Yet Another Midshipman “Ask Me Anything” Thread

Kierkegaard said:
The Brigade has completed finals! Since that means we have a bit more time on our hands (Okay, maybe more than just “a bit”) and a lot of folks seem to find these Q&A posts insightful, I figured I’d join the trend.

I’m Class of 2022. Was a re-applicant so I’m a year older than most mids in my class. Makes me a 3/C for another 2 weeks until the virtual comissioning ceremony, then 2022 will be considered 2/C! It’s already been a wild ride in just 2 short years. If anyone has any questions about anything related to the Academy, I would be happy to attempt to give an answer.
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What activities where you involved in at your college? Looking at how to be competitive as a re-applicant. TIA
 
Old Navy BGO said:
> That's probably a good idea for Administration to implement. Would probably cut down on Alcohol related offenses.
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Every Mid is reading this and thinking... ‘or a global pandemic and I have to stay with my parents until further notice.’ 😂

When the Brigade reforms eventually and they can go out together with their buddies... watch out Annapolis.
 
85USMA said:
What activities where you involved in at your college? Looking at how to be competitive as a re-applicant. TIA
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My college had a pretty generic “leadership development” program that involved a volunteering project, that was a good fit for me. Just do something you enjoy. I think the most important thing is to do very well in the calc, chem, and English classes.
 
Kierkegaard said:
My college had a pretty generic “leadership development” program that involved a volunteering project, that was a good fit for me. Just do something you enjoy. I think the most important thing is to do very well in the calc, chem, and English classes.
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Thanks!
 
Kierkegaard said:
Forgot to mention, I will also be doing Plebe Summer detail this year. I can’t spoil ALL of the fun, but if there’s any questions about tips for success, or general curiosity about how things will be different this year given the covid situation I can share some stuff.
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Hi I am going to be an incoming plebe this year and I was wondering about the general differences for plebe summer this year bc of the pandemic. And also will we have PT time during ROM?
 
Co721 said:
Hi I am going to be an incoming plebe this year and I was wondering about the general differences for plebe summer this year bc of the pandemic. And also will we have PT time during ROM?
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The nature of the training itself will mostly be the same—Rates, PT, and close order drill aren’t going anywhere. However some measures are being put in place to prevent the spread of illnesses, so the 4/C Regiment will be much more spread out throughout Bancroft, and there will be a big emphasis on personal hygiene. During your ROM you’ll take care of all the admin stuff such as briefs, placement exams, etc. This means you’ll be spending nearly the entirety of the 4 training weeks with your detailers, so it’s still going to be an intense and challenging time. I believe the PT situation during ROM is being worked on. You generally can’t leave your room during ROM so I suspect you’ll be encouraged to do a daily calisthenics routine in your room to keep in shape.
 
NavyHoops said:
Great points! They can’t kill you, nor can they put their hands on you. Yes, they will correct your uniform, but they will do their best to only touch the uniform and not you. Trust me... if I somehow made it... you can to!!! Days are long, weeks are short. When you start it will be making it one meal at a time. Eventually it becomes... make it to Sunday. Then it’s, make it to the next major event. Then it’s, Parents Weekend (well maybe)! Trust me... ac year is harder than Plebe Summer. You won’t understand this until late Sept or Oct.
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I told DS during BEAST to take each day and break it into small pieces. Don’t look at the week ahead or even the whole day ahead, take it in pieces and it seems more “doable “. Enjoy the smallest of pleasures and don’t dwell on the suck. Embrace the suck! The suck will never go away but it can be managed.

Also remember that they can’t kill you and they can’t stop the clock. The finish line will come.

Then the next challenge begins....AC year.
 
And that however hard it is, it’s shorter than it normally is. So there’s that!
 
The first year of college is hard for a lot of students. Add all the military obligations, plus the different treatment as the lowest order of life, and you've got a difficult year for quite a few. Not all, mind you. It is a walk in the park for some, but most find it challenging at some point, or at several.

Most upperclass will tell you that there are 3 parts to the equation; Plebe summer, Plebe AC year, and everything else.
It is not because they want to "weed you out" in that first year. It's because there is a lot to learn before you join The Fleet or The Corps, and 4 years isn't enough time if it isn't used wisely. Prepare to drink through a firehose at first.
 
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Ac Year is more challenging for several reasons. First, you still have much of the PS stuff (rates, chow calls, Company officer time, sports, practice P-rades, watch, uniform inspection, formations) + new stuff (practice P-rades, mandatory spirit events, mandatory attendance at football games) AND ACADEMICS. You have class most of the day and then really need to study 3-4 hours+ per day. For some plebes who sailed through PS, academics kick their behinds. So now you have find time to clean your room and get your uniforms pressed and make spirit boards for your company areas, etc. in the rare free time you have during the day. And maybe bet EI (extra instruction) or tutoring during that free time.

Also, during PS, there were roughly 10 plebes for 1 upperclass. During Ac Year, it's 3 upperclass per plebe. In our day, that meant 4-6 upperclass at each chow call station. Not sure that happens today.

AND, most mids want to take on ECAs (and they should) but that time has to be balanced with everything else.

AND, you now have free time (liberty) and maybe even a Weekend (say, for beating USAFA). You have to learn how to manage that time so you get everything done and also some time to enjoy yourself.

It's doable -- heck, we all did it. It's all about prioritization and time management.
 
txfwindian said:
Why is AC year more challenging?
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Challenging in a different way.

