<p>let me go on ahead and say, yeah we (class of 2012) had a ridiculously low attrition rate because plebe summer was a joke. they cut out a lot of things that typically "weed" people out such as a lot of MPT/DPT stuff. We have two people in my company alone who surfed a chit the ENTIRE summer, never once going to a single PEP, MPT, or DPT... its ridiculous that some of these people are still here. </p>
<p>the boards might have done some things better in selecting more people qualified to come here, but still, that does not justify the entire fact that we had such a low attrition rate. it honestly was because it was too easy. all of us know it and many feel like we were cheated in a way for having it so easy. </p>
<p>congrats though to the rest of us who made it without surfing chit. yut 2012.</p>
<p>and about HELL-o night... for those of you who haven't gone through it, DON'T ask about it. you will get nervous/anxious now and it will do you no good. in 12 months (if you guys make it here), then you will find out as you should. HELL-o night is meant to be shrouded in mystery. leave it be.</p>
<p>ScubaGuy, I don't know what company you were in for PS, but be careful of generalizing. Some companies had a great deal of MPT/DPT, including some tactics that had been NOT allowed in previous plebe summers.</p>
<p>It was a low attrition rate for sure. One plebe we know well spent the entire summer wondering how and why one of his roommates could possibly have gotten in. Seems that some ought to have been weeded out even prior to PS. The workings of the Admissions Board and the Dant's office are not shared with the rest of us, but the results of USNA speak for themselves.</p>
<p>Just cautioning you to understand--your company's experience may well not have been the experience of the entire 4/C regiment.</p>
<p>Surfing chit all summer? Sad but true. Some people pull that every year.</p>
<p>The plebe who needed help got a ton of help from his roommates. A great deal of time each day was devoted to helping that one who couldn't master tasks on his own.</p>
<p>So much help that the others were often disciplined for being late (substantially late) and not having their own tasks completed--sacrifices they made to help the weakest link to survive the summer.</p>
<p>It is the attitude that someone is unworthy which is both insidious and improper as can be exemplified by their blaming him for their shortcomings. Hopefully, the cadre recognized this unacceptable behavior and responded accordingly.</p>
<p>Sorry, '69, but you do NOT understand the circumstances here. I know first hand that GoNavy's Plebe and the other Plebes did everything you would want from a good team player. There can be circumstances so egregious in which a reasonable person would wonder what the Admissions Board saw in a particular candidate. This is one of them.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how you get this from what I wrote.</p>
<p>When one plebe doesn't understand how to attach a ribbon rack--not just the first time, but EVER--doesn't understand how to attach shoulderboards--not just the first time but EVER...and the others in the room work the entire summer to teach/help/assist/prepare him so he can do that (among many tasks) for himself...</p>
<p>I'd hardly say the others are blaming him for their own shortcomings.</p>
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<p>USNA69--you make dramatic leaps to the worst possible conclusions. You do not understand the circumstances, and I will make no further efforts to that end.</p>
<p>I am in agreement with you that USNA's processes are best kept to theselves, and that it's no one's place to question it. Go back and look at scubaguy's post. There is a poster/plebe with a substandard attitude. I suggested that he not generalize his company's experience across the entire brigade.</p>
<p>I remember the good old days when things that went on in Bancroft stayed in Bancroft. The modern age has allowed the parents to become too close to the inner workings of the Brigade. Please do not take this type of attitude to the Fleet. Too many good wardrooms have been destroyed because some young officer wrote something back to their wife or husband about someone in the wardroom. If you have a problem HANDLE IT in Bancroft, don't send the issue to the folks outside the walls via e-mail or blogs.</p>
<p>'69, the "attitude" of the Plebes in that platoon was to support the weakest link in the chain. The various (true) stories about that particular Plebe did not occur as complaints. They were statements of fact about events that happened during the summer. I believe that the cadre are in a better position than you to judge the Plebes who made those statements of fact, and they did, quite favorably.</p>
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I'm not sure how you get this from what I wrote.
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the others were often disciplined for being late (substantially late) and not having their own tasks completed
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I remember the good old days when things that went on in Bancroft stayed in Bancroft.
