Naval Academy Club—is it worth it?

LT360

LT360

C/O 2025 Dad
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So the Naval Academy Club has been advertising a special membership for Plebe parents. Question -is it worth it? Given we live in the Midwest, we will be seldom visitors (2-3 times per year) to the Yard now that Plebe summer is coming to a close.
Would love some thoughts.
 
Dont have experience, but do know this is talked about a lot. You could probably do a search on it here, and find previous discussion if interested👍
 
LT360 said:
So the Naval Academy Club has been advertising a special membership for Plebe parents. Question -is it worth it? Given we live in the Midwest, we will be seldom visitors (2-3 times per year) to the Yard now that Plebe summer is coming to a close.
Would love some thoughts.
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We like it. We visit 3-4 times per year. It's also good to support the Club. Given our cost for our son to attend USNA is nearly zero. We like to support any Navy causes.
 
I had never heard of them until this thread. Despite being a parent of a grad , another in the pipeline, and we don’t live all that far from the Yard.

And after reading I still don’t understand what it is.

I understand that you can buy dinner at their upscale Alley restaurant when non members can’t. Lunch being open to all.

And it looks like weddings are a big deal.

But other than those I am not sure.

And I don’t see a price listed.

But since I am a firm believer in grandparents of mids eating well I do hope my kids check this out.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
I had never heard of them until this thread. Despite being a parent of a grad , another in the pipeline, and we don’t live all that far from the Yard.

And after reading I still don’t understand what it is.

I understand that you can buy dinner at their upscale Alley restaurant when non members can’t. Lunch being open to all.

And it looks like weddings are a big deal.

But other than those I am not sure.

And I don’t see a price listed.

But since I am a firm believer in grandparents of mids eating well I do hope my kids check this out.
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Go to “eligibility” at the website. It lists categories and associated prices.

Some of our sponsor mids’ families over the years have used the club locations to cater grad parties or wedding receptions.

I don’t know what rules apply to mids’ ability to go there, whether they have to be in town liberty status. That has varied over the years.

Some decades ago, throughout the Navy (and other services), there were thriving and busy officers’ clubs, chiefs’ clubs (E8-9), acey-deucey clubs (E5-6), enlisted clubs. Busy for breakfast and lunch with grill service, specials and buffet; very happy happy hours with wonderful free appetizers; dinner service where you could get excellent inexpensive meals on Steak Night, popular themes such as Mongolian BBQ, etc. They were often co-located with a pool for the full country club effect. It was the on-base/on-post center of social life.

They were supported by appropriated funds, as in, taxpayer money, for operational overhead. Then, a huge shift came when they were shifted into non-appropriated funds, meaning they had to support themselves. The pools went. Breakfast went. Happy hours dried up. Dinner service shrank to maybe two nights a week. Event catering became more important. Clubs merged to became “The Club,” all rates and ranks. Social habits changed. People had to go get kids from day care because it was their turn, no mid-week happy hour. DUIs became career-killers. No one took a real lunch hour any more, much less drank a beer and went back to work with alcohol on their breath. Clubs struggled, closed, became something else, like a sports grill. The USNA Officer and Faculty Club (earlier name, known as “The O&F”) has gone though the same cycles. Going to a membership model that is very loose in terms of who can join, relying on the Yard cachet and emphasizing catering is how they survive, by creating a revenue stream and counting on midshipman parents to fully embrace the Brigade support aspect, a worthy marketing pillar. The last time I went to an Officers’ Club and really enjoyed myself was the wonderful Mongolian BBQ nights on the lanai at Hickam O’Club, sometime in the 1990’s. Mostly we go to wedding, graduation, reunion and funeral catered events at the Club. With so many wonderful places to go around Annapolis as local residents, the Yard location doesn’t appeal as much, nor do we have a mid there. For some families, it might make sense and be an enjoyable experience.
 
Capt MJ said:
Go to “eligibility” at the website. It lists categories and associated prices.

Some of our sponsor mids’ families over the years have used the club locations to cater grad parties or wedding receptions.

I don’t know what rules apply to mids’ ability to go there, whether they have to be in town liberty status. That has varied over the years.

Some decades ago, throughout the Navy (and other services), there were thriving and busy officers’ clubs, chiefs’ clubs (E8-9), acey-deucey clubs (E5-6), enlisted clubs. Busy for breakfast and lunch with grill service, specials and buffet; very happy happy hours with wonderful free appetizers; dinner service where you could get excellent inexpensive meals on Steak Night, popular themes such as Mongolian BBQ, etc. They were often co-located with a pool for the full country club effect. It was the on-base/on-post center of social life.

