Plebe at USNA--give me your questions!

23usna23 said:
I also wish I prepared to follow bad leaders. Adult leadership is not involved unless its admin related. Overall, its kids training kids. The detailers, upperclassmen, and training staff are most likely going to be very new to leadership positions at the Academy. Don't expect great leadership from every single person. There are always problematic leaders, but what is important is that you learn how NOT to lead from them.
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CAPT MJ and '85 beat me to the Leadership Lab comment, but the " good, bad and ugly" is not limited to the Midshipman leadership-- I recall a number of Officers that were less than optimum. There is a lot more time spent at Reunions (and Class Facebook pages) talking about bad officers than bad Midshipmen leadership. That said, don't be quick to pass judgment on other's leadership style ...particularly as a Plebe. Listen, learn and with time you will develop a style that works for you. As '85 notes, its a continuous process throughout your life, and what works at USNA , in the Fleet, or wherever you end up after, may change over time and with each audience.
 
I served under some officers who might be considered "bad", but nevertheless got amazing results out of those in their command.
If someone is honorable, committed to excellence, and has a good work ethic, it doesn't matter who is leading them.

You can get a lot done in the military (and life) if you don't care who gets the credit.
 
A1Janitor said:
LOL my son got in trouble last night because he was writing a paper at 12:30 at night. Had to report to a meeting with his training officer tonight. He is trying to do well academically! He doesn’t want to go because he said he is going to be made to do some **** - and he is too busy right now for that.
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This is all part of the game. USNA is "not college," and academic success is not the only objective. Prioritization , time management and dealing with stress are critical skills in the Fleet, and I'm sure the Training Officer will add some additional work to turn up the heat and add a little more stress. " What doesn't kill you makes you stronger !"
 
Old Navy BGO said:
This is all part of the game. USNA is "not college," and academic success is not the only objective. Prioritization , time management and dealing with stress are critical skills in the Fleet, and I'm sure the Training Officer will add some additional work to turn up the heat and add a little more stress. " What doesn't kill you makes you stronger !"
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He met with him. His punishment was he had to leave his door open until lights out. LOL

My DS is finally prioritizing! He is doing very well academically. Probably like most everyone else.

He was actually working on something due in the future.
 
tycarpen said:
@23usna23 Thanks for the great info! What do you mean "a training staff?"
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During the academic year there is a "training staff" which is ultimately a group of detailers. There are morning workouts that the training staff leads, there are noon-meal trainings, etc. They can put you on punishments that will take up your time and just seem annoying in general. Some punishments include: not being allowed to wear your back pack straps (ridiculous punishment, but one of the most annoying), going on "racetracks" (not rating the p-way, only allowed to walk around the perimeter), not rating the deck (you cannot go to your room from 0700 to 2230ish) amongst other things. Overall, they are responsible for preparing plebes for the next three years at USNA.
 
23usna23 said:
During the academic year there is a "training staff" which is ultimately a group of detailers. There are morning workouts that the training staff leads, there are noon-meal trainings, etc. They can put you on punishments that will take up your time and just seem annoying in general. Some punishments include: not being allowed to wear your back pack straps (ridiculous punishment, but one of the most annoying), going on "racetracks" (not rating the p-way, only allowed to walk around the perimeter), not rating the deck (you cannot go to your room from 0700 to 2230ish) amongst other things. Overall, they are responsible for preparing plebes for the next three years at USNA.
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Wow those would suck for me. You guys are tougher than me.

My son said the backpack thing sucks because it is heavy.
 
Backpacks are actually a relatively new thing at USNA. Somewhere around the last ten years. The rules used to be you couldn’t use any straps like a backpack or book bag on your shoulder. Now you can in a working uniform.
 
23usna23 said:
During the academic year there is a "training staff" which is ultimately a group of detailers. There are morning workouts that the training staff leads, there are noon-meal trainings, etc. They can put you on punishments that will take up your time and just seem annoying in general. Some punishments include: not being allowed to wear your back pack straps (ridiculous punishment, but one of the most annoying), going on "racetracks" (not rating the p-way, only allowed to walk around the perimeter), not rating the deck (you cannot go to your room from 0700 to 2230ish) amongst other things. Overall, they are responsible for preparing plebes for the next three years at USNA.
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Thank you for the info! What a difference from the civilian college experience. Wow.
 
