New Cadet Guide

hotshotberad

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Jan 25, 2018
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I’m curious what publications new cadets receive upon arriving at the academy? Something that outlines their basic responsibilities, how to make beds, keep dorms clean, daily schedule, etc.? Is it available online? How could I view it?

Thank You.
 
The first bit of info is that at USNA they're Midshipmen, not Cadets.

Pretty much everything you learn during Plebe Summer will be in Reef Points, which you'll be issued on I-Day, or you will learn from your detailers (in a very loud and motivated manner). Your daily schedule during Plebe Summer you won't know.
 
The first bit of info is that at USNA they're Midshipmen, not Cadets.

Pretty much everything you learn during Plebe Summer will be in Reef Points, which you'll be issued on I-Day, or you will learn from your detailers (in a very loud and motivated manner). Your daily schedule during Plebe Summer you won't know.

Is there any way to get a copy of this as a civilian?

For reference I’m too old to attend the academy. I’m just curious.
 
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Reef Points doesn't change all that much from year to year (though it's longer now than in my day). So, if you don't care whether it's the current copy, Ebay might be a good place to check as the price could be lower.
 
Reef Books is good for "book learning", but so much of Plebe Summer is learning by experience.. OP refers to making beds, cleaning rooms, schedules , etc. That isn't learned from Reef Points --those things are taught by the friendly, smiling Upperclass called Detailers :). Sometime the teaching methods are a little indirect....I don't recall any specific leasson on how to clean my room, but do recall a lot of inspections and learning opportunities. As an aside, some of these things are where the prior enlisted and NAPSTERS are invaluable -- they have already learned the tricks of the trade, and pass down that knowledge to their classmates in order to avoid the wrath of the friendly smiling detailers.
 
Make sure you read up on the M123EZ Heavy Sack Hand Mobilizer...the most important piece of Navy equipment integral to their training and education. It's issued to each midshipman at I-day and should last them through commissioning...and, eventually, their time in the fleet...

There's even a Youtube video on this Navy issued mobility optimizer...Start memorizing the procedure to set-up and operate this mission-critical device...Our tax-dollars are paying for it...

GWSMurT.jpg
 
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Make sure you read up on the M123X Heavy Sack Hand Mobilizer...the most important piece of Navy equipment integral to their training and education. It's issued to each midshipman at I-day and should last them through commissioning...and, eventually, their time in the fleet...

There's even a Youtube video on this Navy issued mobility optimizer...Start memorizing the procedure to set-up and operate this mission-critical device...Our tax-dollars are paying for it...

GWSMurT.jpg
[emoji23] [emoji23]

These shouldn't be needed again if construction is done... we hope....
 
OP said in a different thread for one of the other SA's they are 23 yr old and not applying and assume they don't have a son/daughter old enough to apply!!! Not clear how they plan to use it.
 
These shouldn't be needed again if construction is done... we hope....

Shouldn't have been needed or used last year....clearly someone trying to fix a problem that didn't need fixed. It very well could have been turned into a quick lesson on teamwork and ingenuity. Instead, the Class of 2021 will give West Point cannon fodder for years.
 
Shouldn't have been needed or used last year....clearly someone trying to fix a problem that didn't need fixed. It very well could have been turned into a quick lesson on teamwork and ingenuity. Instead, the Class of 2021 will give West Point cannon fodder for years.

Honestly, who gives a ****? West Point will always have something to hold over us, just like we will always have something to hold over them.
 
OP said in a different thread for one of the other SA's they are 23 yr old and not applying and assume they don't have a son/daughter old enough to apply!!! Not clear how they plan to use it.

I’m just curious is all. I just want to learn what it’s really like to attend a service academy.
 
OP said in a different thread for one of the other SA's they are 23 yr old and not applying and assume they don't have a son/daughter old enough to apply!!! Not clear how they plan to use it.

I’m just curious is all. I just want to learn what it’s really like to attend a service academy.
It used to suck really bad and while it is a little better it still sucks.
 
Honestly, who gives a ****? West Point will always have something to hold over us, just like we will always have something to hold over them.

I certainly don't care ...I thoroughly enjoy the rivalry, as well as the recognition we are ultimately on the same side. The same can be said with rivarly and ribbing among the classes. If 2021 is the only class that gets handcarts, you can rest assured they will hear about it for years (ie. I can imagine the Class of 2018 having handcarts delivered to the HQ hotel at the 2021's 25th Reunion !)