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<p>Isn't that the truth. Now parents are attempting to be surrogate admissions officers. </p>
<p>Perhaps. if the roommates were solely attempting to help, their parents would not have found out about it. Also they would have planned accordingly and not have been late for formation. I will hazard an opinion that there is nothing that cannot be planned in advance such that ALL could have gotten to formation on time. Their tardiness was simply a method of placing their roommate on report.</p>
<p>2012Mom?, GoNavy!, perhaps if your mids relate any further similar information, you will simply keep it to yourselves. It will be better for all concerned.</p>
<p>There are numerous stories, happenings, ect. that my plebe has shared with me, especially on PPW and recently since he has more "freedom". I would not ever, never, under any circumstance post that information on the internet or a listserve. I am a member of one of the listserves and it unbelievable what some of those folks post and for God's sake they list their Mids name at the end of it, so the whole world knows who this poor mid is when his/her parent is mouthing off about something. It amazes me. I partially agree with the concept of what happens at the academy stays at the academy. I do think Mid's should be able to privately share their concerns with their parents. I think the parents should keep it to themselves. Further I think the Mids who post here should be careful with what they post.</p>
<p>Three things, for those of you on here that are currently mids, watch your tone and be respectful. This may be the internet but it is by no means anonymous. Second, heed grad/dad 's advice. The structure in the hall is entirely different from outside. We have standards and ways of doing things that won't make sense outside. Be professional and keep things Naval Academy in bancroft, operational security. Finally, we are back, we have been biting at the bit the entire summer. Rest assured discrepancies will be fixed, the correct amount of pressure will be applied, and we will bring them up to speed. It is our job and we take great pride in it.</p>
<p>thank you asward thats just the post I've been looking for. It is a public forum and while find it useful (in some cases) I do believe what happens in Bancroft should stay in Bancroft. Just to let you know how this can get out of hand my son who is a candidate for 2013 came to me yesterday and said I heard PS has become easy. He got this off a face book forum not this one. So its out there. I will take your advice if he does go there to not discuss his "adventures" in public.</p>
<p>LOL As if being here is like being in some "secret society" Exactly what are the good old days? When I couldn't have been admitted? When Bancroft had no AC? When we had a Supe that cared about the Brigade rather than our image? (The two are quite different)</p>
<p>Every company has a chit surfer - no big deal. Some will develop into incredible midshipmen and some into the sh** Screen. Don't try to out guess Admissions. One of my best friends has had trouble passing the PRT - went almost the entire Plebe year without passing. This is an incredible Mid, a great leader and one I will gladly serve with.</p>
<p>scubaguy: don't generalize plebe summer. Because as some has already said, it varies company to company and my company was by no means easy. We got MPTd and DPTd just about every day, sometimes twice a day. Our detailers flat out told us that yeah, some companies took it easy but ours didn't.</p>
<p>CurrentMid: the good old days were when the Mids did not turn to a blog to solve their problems. They used their leadership capabilities and helped their classmates. They did not use blogs to complain about life in Bancroft. You said your friend will be a great leader, hopefully you are correct. I am sure you suported him/her by training each day with them to help them pass the PRT. That is what was done during the good old days when you helped your classmate succeed. USNA is not a "secret society", but it is a special collection of individuals who are learning to work as a team and learning the attributes which will enable them to complete the mission both at the academy and after graduation in the Fleet. After you graduate and spend some time in the Fleet, I think you will realize how special USNA is and how lucky you were to be part of it. In twenty years, you will be talking about the good old days.</p>
<p>I agree with grad/dad. Lets face it, plebe summer is a joke now. I am the first to admit that my class's was a joke as well. Unfortunately this is due to a new feeling of entitlement..."I got into the Academy so I am special". It is almost as difficult to leave the academy during plebe summer as it was to get in. </p>
<p>This attitude that "everybody is a winner" is not the type of attitude that should be allowed in the military. Compared to my peers who went through USMC OCS, where if you failed the PFT you were dropped, midshipman are given many more chances. Fail the PFT multiple times, get multiple honor offenses, no problem, you can still graduate. The academy is a great place, and you will learn to be a great officer if you put the effort in, but too often standards are not upheld. Instead of upholding them it seems like we are lowering the standard.</p>
<p>As for passing the PRT. I have Marines who are great leaders as well who can not pass the PFT. They will be getting separated because of this. Are they great leaders and can I depend on them...Yes, and they also have multiple tours in Iraq. The key thing is there is a standard and they are not meeting the standard. I expect my Marines to meet the standard and I certainly expect all officers to meet and exceed the standard. </p>
<p>Too often as a midshipman, and I was guilty of this too, we look at ourselves and say "well we are only college kids", feeling bad for ourselves and thinking we are special for being there. Sure we are sacrificing compared to the normal college student; however look at the men and women we are leading. They are the same age, but we expect discipline and maturity out of them. Too often at the academy we loose sight of where we are going, and a reality check is needed.</p>
<p>I am glad I went to the Naval Academy. I feel like I developed as a leader and had many chances to practice leadership. I am a proud graduate, however being a graduate I can see many ways in which I feel it can be improved, and how I could have developed myself more while I was there.</p>
<p>I am currently a Junior at my High School and am looking in to going to the Naval Academy. If anyone could help me out and tell me what it is like there and some of the stuff you need to know in order to gain admission to the Academy, it would be a big help and I would appreciate it very much.</p>
<p>patsfan: The best place to go for official information is the USNA website. If you go to the admissions page (link below), there are yellow boxes that provide links to pages that describe the whole process. You can even download the entire USNA catalog. There are also links for NROTC and other Navy web pages.</p>
<p>Starting on or about 1 February, you will be able to use another link on the same USNA page to apply to the Naval Academy Summer Seminar. My daughter and many others came away from NASS having a much better idea of whether USNA would be right for them. Applying to NASS doubles as your "Preliminary application," as well.</p>