Could you possibly put me in touch with a prior enlisted who came out of A school to USNA? I'm currently in process and have questions that I can't find answers to.
 
elorodelmar4 said:
Could you possibly put me in touch with a prior enlisted who came out of A school to USNA? I'm currently in process and have questions that I can't find answers to.
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I could definitely find someone! Once I'm allowed to private message, I'll give you someone's info.
 
23usna23 said:
I could definitely find someone! Once I'm allowed to private message, I'll give you someone's info.
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Post the questions on here and the members can take a stab. If you have these questions, another fleet applicant might in the future and this thread could help them. Also the Chief in Admissions who handles fleet applicants is there to assist.
 
What would you say you believe is helpful for parents to know or that your parents feel it is helpful to share for hopeful/upcoming Plebe parents?

Is there anything that has thus far made you wish you did not choose the Naval Academy?

Was Plebe Summer harder than you expected it to be? What was the hardest aspect of Plebe Summer? For you? For others?

Was waiting for your LOA the hardest part of the application process? Looking back now, what advice would you offer to those waiting to hear?
 
#GoNavyBeatArmy said:
What would you say you believe is helpful for parents to know or that your parents feel it is helpful to share for hopeful/upcoming Plebe parents?

Is there anything that has thus far made you wish you did not choose the Naval Academy?

Was Plebe Summer harder than you expected it to be? What was the hardest aspect of Plebe Summer? For you? For others?

Was waiting for your LOA the hardest part of the application process? Looking back now, what advice would you offer to those waiting to hear?
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I will give you some info from my perspective - my son is a plebe.

He is so happy at USNA. And he is so happy he chose to go there.

My son thought plebe summer was very easy. The secret is to enter in good shape ... his numbers before plebe summer were good enough to pass the tests at the end. Run a lot. Cross country was great for my son.

The hardest thing for a parent is the few phone calls and letters from my son for plebe summer. It was hard on me ... not him. My son and I were so close before plebe summer - and I was left with an empty nest when he left. Very hard for me.

As far as the LOA - we didn’t even know about what an LOA was until his friend got one shortly before he got his. My son got an LOA when his package was complete. It made our days ... but we didn’t expect it and it didn’t mean anything for our process because we had a colorblind waiver to overcome. Do not worry about an LOA. 90% of plebes do not get them.

The best advice I can give ... do your best and let the chips fall where they fall. You can only control some things ... gpa, SATs, CFA, leadership, extracurricular activities. You can’t control the competition, the MOC process, or admissions.
 
A1Janitor said:
I will give you some info from my perspective - my son is a plebe.

He is so happy at USNA. And he is so happy he chose to go there.

My son thought plebe summer was very easy. The secret is to enter in good shape ... his numbers before plebe summer were good enough to pass the tests at the end. Run a lot. Cross country was great for my son.

The hardest thing for a parent is the few phone calls and letters from my son for plebe summer. It was hard on me ... not him. My son and I were so close before plebe summer - and I was left with an empty nest when he left. Very hard for me.

As far as the LOA - we didn’t even know about what an LOA was until his friend got one shortly before he got his. My son got an LOA when his package was complete. It made our days ... but we didn’t expect it and it didn’t mean anything for our process because we had a colorblind waiver to overcome. Do not worry about an LOA. 90% of plebes do not get them.

The best advice I can give ... do your best and let the chips fall where they fall. You can only control some things ... gpa, SATs, CFA, leadership, extracurricular activities. You can’t control the competition, the MOC process, or admissions.
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^^^^. Most comforting post I’ve read so far, thank you 🥰🥰
 
NavyHoops said:
Post the questions on here and the members can take a stab. If you have these questions, another fleet applicant might in the future and this thread could help them. Also the Chief in Admissions who handles fleet applicants is there to assist.
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Reference the Checklist here:
www.usna.edu

Active Duty and Reserve Applicants

Active Duty and Reserve Applicants page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Tue Apr 09 05:23:10 EDT 2024.
www.usna.edu

Here are the questions:
For SECNAV, is this the only thing I have to submit? (Meaning, pgs A2 and A3). I understand there are additional things to submit for USNA, but is this the only thing for SECNAV?

2. There is also a form for the CO to complete, pgs A4 and A5. In item #2 it states " 2. The information contained in paragraph 2 of the basic letter has been verified." What is the basic letter it refers to? Is this something I need to submit, and if so how do I find this information? Is it possible that this is referring to my application (Pages A2 and A3)? It might seem so, except that paragraph 2 of the application doesn't' seem to be something that would need to be verified.
 
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