<p>I just got an LOA, and I know it is still early but I was wondering if any current/past mids would post some of the required Plebe rates. Never hurts to start to memorize early. I know some of the rates such as The Man in the Arena, the Code of Conduct, the Laws of the Navy, but I would like to know what some of the others are.</p>
<p>Welcome aboard! If you really want to memorize the rates, try ordering a copy of Reef Points. I know most mids on here say not to do it beforehand, but I understand and commend the drive for preparedness. That's probably why you have an LOA! Now just enjoy the 12 hour flights between Annapolis and Anchorage! :)</p>
<p>At the Academy a very important thing is not making your shipmates look bad. That means if their rack is a mess, and yours is perfect, you're gonna get railed on too.</p>
<p>I heard from a mid that looking at a copy of Reef Points ahead of time is similar. By putting yourself so far ahead, you're making your shipmates look bad.</p>
<p>I'm still not sure how I feel about that, but I'm pretty sure I won't be trying to obtain a copy of Reef Points.</p>
<p>You're well ahead of the game already. A good one you can go ahead and know is the Academy Mission statement. We learned that at NASS, so it's fair game.</p>
<p>"To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government."</p>
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"To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government."
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</p>
<p>This is also the mission statement for all Navy officer accession programs (i.e., ROTC, OCS, AOCS, and OIS). IIRC the mission statement was changed to its current form when Jim Webb was Secretary of the Navy.</p>
<p>OK, I remembered the word now. Making yourself look good at the expense of your shipmates is called bilging.</p>
<p>So some may consider reading Reef Points ahead of time bilging.</p>
<p>My two cents...don't worry about pre-memorizing. It will come easy enough there. And, like others have said, it can backfire if you're seen as trying to show-off. Plebe summer is about being tested and about learning a new culture. As the previous poster said, that you already have a LOA means you're a hard-charger. You'll do great without trying to beat the system.</p>
<p>One thing you CAN do to get ready is to be in breathtakingly good shape. Pushups, situps, pullups, running, overall strength, and overall health.</p>
<p>Couple reasons for this. First, during Plebe Summer the primary basis for the impression you form amongst your leaders and your peers is physical fitness and ability. Might not be fair, but that, along with attitude, is really all there is at first. Classes haven't started, so your keen intellect isn't yet on display. Second, being over tired and over stressed will affect your attitude and ability to do much else. If your body doesn't break down during the summer, it's easier for your mind to do it's thing.</p>
<p>You'll be great. Enjoy the last bit of high school--these are wonderful days, too. Oh, and congratulations!</p>
<p>I've asked a whole bunch of plebe Midshipmen this question and as is so often the case, discovered their reality is nothing what is projected as their reality on this forum.</p>
<p>To a person, every one of them said, "learn them if you have time." </p>
<p>Having the information available to you does not mean you have to bilge your buddies. And one told me a very funny story about one plebe who got in DEEP doo-doo and was asked what he was going to do to get out of it. After a little thought, he said he'd recite "The Laws of the Navy." When probe "How many?" he responded "Sir, 27 sir!" They laughed and said "Have at it." assured this guy was momentarily fried. Well, he nailed it, and when they asked him how he'd done that amazing memorization, he told them he'd studied before coming. The superior simply said, "Great job!" and forgave him his monumental transgression.</p>
<p>Now each situation is different, but I'm persuaded that if you're motivated, memorize it all. How you USE it is where judgement comes into play.</p>
<p>THE major issue in thriving and surviving plebe summer seems to be "staying beneath the radar" ... at least the negative radar. What gets kids in hot water quickly is not being able to do the PT things. That draws a lot of attention. Then it escalates because they want to know if you can do your rates. And should you screw them up, it escalates even more.</p>
<p>I say learn 'em all. The rest is CC mythology, from my observation, which admittedly is very limited.</p>
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I say learn 'em all. The rest is CC mythology
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Many people, many opinions not necessarily mythology!</p>
<p>My Mid would totally disagree with learning them early - Nothing to do with bilging a shipmate, maybe as a Plebe they see an advantage but after they conclude this year they may have a change of heart when they can grasp the whys for what they are doing. The knowledge is great but a big part of Plebe summer is putting yourself trough the ringer which includes learning how to memorize in a very limited time span and in the fashion that USNA wants you to learn. Also remember that the Reef Points are for specific classes. Class of '12 will not be available to purchase now. In the Mid store last Friday there were a few Class of '011 but most of the Reef Points on display were from the Class of '10.</p>
<p>When you get the Permit to Report in April it will tell you what they want you to know in IDay.</p>
<p>I completely understand where everyone is coming from with their arguements about not learning rates early, but my logic behind wanting to start learning beforehand comes from a variety of different places. One Plebe Summer is one of the most immensely difficult parts of the majority of Midshipmans lives, so why not make it a little easier on yourself by preparing how you can beforehand. Two just because you got it doesn't mean you have to flaunt it. You can learn the rates beforehand and not bilge your shipmates. As Whistle Pig said, you can you your discression for recitation of rates that you have memorized, and you can also already not have to worry about not knowing rates when you are asked to recite them. I do, however, see how you could argue against this plan.</p>
<p>TX, sounds like you've got a plan. Good for you, attitude is really everything and sounds like you have a great one. Congrats on your LOA!</p>
<p>Have a great Navy day!</p>
<p>If you really want a copy of Reef Points, you can find them aperiodically on EBay. They change a bit from year to year, but the stuff you're looking for is pretty constant.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that, even if you can memorize Reef Points cover to cover, and recite it likewise, that spitting the info back out at the top of your lungs while your squad leader or platoon commander (maybe both) are in your face are two completely different situations. I saw many a good shipmate go completely blank when asked a menu, or the days, etc.</p>
