Good evening!

Gobsmacked

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
Messages
68
I realized today that perhaps it would be considered rude that I have posted but not introduced myself. Please excuse the oversight I attribute it to being similar to the fan/celebrity dynamic. After years of watching their favorite actor the fan feels like they know the celebrity...yet the celebrity doesn't know the fan exists.
I have been monitoring, not lurking, (I am sure there is a difference) this forum for around 5 or 6 years since my son declared he was going to attend the USNA.

Long story short after I told him that I thought there might be more to getting in than just saying "I'm going to attend" he responded with " Like what?" I said "well let's figure it out." So began my journey to become the most knowledgeable advisor that I could. I have attained a moderate amount of success professionally using this methodology: find people that know more than me about a subject and get them to teach me, then learn more. I figured that model should transfer to this task.

Around the time of that conversation my closest friend accepted a terminal assignment (not with admissions) at the USMA. That afforded all of us the opportunity to spend a bit of quality time there over the years. I am still in awe of that place and the people that choose to attend and work there.

After the 8th grade my son was able to attend Summer STEM at USNA. He came home from that and his desire to attend had solidified. It has never really wavered except for a period of time during his junior year when he was rejected from NASS and accepted to SLE and was getting a lot of attention from the FFR here. He did his FFR interview at 16 about 3 weeks after submitting his SLE application and they continued to include him in events and checking in with him up until this fall. They did a great job.

Anyway I like to understand things. The appointment process can be hard to understand from a casual view. So for 5 or 6 years it has been my hobby to dig out every single bit of information about the process I can, books, the minutes to every board of visitors meeting, reports, published interviews, questioning old grads as I encounter them, every related law and regulation, on and on...oh yeah and this forum! It's more interesting and valuable to me than studying birds or dinosaurs I guess.

What I have never done is speak to an "official" in the process, that in my opinion is the candidates responsibility. Plus we once saw my son's eventual BGO call out a mom in the middle of a rather large Congressional Academy Night with a "Excuse me ma'am, who wants to attend, you or your son?" I decided right then never to be that person.

So the process is over for him and my knowledge of the process will eventually fade into memory. He applied to USMA and USNA and received appointments to both. It is looking like he is going to follow through with the USNA and for all the reason he articulated to me I believe it is the correct choice. But man I was secretly hoping to spend some more time at the USMA!

I am currently writing a briefing book on the process at the request of the youth organization we are involved in and then unless I can contribute here in some meaningful way I will likely move on to other things. It's a hard habit to break 'monitoring' this forum and searching for obscure data points.

Thanks for everything.
 
I realized today that perhaps it would be considered rude that I have posted but not introduced myself. Please excuse the oversight I attribute it to being similar to the fan/celebrity dynamic. After years of watching their favorite actor the fan feels like they know the celebrity...yet the celebrity doesn't know the fan exists.
I have been monitoring, not lurking, (I am sure there is a difference) this forum for around 5 or 6 years since my son declared he was going to attend the USNA.

Long story short after I told him that I thought there might be more to getting in than just saying "I'm going to attend" he responded with " Like what?" I said "well let's figure it out." So began my journey to become the most knowledgeable advisor that I could. I have attained a moderate amount of success professionally using this methodology: find people that know more than me about a subject and get them to teach me, then learn more. I figured that model should transfer to this task.

Around the time of that conversation my closest friend accepted a terminal assignment (not with admissions) at the USMA. That afforded all of us the opportunity to spend a bit of quality time there over the years. I am still in awe of that place and the people that choose to attend and work there.

After the 8th grade my son was able to attend Summer STEM at USNA. He came home from that and his desire to attend had solidified. It has never really wavered except for a period of time during his junior year when he was rejected from NASS and accepted to SLE and was getting a lot of attention from the FFR here. He did his FFR interview at 16 about 3 weeks after submitting his SLE application and they continued to include him in events and checking in with him up until this fall. They did a great job.

Anyway I like to understand things. The appointment process can be hard to understand from a casual view. So for 5 or 6 years it has been my hobby to dig out every single bit of information about the process I can, books, the minutes to every board of visitors meeting, reports, published interviews, questioning old grads as I encounter them, every related law and regulation, on and on...oh yeah and this forum! It's more interesting and valuable to me than studying birds or dinosaurs I guess.

What I have never done is speak to an "official" in the process, that in my opinion is the candidates responsibility. Plus we once saw my son's eventual BGO call out a mom in the middle of a rather large Congressional Academy Night with a "Excuse me ma'am, who wants to attend, you or your son?" I decided right then never to be that person.

So the process is over for him and my knowledge of the process will eventually fade into memory. He applied to USMA and USNA and received appointments to both. It is looking like he is going to follow through with the USNA and for all the reason he articulated to me I believe it is the correct choice. But man I was secretly hoping to spend some more time at the USMA!

I am currently writing a briefing book on the process at the request of the youth organization we are involved in and then unless I can contribute here in some meaningful way I will likely move on to other things. It's a hard habit to break 'monitoring' this forum and searching for obscure data points.

Thanks for everything.
You can contribute a great deal of real-time value as a soon-to-be “current mid/cadet parent.”
 
Welcome aboard…… I’m sure your DS will make a great decision on where to attend, I also echo what @Capt MJ stated above, you will have a lot to contribute as you take this journey. It is awesome to see your DS go down this path.
Best of Luck and of course GO NAVY !
 
Welcome Aboard !!!

