please advise

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bzcommuter1

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My daughter is a plebe at USNA, class 2026. She experienced an extreme back pain (dislocated disc, nerve pain as results of those PTs) and confined to her bed in late October (she could not sit and stand and attend classes ) she finally had her back surgery two weeks ago at Water Reed and was granted medical leave until Dec12. She had successfully completed her Plebe Summer and was doing well in school and the surgery went well and she now can walk around and making progress everyday.

She contacted the school two days ago regarding her status and a Captain in charge told her that she can come back the spring semester in January but since she missed the school for more than 5weeks and she had to retake all her classes again and that means she will graduate one semester later than her current classmates. However today she received a phone call from her SEL (senior Enlisted Leader) and inform her that the school has decided she will become class 2027 and going through the Plebe summer all over again! Obviously this is a devastating news to her and to us as she is looking forwards to going back school in January. I am wondering if anyone had similar experience to share and any insights how the decision is made at USNA and what recourse/appeal process parents have if we disagree with the decision. Thanks so much!
 
This is indeed difficult news for your daughter.

Some good things: She is healing, and there has been no talk of medical disqualification and separation. This is tremendous. They want her to continue, graduate, commission and go on to serve. USNA wants to put the midshipman in the position of being fully prepared to become an officer.

Unlike “regular college,” she can’t just make up academic classes and that’s it for being ready to graduate, if too many are missed.

USNA leadership has a mission of preparing raw talent academically, professionally and physically for service in the Fleet and Corps. It is apparent the leadership now believes your daughter has not been able to move forward with her classmates in critical areas of development - not her fault - but some things can’t be made up. The academic courses are now out of whack in her matrix.

This decision would not have been made without a great deal of discussion in her chain of command, and likely the Academic Dean and Admissions, and the decision is rooted in the collective wisdom that rolling her back a class is the best thing for her and to best support USNA’s mission of delivering fully prepared officers to the Fleet and Corps.

I suspect there is not much recourse here. She is active duty in the Navy, subject to the decisions of her chain of command. Rolling back a midshipman or cadet or officer candidate at OCS or any pre-comm program is not a decision lightly taken. The chain of command and administration must believe that your daughter is someone they want to commission and the best path for all concerned is a do-over.

I do recommend she gather her composure, thoughts and questions, email her company officer and ask for a Zoom discussion, so she is clear on the official reasons, status while waiting to join the Class of 2027 and how this would work for her in terms of actions she needs to take.

Of course, this is a body blow to your daughter. She made it through plebe summer and bonded with classmates, has made friends and figured she could it make it through 4 hard years. Now the clock has been reset. And she’s just dealt with surgery and recovery. She will have to call on every ounce of grit, resilience, flexibility, adaptivity, maturity and long-term goal-seeking she has.

If she wants to be a Navy or Marine Corps officer, a door is being held open for her, and she can choose to move toward it with courage, humor and acceptance. She can also choose to resign, though no one is asking for this.

She needs that live conversation with her company officer.
 
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Agree with all of Capt. MJ’s thoughts above. My only add would be that because worry and stress could delay your daughter’s healing, although it is hard to do, try to have her concentrate on a quick recovery and being able to demonstrate a physical readiness to resume the rigors of USNA life. A quick recovery and demonstration of the ability to resume studies and daily life at USNA may be her best argument for resumption of her Plebe year.

I come from four generations of USNA and I am a second generation Marine. My youngest two boys followed their own path to West Point. During the hard times of Plebe year I would remind them of General Patton who after completing his plebe year at VMI (not the easiest year) was finally accepted to West Point to start all over with another plebe year. Unfortunately, his academic proficiency was not up to par and he was forced to repeat his plebe year a second time at West Point. He endured a third plebe year but didn’t turn out that bad for him or his career.

Things will have a way of working out. You and I both know that we have had times where things can look very bleak only to be turned around by circumstances quickly and we look back to unproductive time spent worrying. At least this condition was one that could be repaired and was not military career ending. Hopefully she can concentrate on recovery and maintaining a positive mental attitude. Good luck to her and I hope she has a speedy recovery!
 
Capt MJ said:
I suspect there is not much recourse here. She is active duty in the Navy, subject to the decisions of her chain of command. Rolling back a midshipman or cadet or officer candidate at OCS or any pre-comm program is not a decision lightly taken. The chain of command and administration must believe that your daughter is someone they want to commission and the best path for all concerned is a do-over.
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One piece of advice to add to Capt MJ. Your DD’s surgeon at Walter Reed might have, indeed probably does have experience dealing with this surgery and the proper approach to getting her back to USNA on the most medically appropriate timeline. You might consider having your DD communicate with her/him to get her/his assistance with the most appropriate approach as to whether an earlier return makes sense and whether a repeat of PS 7-8 months post surgery really works. Assuming she or he is a Senior Officer, perhaps her or his guidance can provide a basis for a different approach/timeline. Good luck.
 
