Roller coaster I: Get You (The Parents) Through Plebe Year - Class of ‘27 🎢

severn said:
... so the long story, during YP mission, the crew docked in NY. Most Mids stayed in hotels. My son's friend from his high school was now an investment banker in Manhattan. And he stayed for several days there. So his summer expenses included dining and spas.
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I will have to keep in mind the extra cost for YP Cruise portion! That is nice your Ds has connections!! NYC any day is expensive!!
 
... just parental instinct especially if you're a combat vet. I make an effort to send cash. He really doesn't care about it. During the break he found 4 letters in his mailbox 📫 with $$$.
 
IronmanDaremo said:
Yes, 3/C get $300, and can request held pay drops, to a max paycheck of $500/month this year. My kid was quite happy for that.

I don't believe 4/C can request a held pay disbursement.
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I was asking my DS to submit for COMRATS from the break so at least he gets extra money in his pocket. I need to look into held pay.
 
severn said:
... just parental instinct especially if you're a combat vet. I make an effort to send cash. He really doesn't care about it. During the break he found 4 letters in his mailbox 📫 with $$$.
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@severn My DS just called to tell me he finally checked his box at my pestering this week and found his birthday card from Grand parents from last September with money in it!!
 
LKNBrawley said:
@severn My DS just called to tell me he finally checked his box at my pestering this week and found his birthday card from Grand parents from last September with money in it!!
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... so lesson learned is I tell him to check mailbox before a major Holiday Break like Thanksgiving, Christmas. On watch 31Dec, I told him check mailbox... found 4 letters with $$$.
 
COMRATS and other stuff like that are what held pay comes from (if I'm not remembering my kid's explanation wrong).

They will also probably get more held pay overall now with the CY24 federal pay raise. It was (finally) a reasonable one.

All military cadets get a fixed monthly which is something like 1/3rd the monthly of an O-1. You can see the number in the DoD pay charts.
 
When does the next level of pay start? IOW, when does a plebe bump up to 2/C pay? At commissioning of the current class? Or when the brigade reforms following summer?
 
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Next level of pay kicks in roughly when the graduating firsties throw their covers in the air.

DD posted photos from the graduation ceremony at the end of her plebe year. Her shipmates were flashing their new shoulder boards, these ones with a single stripe. The caption read: "Woke up at 5am and got this sunburn, all for a $xx raise. 😉"
 
justme said:
Not sure how to answer the budget part. We didnt provide DS any additional spending money and he survived.

He basically grifted the govt for 125/month for 10 months as a plebe, so he still had tens of dollars to spend on his own. A lot of it may be whether they end up in San Diego or the Atlantic seaboard. DS got to go to a Padres game, the zoo, a couple dinners. But nothing outside his own income/budget. Had we sent him some cash, he probably could have spent it, but didnt seem like he missed out on anything.
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Our DGD spent a lot of time at the beaches plus other fun places. I think she said she ate at the base much of the time. She was in San Diego and had a great time spending her own money.
 
MidCakePa said:
Next level of pay kicks in roughly when the graduating firsties throw their covers in the air.

DD posted photos from the graduation ceremony at the end of her plebe year. Her shipmates were flashing their new shoulder boards, these ones with a single stripe. The caption read: "Woke up at 5am and got this sunburn, all for a $xx raise. 😉"
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Like I've said before, I think the MIDNs practice all year so they can change shoulder boards while the covers are still in the air. That must be why they are constantly so busy.
 
I asked my kid to give me a set of each shoulder board so I can put something together for him for graduation. I also asked him to take a pic, but he just took one of the crowd.
 
justdoit19 said:
When does the next level of pay start? IOW, when does a plebe bump up to 2/C pay? At commissioning of the current class? Or when the brigade reforms following summer?
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Perhaps a minor detail, and correct me if wrong, but I thought all Midshipmen received the same pay. My recollection is that is 1/2 the base pay of 0-1. However, USNA collects all pay in a funny money (I am sure there is formal name for it) account used for uniforms and sundries like haircut, tailor shop, cobbler. etc. What the Midshipman actually sees varies by class year.... I don't recall when the change occurs., seems to make sense that a 3rd Class on summer cruise/Protramid now would need more cash than they get during the school year ...but of course there is some advantage to keeping them poor so they don't go out and get into trouble.

As an aside, reason number .... that NAPS is a great deal. I was paid as an E-1/E-2 while at NAPS, and coming out of High School in the Midwest, getting paid every other week while all room and board were covered was quite a luxury. We spent a fair amount in Newport, but saved enough that I never really had to think about money until I had a car first class year.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
As an aside, reason number .... that NAPS is a great deal. I was paid as an E-1/E-2 while at NAPS, and coming out of High School in the Midwest, getting paid every other week while all room and board were covered was quite a luxury. We spent a fair amount in Newport, but saved enough that I never really had to think about money until I had a car first class year.
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That's only because your drinking skills weren't as highly developed as some of your peers.....
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Perhaps a minor detail, and correct me if wrong, but I thought all Midshipmen received the same pay. My recollection is that is 1/2 the base pay of 0-1. However, USNA collects all pay in a funny money (I am sure there is formal name for it) account used for uniforms and sundries like haircut, tailor shop, cobbler. etc. What the Midshipman actually sees varies by class year....
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Looks like 35%.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Perhaps a minor detail, and correct me if wrong, but I thought all Midshipmen received the same pay. My recollection is that is 1/2 the base pay of 0-1. However, USNA collects all pay in a funny money (I am sure there is formal name for it) account used for uniforms and sundries like haircut, tailor shop, cobbler. etc. What the Midshipman actually sees varies by class year.... I don't recall when the change occurs., seems to make sense that a 3rd Class on summer cruise/Protramid now would need more cash than they get during the school year ...but of course there is some advantage to keeping them poor so they don't go out and get into trouble.

As an aside, reason number .... that NAPS is a great deal. I was paid as an E-1/E-2 while at NAPS, and coming out of High School in the Midwest, getting paid every other week while all room and board were covered was quite a luxury. We spent a fair amount in Newport, but saved enough that I never really had to think about money until I had a car first class year.
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The REGULAR Midshipman "allowance" which was $40 for plebes in my day was until graduation. During Summer Training, they gave us much more money in our pockets with regular "allowance" at the higher rank starting after summer training.
 
Commissioning is set for Friday May 24th, so I would guess (and that's all it is) it would be on Wednesday (5/22) that week.
It is not yet on the calendar.
 
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