Return for the Class of 2023...?

B

brewer90

5-Year Member
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Feb 25, 2016
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Anybody got any gouge as to when the Class of 2023 will be welcomed back into the loving arms of Mother B? Have seen plans for 2021 and 2022, and 20204 is obvi already on campus.
 
As a current '23, I am itching to know the answer to this as well. We'll see...
 
No one here knows any better than the powers that be at USNA. As a youngster, your mid will know the exact info when the exact info is ready. No mids, I’m sure, are being kept in the dark unnecessarily. It’s a fluid situation, as you know, so anything you see here may or may not be correct at any given time. Better that you rely directly on your youngster.
 
According to the Dant’s “town hall” tonight, they only have room for 4100 mids in Bancroft with social distancing. They are considering prioritizing youngsters (didn’t say how) as to who needs to be on the Yard this fall and about 400-500 youngsters would not be brought back this fall. I suppose this could change with circumstances.
 
Is there a minimum number of graduating officers per year that USNA is required to produce? Im wondering if these '23's, with reduced time on the yard and, so far, no fleet experience, will be ready to sign 2 for 7's. For a kid who has no prior military experience, they are finding out very quickly how expendable they are. I'm wondering if that will be reflected when contract time comes?
 
I would think those 3/C would be back on the yard by second semester. And after that much time at home... they can do several blocks of training, even all 12 weeks of it can be training. I would imagine USNA and ROTC are going to be asking from additional summer budget to get Mids out in the fleet next summer for as much exposure to the operating forces and career fields as they can.
 
NavyHoops said:
I would think those 3/C would be back on the yard by second semester. And after that much time at home... they can do several blocks of training, even all 12 weeks of it can be training. I would imagine USNA and ROTC are going to be asking from additional summer budget to get Mids out in the fleet next summer for as much exposure to the operating forces and career fields as they can.
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On what basis do you come to this opinion? (Please understand, I am not trying to be a smart a$$ - my DS and his family are very confused and we look to experienced hands for knowledgeable insight). How will room and isolation issues differ after Christmas? How do you think they are going to execute several training blocks when they have 14 days of ROM before an evolution? Even with a vaccine in Q1, it is much more likely than not that pre-deployment quarantine will still be in place next summer - and the youngsters will be competing for limited spots with 2/C USNA and ROTC who missed out on PROTRMID this summer. What captain is going to want to allow a mid on board their ship during COVID? Seriously, why would they take that risk? Will they be ordered to accept mids for training? Us non-military types would appreciate some insight.

You seem very optimistic. Usna77 has a point - how does Navy expect a 2 for 7 commitment with no Fleet experience? Have they thought this out at all or are they only thinking day to day?

Is 2023 being thrown under the bus? If so, they would like to know if they are expendable before next September.
 
IMHO, and with a large degree of bias, they should bring back the IC team members so that they can practice with their teams.
 
Graduation requirement is 1 fleet cruise prior to commissioning. Plenty of officers are commissioned from NROTC non-scholarship and OCS without "fleet experience"--two or three weeks on a ship that may or may not get underway is not any kind of significant experience to begin with.

In terms of military training, this is an organization that can churn officers out in twelve weeks. Plenty of flexibility left in the 3/C as they have three years left. The college degree is the harder part of this problem.

3/C will still have PROTRAMID next year and 1/C cruise after that. 3/C training is not that big of a deal. Training funding was cut short summer of '13 and many of my class lost training blocks.

The Fleet can also make up for a temporary lull in accessions for the undermanned communities, such as increasing promotion quotas, increasing continuation quotas for officers that fail-to-select, shaping STA-21/OCS quotas, redirecting flight school/nuke school dropouts, and closing out lateral transfer opportunity. Some of which has already been done.

There is huge web of Navy policy surrounding moving people around for training that I really don't want to get into. But it is possible. It does make sense to prioritize 1/C and 2/C who have already signed 2/7, and for whom there is most investment.
 
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ders_dad said:
Is 2023 being thrown under the bus? If so, they would like to know if they are expendable before next September.
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No, '23 isn't "being thrown under the bus,", but everyone who has ever served understands the term "Needs of the Navy." What is best for the Navy as a whole will always take precedence over whats individual needs or wants.

I am sure that everyone wants to know what the future brings, but frankly speculation is counterproductive. In addition, the situation is changing so rapidly that it is hard to pin down a single plan of action I am sure that the Superintendent, in consultation with his staff and "Big Navy." are evaluating the best way accomplish the mission of developing young officers mrentally, morally, and physically, and then making a plan , with multiple options if things get better and worse. The one thing the Superintendent has , that other college Presidents don't have, is more control over the student body...he can make last minute changes and "order" the Midshipmen to take a course of action, which is probably why USNA hasn't made any formal announcement of its plans while so many other colleges have.

It is difficult to tell whether the uncertainty will impact the 2 for 7 decisions. Retention and morale are always factors to be considered, but if someone is frustrated with the waiting and last minute changes ... they aren't going to be happy in the Fleet either.
 
And 2/C's are signing soon without PROTRAMID. Doesn't seem to bother my guy. He stood on a non-moving boat last year...never got out. his sub thing was canceled. So it's pretty normal to proceed without experience. I asked him if there was a chance for PROTRAMID to run, he said it was officially canceled for him. Oh well... it's 2020! And doesn't seem to bother him!
 
ders_dad said:
Have they thought this out at all or are they only thinking day to day?
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Hmmm, we’re talking about a federal service academy that’s been charged with the education, safety and welfare of 4400 young people; with the mission of delivering some 1000 qualified graduates annually into active duty; under the deep scrutiny of the commander-in-chief, Congress and the media; amid a storm of health and social and economic upheaval that’s probably unprecedented in the last century.

