Thanksgiving Leave Granted?

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JmeBeMe

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I believe I've read that Thanksgiving leave was not always permitted for Mids at USNA.
What year was Thanksgiving leave first granted?
 
JmeBeMe said:
I believe I've read that Thanksgiving leave was not always permitted for Mids at USNA.
What year was Thanksgiving leave first granted?
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I believe it changed in either late 60’s or early 70’s. There was no spring break either. And, ugliest of all, final exams came after winter break. I believe the mids also walked uphill both ways to class...
 
Capt MJ said:
I believe the mids also walked uphill both ways to class...
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LOL--there aren't many "hills" on the Yard.,. a few stairs in and around the buildings. I'm sure CAPT MJ wishes she had a dime for every time DH started a comment with "When I was a Plebe........" The scary thought is the my Classmates and I are all the grumpy old grads now.

I recall watching the Army-Navy game on Thanksgiving Day on a black and white TV at my grandparents when I was a kid (probably late 60's/early 70's), so no leave then..

I remember hearing stories about coming back for exams.. Annapolis is pretty dreary in January, and going back to face exams and the long haul until Spring Break was called the "Dark Ages,"
 
My dad is class of '68 and he said he never had a Thanksgiving break.
 
Capt MJ said:
I believe it changed in either late 60’s or early 70’s. There was no spring break either. And, ugliest of all, final exams came after winter break. I believe the mids also walked uphill both ways to class...
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But they did March to class! Mandatory church service. Liberty was very limited and overnights were rare.
 
I never had Thanksgiving leave when there. We had either a basketball game at home or on the road. Honestly was just another road trip for us except ‘you had to work for your turkey’. I think I still have flashbacks to those practices.
 
Mid to late 70's, we never had leave at Thanksgiving - just liberty and had to be back that night. I think we had class on the day after Thankgiving so it was a pretty small break.
 
In '82 (our plebe year) we definitely had leave -- Wed after last class or military obligation to Sunday at 1800. So must have started somewhere between 77 ('78's last T-giving at USNA and '82 -- my first). However, I don't believe we had a shortened class schedule on Wed -- it was a "normal" day" so leave didn't start until 1500ish for most.

In 1983, the A/N game was played in Los Angeles on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so we all had a weird sort of leave that year.
 
NavyHoops said:
I never had Thanksgiving leave when there. We had either a basketball game at home or on the road. Honestly was just another road trip for us except ‘you had to work for your turkey’. I think I still have flashbacks to those practices.
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I've related the story before of giving a female basketball player a ride at USMA over Christmas. I asked what she was doing there and she related how she had not had one Thanksgiving off and most of her Christmas breaks were also taken up with practices/tournaments.
 
My '82 brother missed at least one Thanksgiving. Then again, I think that had to do with getting caught with alcohol at a football game.
 
usna1985 said:
In '82 (our plebe year) we definitely had leave -- Wed after last class or military obligation to Sunday at 1800. So must have started somewhere between 77 ('78's last T-giving at USNA and '82 -- my first). However, I don't believe we had a shortened class schedule on Wed -- it was a "normal" day" so leave didn't start until 1500ish for most.

In 1983, the A/N game was played in Los Angeles on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so we all had a weird sort of leave that year.
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You know I was Women’s Basketball Officer rep - Thanksgivings at tourneys in Las Vegas, Sacramento, Minneapolis (at a player’s home, massive family plus team, what a spread). I know it was tough on the team. As I recall, there were games that impacted getting away for winter break, as well as games that required returning before Reform.

I was a good O’rep. I got permission from the Dant for civvies for all at the Thanksgiving meal.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
I've related the story before of giving a female basketball player a ride at USMA over Christmas. I asked what she was doing there and she related how she had not had one Thanksgiving off and most of her Christmas breaks were also taken up with practices/tournaments.
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Christmas was usually 3 or 4 days off. Usually got home the 23rd or 24th and back a few days later. Then it’s non-stop practice and games. It’s a sort of miserable time to be on the yard. It’s dark, cold and no one is there. I never had a full spring break. I think I got a few days one year, because we lost in the tourney early on. The other years it was none.

The Mids will get through this and have years of stories to tell. I think it’s the constant change, mixed with not knowing what is going to happen with schedules and just fatigue of it all. Honestly... they don’t know it now... but that is exactly what deployment is like. The only difference is they will be on the other side... they will be telling their Sailors or Marines the good and bad news about going home, extensions, changes of schedules, etc. They are learning a lot through this all right now... they just don’t know it yet.
 
NavyHoops said:
Christmas was usually 3 or 4 days off. Usually got home the 23rd or 24th and back a few days later. Then it’s non-stop practice and games. It’s a sort of miserable time to be on the yard. It’s dark, cold and no one is there. I never had a full spring break. I think I got a few days one year, because we lost in the tourney early on. The other years it was none.
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At the risk of hijacking the thread, this is why I have little patience when Midshipmen, Cadets, and parents complain about the "privilege" of being a core athlete. There has been a stink this year at USMA by a few vocal Cadets and parents about the football team being isolated due to COVID and quips about how they are treated differently. Of course, while the Corps will be released right after the Army/Navy game the football team will stay on an additional two weeks until their bowl game is complete. No demands yet by any parents that their Cadets stay on with the team until 27 December. In order to be fair, of course.
 
Leave started in 1987
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The article can say that but we definitely had the WE off in 1982. Maybe they termed it "liberty" (vs. leave) in those days, but whatever they called it, we were off from Wed night through Sunday night. It was the first time plebes had an overnight (no plebe WEs in our day), so we definitely remember it.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
At the risk of hijacking the thread, this is why I have little patience when Midshipmen, Cadets, and parents complain about the "privilege" of being a core athlete. There has been a stink this year at USMA by a few vocal Cadets and parents about the football team being isolated due to COVID and quips about how they are treated differently. Of course, while the Corps will be released right after the Army/Navy game the football team will stay on an additional two weeks until their bowl game is complete. No demands yet by any parents that their Cadets stay on with the team until 27 December. In order to be fair, of course.
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I thought about this the other day when I saw the rescheduled game for the 19th.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
At the risk of hijacking the thread, this is why I have little patience when Midshipmen, Cadets, and parents complain about the "privilege" of being a core athlete. There has been a stink this year at USMA by a few vocal Cadets and parents about the football team being isolated due to COVID and quips about how they are treated differently. Of course, while the Corps will be released right after the Army/Navy game the football team will stay on an additional two weeks until their bowl game is complete. No demands yet by any parents that their Cadets stay on with the team until 27 December. In order to be fair, of course.
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I know there's some griping about the athletes and supposed special treatment, but those folks put in a ton of extra hours and work in representing their schools. No complaints here - let's all cheer them on! My plebe son at USNA played HS football and totally gets how much work and dedication it requires...no complaints from him either.
 
usna1985 said:
The article can say that but we definitely had the WE off in 1982. Maybe they termed it "liberty" (vs. leave) in those days, but whatever they called it, we were off from Wed night through Sunday night
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I second the Motion! :) I know for sure that I was stuck in a broken down car in the Bronx at about 2 AM Sunday AM (hitched a ride with a group of Upperclassmen to see my GF (now wife). (That was actually '81, since our Firsties graduated in '82).
 
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