As always, CAPT MJ's analysis and advice is spot on.. One additional thought -- while this is a hard blow now, this could also be viewed as a good opportunity. Instead of spending the next 3 1/2 years playing catch up and running behind the back, DD has an opportunity to be ahead of the game. A little like the Plebes coming in from NAPS, DD has the opportunity to be the leader during Plebe Summer next year, helping her new classmates adjust. She already has exposure to college level academics, and won't have to go through that first week shock factor again. Finally, she can spend the next 6 months getting well physically, as well as mentally, so she can face the upcoming challenges without distraction of Physical Therapy, etc.

I know the situation seems tough and perhaps unfair now, but frankly going through Plebe Summer the second time won't be as bad as the first. I've always told my Candidates that Plebe Summer is as much a mental game than a physical game, and the mental game is a lot easier when you know what is coming next.

Finally , DD may look at the this setback as a waste of a year ... I know that was my 18 year old thought process when I got tNAPS instead of direct Admission, but as I've said many times here.... that was the best thing that ever happened to me for a number of reasons.

DD should have the call with Company Officer as CAPT MJ suggests, and get the answers necessary to make her comfortable that all aspects were considered...but I recommend that she do so with a positive attitude and looking forward to the future rather than asking "why me". It's a tough situation for all...but in the long run it really seems like a good opportunity for a fresh start and the right thing to me.
 
Curious... in these situations, what generally happens in Spring semester? Take classes at Navy? Home?
Obviously it depends on situation, but wondering the range. Seems it could allow for some academic flexibility if a semester of classes are completed.

Good luck to OP's DD.
 
Thank you all so much for the kind words and encouragement, we really appreciate your support. The good news is that she is recovering really well and is able to walk about a mile on her own and she is a fighter. My questions to you all： if she goes in as class of 27, what are her options for the next 9 months? will she still be considered as an active member of service and covered under the military insurance? will USNA change its decision if she recovers well enough to go back classroom and mange her daily life at the academy but may not some PTS and also get her Dr. clearance?
 
Your daughter has to advocate for herself and ask these detailed questions of the chain of command and Brigade Medical. No one here knows the answers to these questions.

You and she should develop a list of questions, issues and concerns that she can pursue the answers to with the appropriate people at USNA. Break those into categories such as academic, medical, etc.

She should also document who she has talked with (name, title, contact info), what she has been told, save copies of emails, take screenshots, etc., keeping a log of events with dates. These cases can be very fluid with many people involved. Dedicate a notebook and a folder to this. It may become necessary down the road if complications arise, and having a record like this comes in handy.

USNA will be focusing on what is best for the midshipman consistent with policy and precedent. These kinds of cases don’t happen that often; it will be managed on a case basis. There is a lot of admin involved with rollbacks.

I don’t know whether she is expecting to report back this coming week. If she is, she should be working closely with her chain of command, academic advisor, possibly Admissions, etc., to get questions answered.

She should steel herself to be relentlessly professional, calm and focused on active listening so she understands what is happening.

If the stress starts getting to her, she should go see a chaplain. They are wonderful listeners and can give her “Big Navy” perspective. Or she can take advantage of counseling at the Midshipman Development Center to bolster coping skills, come up with a strategy to help guide her through the coming months and a mindset focused on success, no matter how rocky the road.

She can do this, whatever “this” turns out to be. She chose a hard path to a commission, and her path just got a bit longer. If she can get through this, she will have demonstrated maturity, strength, character, resilience and sheer grit.
 
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This is Good News for your DD !!!

Btw … the Weather is Perfect right now at the Army-Navy game

— GO NAVY
 
In the long run it's just a little more experience that'll help her understand and empathize with the people she'll be leading. Get well, stay sharp, find some way to be useful (coach something this winter?) and be ready next summer. Head up, eyes forward, feet moving: good luck to her.
 
bzcommuter1 said:
My daughter is a plebe at USNA, class 2026. She experienced an extreme back pain (dislocated disc, nerve pain as results of those PTs) and confined to her bed in late October (she could not sit and stand and attend classes ) she finally had her back surgery two weeks ago at Water Reed and was granted medical leave until Dec12. She had successfully completed her Plebe Summer and was doing well in school and the surgery went well and she now can walk around and making progress everyday.

She contacted the school two days ago regarding her status and a Captain in charge told her that she can come back the spring semester in January but since she missed the school for more than 5weeks and she had to retake all her classes again and that means she will graduate one semester later than her current classmates. However today she received a phone call from her SEL (senior Enlisted Leader) and inform her that the school has decided she will become class 2027 and going through the Plebe summer all over again! Obviously this is a devastating news to her and to us as she is looking forwards to going back school in January. I am wondering if anyone had similar experience to share and any insights how the decision is made at USNA and what recourse/appeal process parents have if we disagree with the decision. Thanks so much!
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Hi. My daughter is going thru the same thing. USNA 2026 Plebe - injured and rolled to 2027. I am not sure how we reach each other privately but seems like it would be good for the girls and us to connect.
 
jemp2026 said:
Hi. My daughter is going thru the same thing. USNA 2026 Plebe - injured and rolled to 2027. I am not sure how we reach each other privately but seems like it would be good for the girls and us to connect.
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