Based on that context, I’m willing to bet that USNA leadership is not making this up as they go along, i.e. “only thinking day to day.” I’m willing to bet that yes, they are actually thinking it through, looking at both short-term and long-term ramifications. Our military isn’t perfect, but this collection of senior officers didn’t just fall off a turnip truck.

Will we someday look back and say, “Well, that decision was terrible”? Perhaps. That’s called hindsight, and as they say, everyone has 20-20 vision when looking backward. When I dropped off DD on I-Day, I did so with implicit trust that I was putting her in good hands — that the powers that be would act with her best interests in mind. Not necessarily her as an individual, but as part of a greater organism that is the U.S. Navy. She signed up, after all, “to be part of something bigger than herself.”

Is it turning out exactly as we’d all thought? Of course not. Such is life.
 
Current 3/C here feeling compelled to agree out loud with -- and THANK -- both Old Navy BGO and MidCakePA for their posts/wisdom and insights above.

I'm about as cynical as they come, but so far, current SUPE and DANT have proven through their actions (both pre and post-Covid onset,) that they are experienced, empathetic leaders who get it -- and are deftly balancing, in as near real-time as possible, the needs of the USNA mission AND the health/safety (both physical and mental) of the entire USNA community -- not just the mids and even more specifically, not just us youngsters.

The current reality sucks for everyone -- and for some, far more than others.

Now is the time to have faith in our leadership. Not blind faith, but faith based on their actions and decisions to-date, as well as their proactive willingness to share the latest information they possess, transparently.

If you question (or have questions about) the DANT's commitment to being all-in, caring deeply and sharing transparently, subscribe to his public IG daily feed. Full stop.
 
As a complete outsider to the USN (other than pulling to Navy bases on occasion while assigned to a cutter):

The Mids will be fine, regardless of whether or not they get to experience the "real Navy." I'll just put this thought out there: every year, 50,000 sailors depart Recruit Training Command Great Lakes for units around the world with no fleet experience and select job specialties ("rates") without so much as a few basic explanations from their recruiters. Certainly, if they can do it, then we can expect the future officers that will be charged to lead them to do the same. Those same recruits don't get a "2 for 7" opportunity, they sign on the dotted line and commit to at least four years (in most cases) right off the bat.

You commit because you already made a commitment, regardless of whether or not you had the opportunity to go on a couple of training cruises. If not having that opportunity is causing you to rethink your situation, then I respectfully question that person's commitment in the first place. These extras are simply that, extras - just as much as USCGA cadets' experience on EAGLE and summer cutter experiences are extras. They are nice things to have, but there is very little that can't be taught using other methods while at USNA or immediately upon reporting to their first unit after commissioning. Of course, it's absolutely crushing to not get to have those extras, but they will be stronger and more resilient for continuing to weather this storm.

At the end of the day, the question is not about expendability, but about sacrifice. The goal right now is to maximize the health and safety of all midshipmen, at the SACRIFICE of some of the experiences and moments that were once norms. I guarantee no one is sitting around discussing the expendability of the Class of 2023. What they most likely are discussing is what can be done now to ensure their health and safety, and what can be done at a later date to make sure they receive the necessary training to commission. If you want to be cold about it, if for no other reason, the USN (and taxpayers) have already invested a ton of money into that class - they're not looking to sabotage them when it's in the Navy's best interest to ensure they succeed.

Edit: I'm still thinking about this and I must be on my soapbox tonight so...in addition to sacrifice, it's also about perspective. If you want to talk about real sacrifice in the military, think about the thousands of servicemen and servicewomen around the world whose return from deployments were indefinitely halted. Some of those people are just just NOW coming home. We're talking people who have been deployed for over a year at this point, missing more life moments and milestones of their families and children then they had anticipated. That's a real test of adversity and resilience. When you compare the two, potentially having to stay at home and take virtual courses is a small price to pay. So, please parents, have faith USNA will take care of your "kids," who are adults and will adjust to what their employers require of them just as the rest of military has done.
 
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Also, really ask your Mids. Bc they have a different perspective than mom and dad. I guarantee this all bothers mom and dad more than those committed like trackandfield08 is talking about.

Sometimes it’s mind blowing how my own sets me straight perspective wise. And that’s a good thing. He signed up. I didn’t.

Looking at the big picture, it’s AMAZING how leadership is running this show. Amazing.
 
FutureAdademyDad? said:
Protip: If you are a '23 parent, don't call the Supe or the Dant offering your suggestions on how to fully reform the Brigade.

(Apparently this is a Covid side effect that is being documented in Facebook parent groups...this disease is even more terrible than we thought.)
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I couldn’t believe the letter I saw that parents were sending to the Dant.

It will all work out. Without my input. Even I don’t care what my opinion is about this stuff.
 
FutureAdademyDad? said:
Protip: If you are a '23 parent, don't call the Supe or the Dant offering your suggestions on how to fully reform the Brigade.

(Apparently this is a Covid side effect that is being documented in Facebook parent groups...this disease is even more terrible than we thought.)
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I wonder how many MIDS have banned their parents from FB parent groups when they see what their parents post.
 
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