That being said, the point of my post was that it was really a solution to a problem that didn't exist. This is more of a criticism of the staff officer that came up with the idea than the Class of 2021 , who had no say in the matter and probably wish it didn't happen.
 
Shouldn't have been needed or used last year....clearly someone trying to fix a problem that didn't need fixed. It very well could have been turned into a quick lesson on teamwork and ingenuity. Instead, the Class of 2021 will give West Point cannon fodder for years.

This stuff cracks me up. The way it was before, candidates would exit the back of Alumni, place their bags in a truck, and proceed to get in a bus, where they would be driven to the Midstore parking lot. They would then retrieve their bags (which had also been driven to the same point), and carry them up on to red beach.

This year, candidates put their bags on a cart and walked expeditiously all the way from Alumni to the midstore parking lot, where their carts were then taken from them, at the same point where they would have gotten off the bus, and then they had to carry their bags for up to red beach, just like the previous classes.

People talk about this being soft, but when you look at it objectively, the plebes of 2021 had to do more work for this evolution than previous classes, including my own. The distance that they carried their carts, I rode in a bus.

Also, while I can appreciate the sentiment that says "They should've just carried the bags on their backs the whole time!", people need to remember that I-day is a complex evolution that involves processing over 1000 people in waves within the span of maybe 10 hours. Sure, it'd be great to have them carry their bags, and if the time constraints permitted it, they would have. But the goal is to get everybody in Bancroft as soon as possible. When you've got plebes like "Susie" who might weigh 120 lbs dripping wet, or "Bob" who ran cross country his whole life and is thin as a stick, carrying bags that are bigger than they are for a quarter of a mile down a fairly narrow hallway, there are going to be some falls/stops. And when Bob and Susie have to stop, then that is going to cause delays for the people behind them, and eventually you get a total log jam of people.

I'm all for making plebe summer harder/more stressful, but for some evolutions speed and efficiency are more important than suck factor.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but due to the construction of Hopper Hall, which is not likely to be finished until September of 2019, I can't foresee a return to the old system this year or the next.
 
Thanks BD...good insight into the rest of the story. Guess I am a bit of a dinosaur, but your explanation about busing Midshipmen across the Yard makes me scratch my head. Can't imagine that its more efficient to load bags in a truck, load kids in a bus, drive 300 yards or so, unload and find your bags, than to simply march them out of Alumni Hall, point to where you want them to go, and say follow me. Seems to me a good opportunity for Susie and Bobby to learn to work together. I suspect the explanation for using busses and trucks is some staffer's conclusion that it doesn't look professional or organized to have the new Midshipmen struggling (and straggling) across the Yard. It's funny, just a week or so ago, one of my Classmates posted a picture of our I Day ( mined from the National Archives--makes me feel old) on the Class Facebook page, and it showed 3-4 classmates lugging the same laundry bags of issue over their shoulders.
 
Thanks BD...good insight into the rest of the story. Guess I am a bit of a dinosaur, but your explanation about busing Midshipmen across the Yard makes me scratch my head. Can't imagine that its more efficient to load bags in a truck, load kids in a bus, drive 300 yards or so, unload and find your bags, than to simply march them out of Alumni Hall, point to where you want them to go, and say follow me. Seems to me a good opportunity for Susie and Bobby to learn to work together. I suspect the explanation for using busses and trucks is some staffer's conclusion that it doesn't look professional or organized to have the new Midshipmen struggling (and straggling) across the Yard. It's funny, just a week or so ago, one of my Classmates posted a picture of our I Day ( mined from the National Archives--makes me feel old) on the Class Facebook page, and it showed 3-4 classmates lugging the same laundry bags of issue over their shoulders.

You would know better than I, but I suspect that the Yard sees more visitors on I-Day nowadays than it may have in the past. The Yard sees more traffic on I-Day than any other period including Commissioning and PPW. One of the goals of the Plebe Detail is to transition civilians into the military, and to do that you need to effectively isolate the plebes from their families/friends/random tourists. I think one of the reasons for the buses/tunnels, in addition to what you said, is to keep the plebes away from the general public until after the Oath of Office. I imagine that with more and more families flying in to be with their sons and daughters on I-Day, it has become more difficult to maintain that isolation.

I'm not sure. That is just what I think. All that I know for certain is that they really stressed to the Detail how important it was to keep the plebes away from tourists, and that was a bit of an issue on I-Day. I personally had to escort out a husband and wife that had found their way into Bancroft, on I-Day, and were looking for their child. I know they had a few parents that managed to get into the tunnels looking for a way to see their children.
 
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