To shotgun or not to shotgun, that is the question…

LT360

LT360

C/O 2025 Dad
Joined
Apr 9, 2021
Messages
943
Deck plate rumor is that the Dant will make a decision tomorrow on shotgunning or shuffling ‘25. Rumor has been swirling for awhile. DS said he would not mind a shuffle but a shotgun would be tougher to swallow. However DS will survive and thrive no matter the decision.
 
LT360 said:
However DS will survive and thrive no matter the decision.
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Great attitude and approach. They all do survive and thrive. They end up with even more friends and buddies for life. And they see new ways of doing things — some better, some worse — that help them become stronger mid leaders and commissioned officers.

I’ve always thought one of the most intriguing things about a military career is that you never feel like your standing still. Always something new to learn, always someone new to know. Adaptability and comfort with ambiguity are great traits for life and career.
 
cluelesscandidateparents said:
???? Enlighten the clueless lol
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A shotgun could include a remix of midshipman across the 30 companies. A scramble/shuffle would take one class, such as the plebes '25, and move the whole company's plebes to another company.

It is what it is, but it isn't helping establish company cultures- but maybe that is the intent if the cultures, or the needs, are not what is desired.
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
A shotgun could include a remix of midshipman across the 30 companies. A scramble/shuffle would take one class, such as the plebes '25, and move the whole company's plebes to another company.

It is what it is, but it isn't helping establish company cultures- but maybe that is the intent if the cultures, or the needs, are not what is desired.
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Mixing and adjusting the companies?
 
cluelesscandidateparents said:
Mixing and adjusting the companies?
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Yes…for example, take the plebes from company 17. They get disbursed among other companies. That’s shotgunning.

If you take the plebes from company 17, and move them all to company 22, that’s called scrambled.

And any variation of that….could be only one class this happens to, could be the whole company. Could be shotgunned, or moved as a group.

The reasons for doing this vary. It’s common. You can search for discussion about this on the forums. A lot of it last year due to the shotgunning of every class but seniors.
 
It could happen after plebe year.
Or youngster (sophomore) year.
Or not at all.
Pros and cons for all approaches.

It’s actually good training for the Fleet and Corps. Rule of thumb is 30% of a unit changes every year, so new leadership, new shipmates, new sailors/Marines.

It’s also good training for when you are doing well on your ship and your quals, just a few months back from deployment, when the officer in your same job, same class of ship across the pier, broke her leg and now can’t deploy next week, so you get loaned to that ship for a period of time, and off you go. Of course, due to your early training at USNA that the one constant of military life is change, you roll with it and excel, quickly learning the people, culture, etc.
 
DS called this evening and confirmed something will happen. There is a Dants Call tomorrow night and the shuffle or shotgun will be announced. DS is ready for the change and just wants it announced. He is not looking forward to 24 hours of rumors and then an hour Mando meeting justifying the reasons.
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
It is what it is, but it isn't helping establish company cultures- but maybe that is the intent if the cultures, or the needs, are not what is desired.
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DD was closely involved in discussions last year re the decision to shuffle mids. She said it’s not a decision that’s taken lightly or made easily. And it’s definitely done with a purpose, to achieve a goal that somehow betters the brigade.

I don’t fully understand because I’m not there. But I do know that much of the military is about never getting too comfortable in one place or one billet. So seems like good training. Short-term pain, it seems, for long-term gain.
 
When our 2024 got shotgunned he was pissed and heartbroken. The roomie he thought he had and his best friend was no longer an option. Both disappointed.

Fast forward a week, both in new companies and the cynicism was markedly decreased.

Fast forward a month and both he and his planned roomie are in a better head space with current companies and they recognize the opportunity for growth and adaptive change it provided.

Fast forward to second semester as a youngster and he and his roomies know the shotgun that can happen is a reality. They are poised and ready. It’s part of the culture to adapt and overcome. The lessons this teaches are invaluable.

COVID meant that many things weren’t as they should be in terms of company culture. Some companies have a reputation of being very tight and straight and narrow. Others have the reputation of being slack and cavalier.
As @MidCakePa mentioned they had many conversations regarding this decision and chose to shotgun to reset the playing field.
In our DS opinion it was for the best and provided him additional best friends.

Adapt and overcome. Semper Gumby
 
We tell every candidiate here to control what they can control. The same applies to current Midshipmen. They have absolutely no control over this. And truth be told, it's not even going to be in their top 10 list of things that happened during their military career.
 
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brewmeist said:
We tell every candidiate here to control what they can control. The same applies to current Midshipmen. They have absolutely no control over this. And truth be told, it's not even going to be in their top 10 list of things that happened during their military career.
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So much of this. You learn every quickly in the military that you worry about you can control. That lesson has served me well for decades now. The rumor mill can very strong in the military and that goes for USNA. For anyone who has been on a deployed ship and then the rumor mill it deployment gets extended, knows how strong that rumor mill can be. As much as the rumor mill can suck, all these lessons are great for when they hit the fleet. They will be the JOs communicating to their Depts, trying to address rumors, and helping young sailors deal with stress and change.
 
NavyHoops said:
So much of this. You learn every quickly in the military that you worry about you can control. That lesson has served me well for decades now. The rumor mill can very strong in the military and that goes for USNA. For anyone who has been on a deployed ship and then the rumor mill it deployment gets extended, knows how strong that rumor mill can be. As much as the rumor mill can suck, all these lessons are great for when they hit the fleet. They will be the JOs communicating to their Depts, trying to address rumors, and helping young sailors deal with stress and change.
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My guy won’t even talk to me about ‘rumors’. Shuts me down with a ‘xxx isn’t happening until it’s happening’. They learn quick! And are much better at it than Mom. Although I’ve learned over the years, it’s not happening until it’s happening. #SemperGumby for sure.

And as far as ‘it’s not done for no reason’? That I believe wholeheartedly…can you imagine the logistical planning and execution of changing around 3k Mids? Yikes!! Probably not done for the fun of it.

A story in two experiences: my oldest has never been shuffled/shotgunned, and has had the same roommate for 4 yrs. My youngest? Has changed every year, never the same roommate. They both are fine.

And for Newbie Parents or lurkers….they completely move out of their dorms every summer anyhow, so this doesn’t add anything to their summer move out process.
 
Shotgunning ‘23 was a good thing in the medium and long run. It sucked for them at the time but, as said, it turns out to be a really small thing in context of everything else. For the less extroverted, it greatly expanded their friend group.
 
The brief is tonight on the subject. The two options are to shuffle or scramble the class of 2025. Shuffle is where each company of plebes stays together and moves to a new company, and a scramble is where everyone goes to a different new company.
 
Concur with a lot above…I’m certain there are many third and fourth order effects from implementing…whether scramble or shotgun. I’m certain the Dant involved and brought in many of his advisors to come to a decision…not done in a vacuum. The fact that the Dant might be providing an explanation is icing on the cake. As an officer there are many sides to a story and one of the jobs is to hear (when time allows) the different sides/inputs and come to a decision. This is an opportunity to hear from the decision maker and the rationale of why a decision was made…which isn’t required. The Dant and chain of command can just say you were given a lawful order and execute. “Task and purpose” isn’t just a name…giving a task and providing a purpose/commander’s intent, generally, leads to better results. Hopefully, this is something the MIDN remember as they commission and have to start making some decisions later on.
 
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