I feel your pain on the SAF addiction. It is now listed in DSM-5. <<<{no it isn't}
Senior,

Your posts always always make me smile. The most challenging Sea Cadet we ever had eventually enlisted as a Corpsman with the intent of going green side. He ended up rocking it in a neurological surgery unit and by all accounts is doing awesome...and likely still a challenge for his chain of command!
 
Welcome aboard…… I’m sure your DS will make a great decision on where to attend, I also echo what @Capt MJ stated above, you will have a lot to contribute as you take this journey. It is awesome to see your DS go down this path.
Best of Luck and of course GO NAVY !
Marine,

If he could select a service assignment today it would be Marine Pilot. If he has to be a pilot, I am good with that!
 
Lol, yes. We all exhaled when he enlisted. "Maybe he won't end up in jail or naked on the side of the road outside of Vegas."

We are all super proud of him. It takes a 'Special' kind of person to be a Corpsman me thinks.
I’m still in awe of those who came before and the ones wearing the caduceus today.
 
Welcome aboard @Gobsmacked ! Stick around if you can - the future applicants (and parents) can benefit from your approach, knowledge, and experience.
 
After the 8th grade my son was able to attend Summer STEM at USNA. He came home from that and his desire to attend had solidified. It has never really wavered except for a period of time during his junior year when he was rejected from NASS and accepted to SLE and was getting a lot of attention from the FFR here. He did his FFR interview at 16 about 3 weeks after submitting his SLE application and they continued to include him in events and checking in with him up until this fall. They did a great job.
Welcome aboard, and great post in the Navy forum.

I'm sure DS will make the right choice... you should remind him that the one thing both USNA Midshipman and Cadets have in common is they were both accepted to West Point ! :)

Seriously, please ensure DS knows that his not getting into NASS is no reflection on USNA's interest in him, Frankly, having gone to STEM and a long desire to attend USNA, he wasn't the target audience. Also, in my experience , the USMA FFR appears to be much more "recruiting" oriented than a BGO.

Bottom line, he should make the decision based upon how he wants to serve...so many more opportunities at Navy.

Good luck.
 
Welcome aboard, and great post in the Navy forum.

I'm sure DS will make the right choice... you should remind him that the one thing both USNA Midshipman and Cadets have in common is they were both accepted to West Point ! :)

Seriously, please ensure DS knows that his not getting into NASS is no reflection on USNA's interest in him, Frankly, having gone to STEM and a long desire to attend USNA, he wasn't the target audience. Also, in my experience , the USMA FFR appears to be much more "recruiting" oriented than a BGO.

Bottom line, he should make the decision based upon how he wants to serve...so many more opportunities at Navy.

Good luck.
Thank you for the kind words and the reminder of the mid/cadet joke. He first heard that at STEM and couldn't wait to tell me about it.

True story kind of related to that...Several years ago he was Color Guard Commander for a Veteran's group breakfast. This is a group that has a significant percentage of field grade officers, some prominent in the community. After the Colors were presented the Color Guard was split up and invited to breakfast at different tables with the veterans. I and a couple of other adult leaders that had driven them to the event were waiting in an anteroom during the event. The following is as was described to me after and has to be ascribed to the innocence of youth...I am certain he meant no disrespect, it's just the way he saw it at the time LOL.

Son was seated across from a Navy Captain (USNA) and his spouse, a Marine Colonel (ROTC) and his spouse and next to an Army Colonel and his spouse (all retired). I guess they were all pretty excited to have him at the table because it was announced after Colors that he was a member of the football team that had won the state championship the previous evening. Anyway, at a couple of points, from the anteroom, we heard a bunch of hooting and hollering.

After the event I asked my son what all the cheering was about.
Son: "The first time they were cheering was when they introduced me and said I played on the football team. The second time I think I might have screwed up."
Me: "What happened?"
Son: "Well the Navy Captain asked what I planned to do after high school and I said 'Sir I intend to go to the Naval Academy. He seemed to like that, then the Marine said 'that's a hard school to get into, have you considered ROTC as a backup?' I then said "Sir, my safety school is West Point" and then everyone went crazy laughing and yelling and pointing to the Army Colonel next to me and said 'he went to West Point!'
Me: "Oh, I see...well, was he laughing?"
Son: "No but his wife sure was..."

True story...for the next three years he was paranoid he would run into that Army Colonel as part of the admissions process, I think it was the only thing he was worried about when he went to his MOC nomination selection board.
 
True story...for the next three years he was paranoid he would run into that Army Colonel as part of the admissions process
Oh..the brashness of youth. Been there..done that.. I've told this story on the Navy forum before ....
First class cruise, I was sitting in the Wardroom and talking with the Skipper. I'm telling my story of how I went to NAPs, etc. , and I used the line I often use to this day ..something to the effect that "they sent me to NAPS because I wasn't smart enough to get in first try." (Actually, I may have said "to stupid to get in first try.") However, the Skipper looks at me, somewhat stern abd simply say "My son is at NAPS." I quickly backpeddaled and explained what a good program was, how I would have failed out Plebe year without it, and had done pretty well at USNA because of it ! Fortunately, he took it well....
 
Oh..the brashness of youth. Been there..done that.. I've told this story on the Navy forum before ....
First class cruise, I was sitting in the Wardroom and talking with the Skipper. I'm telling my story of how I went to NAPs, etc. , and I used the line I often use to this day ..something to the effect that "they sent me to NAPS because I wasn't smart enough to get in first try." (Actually, I may have said "to stupid to get in first try.") However, the Skipper looks at me, somewhat stern abd simply say "My son is at NAPS." I quickly backpeddaled and explained what a good program was, how I would have failed out Plebe year without it, and had done pretty well at USNA because of it ! Fortunately, he took it well....
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