During PS, attention is paid to Plebe nutrition, sleep, getting workouts. All the Plebe has to do is wake up and do whatever is asked of him or her that day. They don’t have to think too much.

Ac Year starts.

Several thousand upper class descend. Plebes must learn the new faces in their company and a thousand (or feels like) other new Plebe rituals and duties in company.

Plebe pro training. Quizzes, oral stuff, on top of regular academic courses. To fail at this is to gain unwanted attention.

Regular college-level, SA-level course work with heavy reading, papers, course work, quizzes, exams. A plebe’s classmates had the same “stats” or better. Someone will make the C’s and D’s. Struggling with academics will be a new and horrifying sensation for many.

Mandatory fun. Little control over some aspects of the daily schedule when it comes to “have the plebes do it.” It doesn’t matter if a Plebe has blocked the next hour for Calc problem sets.

Staying sat in every graded activity and course, plus performance/military aptitude, physical fitness.

A Plebe has got to get him or herself out the door for a run in cold rain to stay fit for the fitness tests, so they don’t run the risk of being put on company remedial workouts and getting negative attention.

If a varsity athlete, juggling D1 practices, travel, schedule. If not a varsity athlete, still having to devote the time to a required activity.

If a Plebe didn’t have superb time management skills, self-discipline and the ability to prioritize in HS because it was easy for him or her, life will be very painful.

The realization there are 8 more semesters of this.

Let’s throw in roommate drama and annoyances. Some people who had their own rooms and baths growing up, are not accustomed to being thoughtful of others in a shared space, and under pressure, their nastier sides come out.

Overall, it is the Plebe’s responsibility to invest the hours in his or her day in a way that optimizes success for the many requirements.

All the grads I know usually say two things:
“Plebe Summer was a blur.”
“Plebe Summer was the most regular sleep I got as a mid.”

Ac Year crashes down like a wall of water on the North Shore of Oahu during the winter. Plebes figure out how to survive, thrive and totally manage the whole thing, but it is a whole ‘nother thing than Plebe Summer.

X-posted with the ever-wise @usna1985 and others.
 
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Kierkegaard said:
The nature of the training itself will mostly be the same—Rates, PT, and close order drill aren’t going anywhere. However some measures are being put in place to prevent the spread of illnesses, so the 4/C Regiment will be much more spread out throughout Bancroft, and there will be a big emphasis on personal hygiene. During your ROM you’ll take care of all the admin stuff such as briefs, placement exams, etc. This means you’ll be spending nearly the entirety of the 4 training weeks with your detailers, so it’s still going to be an intense and challenging time. I believe the PT situation during ROM is being worked on. You generally can’t leave your room during ROM so I suspect you’ll be encouraged to do a daily calisthenics routine in your room to keep in shape.
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Parent here: do you know if plebes will still have their doors open at all times? During ROM? Or will they be closed, as in a total quarantine. Will they ineract with anyone at all other than their roommate?

I currently have an elisted at pre-tech training quarantine. Bored out of his mind. No communication or interaction with anyone, which seems to be the spirit of a quarantine related to spread. Curious how that will be with plebes.
 
Plebe Summer and Plebe Year have their unique challenges. Personally I felt Plebe Summer was much harder, but as you can see, some people feel the opposite. Plebe Summer is stressful and being yelled at constantly while having zero control over how you spend your time was tough for me. During Plebe Year you have much more autonomy (though still not a lot) and the burden is on you to decide how you’re going to meet the countless demands that have been placed on you. Different companies also handle Plebe Year differently. In some companies, training mostly consists of 0530 PT several times per week, with chowcalls being done as a formality. Other companies not only have morning PT, but also get put on ridiculous punishments by their upperclass, like having to carry a textbook around with them at all times, or wearing SDBs 24/7, while also getting yelled at and PT’d during chow calls. So Plebe Year experiences have a lot of variation.
 
Oh, and lest we get admonished by our MIDNs, it is not pronounced "AY-Cee Year". It is properly uttered as "Ack Year".
That's important, apparently. 220, 221, whatever it takes.
 
justdoit19 said:
Parent here: do you know if plebes will still have their doors open at all times? During ROM? Or will they be closed, as in a total quarantine. Will they ineract with anyone at all other than their roommate?

I currently have an elisted at pre-tech training quarantine. Bored out of his mind. No communication or interaction with anyone, which seems to be the spirit of a quarantine related to spread. Curious how that will be with plebes.
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That’s a good question. I’d expect that their doors will be closed. They will have their laptops with them and will be tasked with watching briefs, taking academic placement exams, and studying The Bluejacket’s Manual. I’m betting their internet access will be restricted to those things. They will be restricted to their rooms and the restrooms. A “task force” of 250 2/C and 1/C mids has been voluntold to oversee the ROM, which will include meal delivery so the plebe candidates can eat in their rooms. Who could’ve predicted that one day the Academy would be treating the new Plebes to room service upon their arrival!
 
@Kierkegaard... is the plan one set of detailers this year or will there be a change out? Good luck as a Detailer. It is an experience that is for sure. I did it as a 1/C. I hated it in reality, but it was a good experience.

Also, I saw they said Mids going to Leatherneck will attend training. Is that going later than normal?
 
I don’t think it will be all that fun. Or good. It’s incredibly isolating...I’m really glad to hear there will be a roommate. That’s important, imo.

Going to be a whole different experience, that’s for certain! I also do wonder, going forward, what pieces of this experience will be added to future plebe summers. Lessons will be learned along the way, for sure.
 
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