They were supported by appropriated funds, as in, taxpayer money, for operational overhead. Then, a huge shift came when they were shifted into non-appropriated funds, meaning they had to support themselves. The pools went. Breakfast went. Happy hours dried up. Dinner service shrank to maybe two nights a week. Event catering became more important. Clubs merged to became “The Club,” all rates and ranks. Social habits changed. People had to go get kids from day care because it was their turn, no mid-week happy hour. DUIs became career-killers. No one took a real lunch hour any more, much less drank a beer and went back to work with alcohol on their breath. Clubs struggled, closed, became something else, like a sports grill. The USNA Officer and Faculty Club (earlier name, known as “The O&F”) has gone though the same cycles. Going to a membership model that is very loose in terms of who can join, relying on the Yard cachet and emphasizing catering is how they survive, by creating a revenue stream and counting on midshipman parents to fully embrace the Brigade support aspect, a worthy marketing pillar. The last time I went to an Officers’ Club and really enjoyed myself was the wonderful Mongolian BBQ nights on the lanai at Hickam O’Club, sometime in the 1990’s. Mostly we go to wedding, graduation, reunion and funeral catered events at the Club. With so many wonderful places to go around Annapolis as local residents, the Yard location doesn’t appeal as much, nor do we have a mid there. For some families, it might make sense and be an enjoyable experience.
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Yup, that is pretty much how it evolved. As a Junior Officer, I was somewhat shocked to learn that at some Army bases, officers were required to join the club and pay dues. That had also been the case in the Navy but that had gone way long before I was part of that world. There were some Officers Clubs that were pretty much open to many more than just local officers. The "Datum" in Newport which was quite the thing when Capt MJ was a soon-to-be-ButterBar as were the NAS Oceana and Marine Corps Recruit Depot (San Diego) Officers Clubs. I was actually a member of the board of the Dam Neck O Club in the mid-80's and it was hugely popular as we had a wonderful ocean beach and sold drinks on the patio to beachgoers.

I think that the last time I was in "The Naval Academy Club" was 3 or 4 yrs ago when a group of classmates "pregamed" for Adm Kurt Tidd's Forrestal Lecture. It was OK but we'd probably been happier outside the wall except for the close proximity to the event.
 
As usual, CaptMJ hit it square on the head.

When I was a kid (1960's and 1970's) the "Zero Club" (Officers, 0's) was THE place to be, especially on Friday. The pilots would be in the bar, the families in the social areas and the dining rooms, and then the dads would come in and it'd be family dinner night with something very fancy as the "club special." As we lived overseas, another popular place was the gambling hall where all the slot machines were. In the summer, the pool was mobbed, etc..etc...just like CaptMJ described.

And she was spot-on when she described how things began to change (read: die) after the fund shift. Clubs just died, some seemingly overnight. And then the Holy War on alcohol in the service began which was a shocker as I remember the squadron parties when I was a kid...had they occurred when I started flying, only 15 years later, entire squadrons would have been decimated legally.

For me, the end came when I was a wing executive officer and our wing commander decided that the Wing Christmas Ball would be "highly encouraged" for all members. I was told to speak with EVERY commander and explain that attendance was HIGHLY encouraged...and the word got out about what the impact could be if you weren't seen there. So...entire squadrons booked the few rooms available at our transient quarters for anyone that needed a place to stay, and the party went on.

And as people went to their cars after the party started to wind down, there were the security forces folks...checking everyone that got behind the wheel. The number of officers and senior NCOs that were "hauled away" was stunning. Careers died that night. And so did the club. After that, the membership almost universally resigned and no cajoling or threats by the wing hierarchy could change it. A long-honored tradition was gone.

Fond memories? Childhood fun at the club...and the Mongolian BBQ nights at Hickalooloo that CaptMJ mentioned. Although...it was hard to believe how much meat and veggies you ended up putting into those buckets until they weighed them!

Addendum

To OldRetSWO's comment about the army and mandated membership...in the AF that was strictly forbidden HOWEVER the club membership roster was delivered monthly to the Wing Commander during the monthly standup and if your name was not on the membership list you got a private "counseling" session with a member of the chain of command and were informed of the career jeopardy you were placing yourself in.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Yup, that is pretty much how it evolved. As a Junior Officer, I was somewhat shocked to learn that at some Army bases, officers were required to join the club and pay dues. That had also been the case in the Navy but that had gone way long before I was part of that world. There were some Officers Clubs that were pretty much open to many more than just local officers. The "Datum" in Newport which was quite the thing when Capt MJ was a soon-to-be-ButterBar as were the NAS Oceana and Marine Corps Recruit Depot (San Diego) Officers Clubs. I was actually a member of the board of the Dam Neck O Club in the mid-80's and it was hugely popular as we had a wonderful ocean beach and sold drinks on the patio to beachgoers.

