful USNA and big Navy are working together to make this happen again. The exposure is invaluable.

All in all, this is just the beginning of a crazy ride for a landlocked kid from AZ. I am grateful and okay with not seeing him very often if it means he is chasing this dream of his.
 
My favorite sub-cruise story from my son when he got back into the U.S. was describing the exchange between him and the TSA agent at the airport, who asked him what submarine he was on. He replied as he was told to reply: "that's classified". ;)
 
Daughter got a summer block out of Kings Bay on a Boomer. Captain was same company at USNA and let her drive and dive. She said it was great fun. Son comes back from Diego Garcia tonight and hope to see him in the next few weeks. They do get scattered. They do grow up fast. Daughter back from semester study in China with diplomatic passport TSA question "And who do you work for?".
 
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Devil Doc said:
Nice. Lots to learn on a big deck amphib.
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So far, he has been hanging out with the Aviation Boatswains Mates and he has learned to chip paint, and then re-paint lol. They head out on the water tomorrow for about 10 days. I guess that's what qualifies as a fleet cruise during this pandemic. But, at least he is on an actual ship. I'm hearing that some "cruises" have been cancelled altogether.
 
ProudDad2022 said:
So far, he has been hanging out with the Aviation Boatswains Mates and he has learned to chip paint, and then re-paint lol. They head out on the water tomorrow for about 10 days. I guess that's what qualifies as a fleet cruise during this pandemic. But, at least he is on an actual ship. I'm hearing that some "cruises" have been cancelled altogether.
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That is actually very important to his development, what he is doing. He will lead people who will often be doing manual labor. Appreciating what goes into these tasks, why they are being done for ship’s maintenance, understanding this kind of stuff is shown in no one’s recruiting videos ever, that these are the people he will be accountable for, responsible for, charged with leading them when they are tired, many days from a port call or home, going through exhausting drills and occasionally having to do the real thing like fighting a fire or doing a man overboard - this is a priceless opportunity for him to learn before he is charged with their well-being. I hope he is asking them questions about the most/least enjoyable parts of their work and why, how they like their rate (enlisted specialty), their goals, why they joined the Navy, why they are staying in or getting out, best parts of Navy life, and so on. This is a very real slice of fleet life, definitely not the cool stuff, but a day in the life nevertheless.
 
ProudDad2022 said:
So far, he has been hanging out with the Aviation Boatswains Mates and he has learned to chip paint, and then re-paint lol. They head out on the water tomorrow for about 10 days. I guess that's what qualifies as a fleet cruise during this pandemic. But, at least he is on an actual ship. I'm hearing that some "cruises" have been cancelled altogether.
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I'll bet he has learned more from the ABHs and ABFs than chipping paint, laying red lead (primer) and painting things haze gray. As a former V-3 and V-4 Division Officer (hangar deck yellow shirts and fuelie purple shirts), I guarantee your DS will have seen, and hopefully learned, a thing or two about navy life and the personnel that he will one day lead. Bosun's have a way of "teaching." The human element and experience he is gaining is invaluable and can not be readily gleaned from a leadership case study at USNA.

Your mid's at sea training is a series of local shipboard training evolutions for the crew that is more than likely building toward a "long" cruise that will be six months or longer. I hope USS Tripoli conducts helicopter ops during your DS's short time underway and I hope that 32nd Street and San Diego have treated him well. Just think, after training, he'll be back at Mother "B" in a couple of weeks as a salty youngter (maybe slightly salty).
 
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