What Plebe Summer is like

[The_Grizzly]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

There are many videos about USNA Plebe summer on You Tube:

 

[Capt MJ]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

Do you have an appointment yet? You are looking 1000 steps down a long, detailed road, though a long-range view is prudent. Focus on your application processes, killing the CFA alternate college/ROTC plans, getting your noms, having a strong school year, general fitness and in general, on what you can control.

If you google “Naval Academy Permit To Report,” a document which is sent to all confirmed appointees in the spring, it details pre-reporting workout guidance, what you need to memorize, etc. Part of Plebe Summer is to disrupt your comfort zone, transition you to military culture, and teach you to bond and work as a team - and to deal with the unknown and unexpected.

And welcome new member of about 90 minutes!
Be sure to find The Acronym Thread in the home page and take advantage off f the Search boxes.

Read every page, link and drop-down item at USNA.edu if you haven’t already.

 

[Peter2025]

It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart

Boom roasted

 

[NavyHoops]

There are tons of videos online, the admissions pages have lots of example schedules on it, this forum, and many other places to find info. Each SA has its own indoc and nuances based upon their service and school. The hardest one is the one you go through. Don’t make a decision based upon how ‘hard’ an indoc program is, in reality they are all fairly similar.

 

[Usnavy2019]

You can watch the videos all you want, but nothing compares to going through the real thing. My class all joked about how we all watched the plebe summer video to prepare and we were all still shocked come I-Day. As Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Obviously, you are not going to get punched, but it's one thing to watch someone get screamed at by a detailer. It's a whole other ballgame when you the one getting screamed at.

 

[Rarely27]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

My DD described PS as a time when she was always hot and sweaty…always

 

[LA rockymnt hi]

If you just watch the videos of IDay for USNA and then compare that to USAFA, USNA doesn’t look as “scary” according to my plebe daughter. She would tell you also that get through week one (hell week in her eyes just because of the huge adjustment to everything) and then it is really a lot of fun. Yes those were her words. She had a lot of fun during PS.

 

[ParachutePanda]

Honestly it's gonna be different for each academy. The videos don't show everything and everyone handles it differently. Focus on getting the appointment and then you can worry about the paperwork and then worry about I-day

 

[Kierkegaard]

It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

I believe you are wrong on both counts. I don’t know what you’re basing the first statement on, but it’s hard to say if one is harder than the other if you haven’t gone through or at least seen both. What I can tell you is that although you won’t be going out into the mountains, USNA’s Plebe Summer is very mentally demanding.

Second, you absolutely don’t need to know what happens so you can prepare, except that you’ll do a lot of running and pushups—That’s about all you can prepare for. I could tell you what it’s like, that you’ll be on your feet all day, spend a lot of time getting screamed at in the hall, getting quizzed on your rates, practicing rifle drill, and marched to different activities and briefs. But there’s not much you can do to prepare for it, nor do you need to. As others have said, you can’t understand it until you go through it.

 

[Huursoldaat]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

DS just went through it. I Day is long and hard. You are getting yelled at and you have no, like ZERO, autonomy. That is hard on humans. So I day will be stressful because of all of that. I assume all Academies are roughly the same in this regard.
Day to day can vary. Somedays you have evolutions (shooting range, o-course, e-course, etc.). Other days are lots of company time - which DS said was probably the worst. Folding socks, screwing up, getting dropped, etc. "Gray time" it is called apparently. Side note: DS said he could tell at lunch if the afternoon was going to suck or not because the Detailers were in a better mood if there was an evolution. If it was company time, they were more quiet (except for one - he said he could read him at all).

As others have noted, it is pretty difficult to prepare for. Just make sure you are in the best shape you can be without exhausting yourself before your show up (don't run 3 marathons a week in preparation). Do lots of bodyweight exercises and running. Then just roll in and try to keep your sense of humor about it all. DS was pretty surprised how fast it all evaporated once the Brigade reformed. He suddenly had free time where he could walk around the yard and not have to keep his eyes forward. He has a lot more autonomy now, but he is very busy so has to direct himself.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

Second, you absolutely don’t need to know what happens so you can prepare, except that you’ll do a lot of running and pushups—That’s about all you can prepare for.

^ Exactly ...focus on what you can control. Be prepared physically and mentally -- the mental aspect of not knowing what is coming up next is often the most challenging.

As to which Service Academy has the "hardest" Plebe Summer...each is different, with different emphasis... I'm sure you can find things to like and hate about Plebe Summer and whatever the other Service Academies call it.