I think that the last time I was in "The Naval Academy Club" was 3 or 4 yrs ago when a group of classmates "pregamed" for Adm Kurt Tidd's Forrestal Lecture. It was OK but we'd probably been happier outside the wall except for the close proximity to the event.
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The proximity to the Chapel is nice for weddings and funerals. Dam Neck club had a great location.

I always thought the “Datum” as a Club name for officer candidates, junior officers and “OISters” from OIS as it was then called for newly commissioned docs, dentists, nurses, JAGs, etc. was a grimly clever name. Datum: last known location of a submarine before contact was lost.

Nothing like leap-frogging down memory lane about clubs. I think collectively we have provided context to Clubs Then and Clubs Now.
 
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Enlisted clubs?

I was not yet a FMF Doc but a Doc working at the Lejeune hospital.

A few of us corpsman would now and then walk maybe a mile from the old hospital location to a USMC E club. Close to the 6thMarines as I remember.


Was it a relaxing experience among happy co-workers——many a night it was down right terrifying .

I had never in my life seen fights like that except in the movies..

Fights, more fights, armed MPs, and a trip to the hospital for some. And us navy guys from the hospital without any Marine back up. We hid under the tables. Or ran out the door.

Not every night. Maybe not even most. But enough for me to wonder——-what the hell is wrong with these people? :)

Once I got to VN I realized it was just their nature to fight . And if they had a real enemy to fight they actually got along with each other.
 
All I know, is when Mids have the ability to get OFF THE YARD. They want OFF the yard.

My boys wouldn’t enjoy it. Others may. I also have no problem woth supporting USNA if able. This is one that we personally dont belong to and have never felt it at all.
 
justdoit19 said:
All I know, is when Mids have the ability to get OFF THE YARD. They want OFF the yard.

My boys wouldn’t enjoy it. Others may. I also have no problem woth supporting USNA if able. This is one that we personally dont belong to and have never felt it at all.
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When I was a mid, it was not the place for Mids, even with their families. When I became a firstie, I found out that we had some limited visitation and the club made some special happy hours available so I did get in there a few times but it was not common for mids to go there.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Enlisted clubs?

I was not yet a FMF Doc but a Doc working at the Lejeune hospital.

A few of us corpsman would now and then walk maybe a mile from the old hospital location to a USMC E club. Close to the 6thMarines as I remember.


Was it a relaxing experience among happy co-workers——many a night it was down right terrifying .

I had never in my life seen fights like that except in the movies..

Fights, more fights, armed MPs, and a trip to the hospital for some. And us navy guys from the hospital without any Marine back up. We hid under the tables. Or ran out the door.
Click to expand...
Some time if I am in the mood to type a lot, I might write about being the Shore Patrol Officer in GITMO one time when there were 4 ships inport for the weekend and our biggest trouble spot was the Enlisted Club.
 
LT360 said:
So the Naval Academy Club has been advertising a special membership for Plebe parents. Question -is it worth it? Given we live in the Midwest, we will be seldom visitors (2-3 times per year) to the Yard now that Plebe summer is coming to a close.
Would love some thoughts.
Click to expand...
From a practical standpoint, we joined plebe year because we wanted a place to rest if my FIL needed it during IDay festivities. We have eaten one outdoor lunch there which we thoroughly enjoyed. We do use the facilities every time we go to the Yard. It is a very nice pit stop and worth the short money for us. I like the weekly menu emails and will eventually have dinner there!
 
I love the place. Reminds me of going to the O club with my dad. The brunches are what we usually attend and are pretty good. I don't think DD ever went there during her four years unless we brought her. I think my membership is good for a few months more and I'd like to hit it one more time.
 
I know there are other threads on SAF covering this ..and I probably made the same comment last year. There are so many great places to eat in Annapolis, I've never even considered joining.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
I know there are other threads on SAF covering this ..and I probably made the same comment last year. There are so many great places to eat in Annapolis, I've never even considered joining.
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Yes once reminded about the "search" function I did see that comment. The only reason I would consider is if we visit DS we can take him there for meals until he earns more town liberty
 
LT360 said:
Yes once reminded about the "search" function I did see that comment. The only reason I would consider is if we visit DS we can take him there for meals until he earns more town liberty
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When he has Yard liberty, bring his favorite take-out and find a quiet corner of Dahlgren Hall on the benches/seating areas on the upper deck (not in Drydock Grill are). I’d have to check MidRegs for current guidance (better yet, the plebe checks), but that is where mids could entertain visitors if they had Yard liberty.
 
Odd question and I've been trying to tell for sure from the application for the club. We're heading up with our son for the SMU game weekend and curious if it would be worth joining or if we even can. We're several years out since he's a sophomore in high school but this will be his first time on The Yard (as well as ours). Is it something the general public can also join?
 
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