RELEVANTobserver
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2010
- Messages
- 12
As the new appointment thread keeps growing and growing, congratulations to all so far and in advance to those who will be receiving theirs shortly, I thought that this would be an appropriate time to impart some knowledge that I learned the hard way over the summer, so that way the class of 2015 can have a little head start.
Before reading what I have to say, I would I highly recommend reading the sticky by Memphis9489 found here: http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=13029
I-Day/PS is confusing and tiring enough as it is, so hopefully this advice will help you feel not completely clueless.
1. Bulkhead - I know that this seems silly, but for someone like me (from the middle of the country with no shipboard experience at all) I had no idea what a bulkhead was. Simply put, its the wall of the P-way (passage way= hallway) so the phrase "hit a bulkhead" means to go up to the wall, face it, and do about face, get used to this because after almost every training evolution you will go back up on "deck" (the floor you live on) and hit a bulkhead and standby for further instruction and make sure you stay out of the grey space! It's a single row of tiles on the floor that are grey (obviously) along side the bulkhead that only your detailers can walk in, it's hard to visualize but once you get there you will understand what I mean.
2. Chopping - the only form of transportation for Plebes in Bancroft during the summer and into the Academic year. Chopping=a fast jog, for lack of a scientific term. Everywhere you go in Bancroft hall you will have to chop until you get outside, and stay in the middle of the p-way.
3. Your I-Day Sea Bag is Heavy!! - enough said
4. White Works Aren't Flattering, or Moisture-Wicking - those attractive uniforms that you are issued to wear over the summer definitely don't help with the heat factor of the summer, you will be sweaty in them almost all the time=uniform gets nasty. And they more than likely won't fit, in fact I can guarantee it, (I was issued size 36 pants, I wear a 32) so you will probably have to tie your pants tight to make them fit, don't tie them too tight though, otherwise you will have a hard time reaching the pocket on the inside where you keep your Reef Points, which brings me to my next tip...
5. Don't Drop Your Reef Points!! - Reef Points, or as it is affectionately known as your "trash" is essential to Plebe Summer, that is one thing that you must have on you at all times. That being said, the afore mentioned pocket in the front of the white works pants can be tricky to get into the first few times you take it out and put it back in. An example of this, I thought I put my Reef Points in my pocket before the swearing in ceremony, only to feel it slide down my leg as it fell out, so I was without my Reef Points for the first few days of the summer. If you do lose it, you will have to do something for the detailers to "earn it back".
6. The Chapel Bells - Over PS you aren't allowed a watch or any time keeping device and for my summer the clocks on our deck didn't work, and you will get curious as to what time it is. There are two ways that you can try and guess the time; the first is try to listen to the chapel bells, they ring every fifteen minutes after the hour, with the fifteen minute chime being the shortest in length. Seems sort of irrelevant now but this was something that I thought helped to make the days go faster. Another is to try and sneak a peek at the atomic clock that is on the way from Smoke Hall to King Hall when you go to meal.
7. It's Not Bootcamp - It isn't gunnery sergeants and Marines yelling at you to do 50 pushups, its 1/C Midshipmen that are teaching you HOW TO BECOME A MIDSHIPMAN, and how to be somewhat competent when you enter the brigade after fall reform (when everyone comes back). You will do physical exercise of course (PEP) but you also do a lot of leadership building and teamwork building activities, the goal of detailers is to get you from a civilian to a functioning member of the brigade in 6 weeks.
Hope this helps, again these were just some of the things that I wish that I had know before heading into the summer, good luck class of 2015 and I hope to see some of you in 23rd company next year!
Before reading what I have to say, I would I highly recommend reading the sticky by Memphis9489 found here: http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=13029
I-Day/PS is confusing and tiring enough as it is, so hopefully this advice will help you feel not completely clueless.
1. Bulkhead - I know that this seems silly, but for someone like me (from the middle of the country with no shipboard experience at all) I had no idea what a bulkhead was. Simply put, its the wall of the P-way (passage way= hallway) so the phrase "hit a bulkhead" means to go up to the wall, face it, and do about face, get used to this because after almost every training evolution you will go back up on "deck" (the floor you live on) and hit a bulkhead and standby for further instruction and make sure you stay out of the grey space! It's a single row of tiles on the floor that are grey (obviously) along side the bulkhead that only your detailers can walk in, it's hard to visualize but once you get there you will understand what I mean.
2. Chopping - the only form of transportation for Plebes in Bancroft during the summer and into the Academic year. Chopping=a fast jog, for lack of a scientific term. Everywhere you go in Bancroft hall you will have to chop until you get outside, and stay in the middle of the p-way.
3. Your I-Day Sea Bag is Heavy!! - enough said
4. White Works Aren't Flattering, or Moisture-Wicking - those attractive uniforms that you are issued to wear over the summer definitely don't help with the heat factor of the summer, you will be sweaty in them almost all the time=uniform gets nasty. And they more than likely won't fit, in fact I can guarantee it, (I was issued size 36 pants, I wear a 32) so you will probably have to tie your pants tight to make them fit, don't tie them too tight though, otherwise you will have a hard time reaching the pocket on the inside where you keep your Reef Points, which brings me to my next tip...
5. Don't Drop Your Reef Points!! - Reef Points, or as it is affectionately known as your "trash" is essential to Plebe Summer, that is one thing that you must have on you at all times. That being said, the afore mentioned pocket in the front of the white works pants can be tricky to get into the first few times you take it out and put it back in. An example of this, I thought I put my Reef Points in my pocket before the swearing in ceremony, only to feel it slide down my leg as it fell out, so I was without my Reef Points for the first few days of the summer. If you do lose it, you will have to do something for the detailers to "earn it back".
6. The Chapel Bells - Over PS you aren't allowed a watch or any time keeping device and for my summer the clocks on our deck didn't work, and you will get curious as to what time it is. There are two ways that you can try and guess the time; the first is try to listen to the chapel bells, they ring every fifteen minutes after the hour, with the fifteen minute chime being the shortest in length. Seems sort of irrelevant now but this was something that I thought helped to make the days go faster. Another is to try and sneak a peek at the atomic clock that is on the way from Smoke Hall to King Hall when you go to meal.
7. It's Not Bootcamp - It isn't gunnery sergeants and Marines yelling at you to do 50 pushups, its 1/C Midshipmen that are teaching you HOW TO BECOME A MIDSHIPMAN, and how to be somewhat competent when you enter the brigade after fall reform (when everyone comes back). You will do physical exercise of course (PEP) but you also do a lot of leadership building and teamwork building activities, the goal of detailers is to get you from a civilian to a functioning member of the brigade in 6 weeks.
Hope this helps, again these were just some of the things that I wish that I had know before heading into the summer, good luck class of 2015 and I hope to see some of you in 23rd company next year!