 

[usna1985]

I would add to the above that most plebes find Ac Year more challenging than PS. The first couple of weeks of PS (or its equivalent) are a shock, no matter what SA you attend. But you get through that and then get into the routine for the rest of the summer. It's demanding but not insurmountable.

Ac Year is challenging for plebes b/c they still have lots of "plebe stuff" to do PLUS they have tough academics. Plebes all thought they had time management nailed in h.s. -- then they get to Plebe Ac Year and find they have to take it to a whole new level. You literally are given more than you can do excellently in the time allotted -- something has to give. The challenge is to figure out what activities you can afford to give less than your best effort. It's about learning how to ensure you get the "down time" you need while still accomplishing required tasks. It's about learning to rely on your roommates and classmates -- and showing up when they rely on you.

It's a grind. It's hard. But, it's eminently doable -- as those of us here can readily attest.

As for which SA summer program is "tougher" . . . first, it depends on what "tough" means. What is "easy" to one person might be "hard" for another. For example, some people find swimming to be a challenge while others don't. Some think it's neat to live in "the field" and eat MREs most of the summer, while others would find that a challenge. Also, fully agree that, unless you've personally been through two or more SA summer indoc programs (and VERY, VERY few have), you aren't in any position to determine which is more challenging -- even just for you.

 

[StPaulDad]

It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

So you found the pictures of the carts, did you? (If you ask Navy people about it they'll say it'll never happen again, but if you ask others they'll point out it did happen once. )

As said above, on the level that matters most they are all the same: you are intentionally driven out of your comfort zone, made to suffer for things outside your control, chased into the arms of your comrades while also being challenged physically to improve conditioning and to keep you mildly stressed on that level as well. The goal is to make top performers face failure, to throw a mountain of details into the air to make it hard to prioritize and focus, to press on a lot of fronts so that most people find some places where they are contributors and others where they require help. It's intentionally a wall of things that individual people respond to differently and there's no good way to know how you'll do. You can prepare by getting in shape and spending time with your family.

 

[momofusna1]

My daughter said she would prefer plebe summer for four years over the ac year

 

[dakiti~]

DS just went through it. I Day is long and hard. You are getting yelled at and you have no, like ZERO, autonomy. That is hard on humans. So I day will be stressful because of all of that. I assume all Academies are roughly the same in this regard.
Day to day can vary. Somedays you have evolutions (shooting range, o-course, e-course, etc.). Other days are lots of company time - which DS said was probably the worst. Folding socks, screwing up, getting dropped, etc. "Gray time" it is called apparently. Side note: DS said he could tell at lunch if the afternoon was going to suck or not because the Detailers were in a better mood if there was an evolution. If it was company time, they were more quiet (except for one - he said he could read him at all).

As others have noted, it is pretty difficult to prepare for. Just make sure you are in the best shape you can be without exhausting yourself before your show up (don't run 3 marathons a week in preparation). Do lots of bodyweight exercises and running. Then just roll in and try to keep your sense of humor about it all. DS was pretty surprised how fast it all evaporated once the Brigade reformed. He suddenly had free time where he could walk around the yard and not have to keep his eyes forward. He has a lot more autonomy now, but he is very busy so has to direct himself.

Ah. “Grayspace.” So many memories already. Usually means rack and uniform races or rates baseball in the beginning.

There is a lot of things on I-Day that is not shown to the public so you can’t really say that to judge off from. You can’t say its less tough since you really might only see the physical part. A lot of plebe summer is a mental game, you will learn that very quickly. Don’t worry much about the average day to day/week to week basis, you will realize that plebe summer never ends.

The way I would describe plebe summer was “hell” and “paradise.”

 

[JudgeGuy]

As a senior in high school, I definitely need to know what is usually done during Plebe summer. It seems to me that Induction day at the Naval Academy seems less tough compared to its Air Force counterpart (aka in-processing day), I need to know what an average looks like in a daily/weekly basis, so I can prepare for it.

As others have mentioned, concentrate your energy on getting the appointment. Plenty of time to think about I-Day after that is secured. I'd expect the I-DAY & summer is somewhat similar at all the academies. Definitely be in good shape, and as others mentioned watch some of the USNA produced videos on YouTube that show I-Day and Plebe Summer. My DS just completed Plebe summer and some of his feedback was that the kids that struggled were surprised by the immediate 'shock and awe' of the detailers. Having watched dozens of I-Day and Plebe Summer videos gave a high level of what to expect and he was not surprised. The amount of running was another area some seemed not ready for. On 1st Plebe Summer call home DS put it this way 90% sucks, 10% is the greatest experience of my life. I have embraced the suck.

Good luck with the process!
It's a marathon!