<p>Don't worry about exactly WHAT to memorize. Rather, just exercise your brain's ability to do route memorization. I'm sure you're creative enough to figure something out.</p>
<p>I say don't waste your time now. Have fun. If you memorize it now, what will you be doing when you are standing in line, riding the boats to the range, etc. while everyone else is memorizing them. Besides, if you are proficient in your rates, they will find something else to crap on you about. Might as well make it easy for them and not cause them to have to dig.</p>
<p>Well, you got both sides and much of the in between. None are definitive. That's left for you, and this is your first, or at least early lesson in leadership. You've gathered the information, now make the call and do it. Your plan is sound and pragmatic. Not philosophy or theoretical. Of course you'll be ragged on even if you do know this stuff. And I'll bet my eye tooth (I only have one left), you'll not be falling asleep while your standing in line, riding the boat, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Again good luck, congratulations, stay "good" and keep healthy.</p>
<p>i have a copy of the 2010 reef points and i've skimmed through it. most of the stuff in there isn't rates. actually, i asked a friend who's a mid right now and she said that her squad leader hardly cared about the stuff in reef points; he mostly rated them on professional knowledge and other stuff that isn't in reef points. </p>
<p>sometimes in class when i'm having a hard time staying awake i just start writing some of the rates that we had to learn at NASS (mission, code of conduct, officer ranks, 5th law of the navy, etc.). we all did that alot during the classes at NASS, and the habit just sort of carried over.</p>
<p>i was at xc camp at usna over i-day 2006 and i remember seeing a cadre member ask a bunch of plebes what the mission was. no one answered for awhile and then some plebe stuck out his fist and answered. the cadre member then proceeded to tell the plebe not to bilge his classmates.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that after about the first week, once you get past the mission and people's names and stuff, you start daily rates which include articles, menus, days, etc...so memorizing Reef Points will in no way help you there. You're still going to have to learn to memorize during the summer, so if you do learn the stuff in RP beforehand you're wayyy ahead of the game. In my opinion, it's ok to read RP (1) for the fun of it and for general knowledge about USNA and (2) to get an overall idea for its layout (which makes it easier for you to find certain passages and pages when you have five seconds to do it over the summer.</p>
<p>Memorizing is important not just during the summer but the ac year, too. You have pro knowledge which is almost 100% memorization, your daily rates (again), and school work on top of that, too...so, be sure that you DO learn to memorize under a time schedule, either before you get here or during the summer...congrats and good luck.</p>
<p>Back in the "good" old days, before the Internet and Ebay (yes, there were such days), the overwhelming majority of new plebes didn't have an easy way to obtain a copy of Reef Points prior to I-Day. And, we did fine. </p>
<p>Now, however, RP is easily available. So, it's hard to say that you shouldn't take advantage of that opportunity to "get ahead." That said, consider the following:</p>
<p>(1) Some/many plebes won't have studied ahead of time and I doubt if, for any of them, it will make the difference b/t staying and leaving</p>
<p>(2) The upperclass know that plebes have easy access to RP. If I were an upperclass, I'd challenge those who seemed to have mastered RP before they came by making them learn other stuff in place of or in addition to RP.</p>
<p>(3) Learning anything in the quiet of your home and spewing it out when someone's face is three inches from yours and that person is yelling at you at the top of his/her lungs ARE completely different things</p>
<p>(4) You can't insulate yourself from criticism. Almost no one is expert at everything. If it isn't your rates, it may be your uniform, your room, your athletic ability, chow calls, etc. Always having something that is "subpar" is part of being a plebe. </p>
<p>(5) What happens plebe summer is important but generally won't mark you as good or bad for the next four years. Some people, for example, excel at plebe summer but do poorly at academics. Also, I believe they switch your company at least once while you're there (someone correct me if this is no longer the case), which means that everyone more or less gets a fresh start.</p>
<p>Come I-Day, I'm not sure if it will make much difference either way. If it makes YOU feel better to have reviewed RP and maybe memorized parts of it, then do it. If you'd rather wait until you get to USNA and learn it then, that will be fine too.</p>
<p>And, this is not really an exercise in leadership as much as decision-making and prioritization.</p>
<p>although this is coming from a CGA point of view, i would say it really doesnt matter. if you study beforehand there will be plenty of indoc to memorize that you wont have seen. If you dont study, really only the first few days are harder. I went into my swab summer with nothing and was fine. if you feel like getting a head start go for it, but it really isnt that important.</p>
<p>also going back to hersheys bilging example. if that person hadnt stuck out their fist and answered, he probably would have gotten yelled at for not helping his classmate. you lose no matter what you do over the summer, its designed that way</p>
<p>1985:</p>
<p>They no longer 'shotgun' or 'scramble' plebes anymore...at least not in a long while. Everyone who is here now has spent all four years with the same company.</p>
<p>However, once the Ac year starts, it IS like starting anew in some ways. You may have impressed the cadre over the summer, but that was a very small portion of the company's upperclass. Now you have to make a good impression on all of them. Believe me, YOUR REPUTATION FROM THE SUMMER CARRIES TO THE AC YEAR. Before we even laid eyes on '11 this year, we had heard plenty of names going around.</p>
<p>Study ahead of time if it makes you feel better, but don't get complacent.</p>
<p>Guess I will chime in as well....
whether or not you study reef points is up to you- but will quote the lastest from USNA.... it should be "optional, secondary and conditional."</p>
<p>Meaning- it should be if you have the time, if all of your other academics for senior year are in order, and if it is not at the cost of what will get you better preped for plebe summmer.... physical fitness.</p>
<p>IMO- those things are far a better use of your time to get prepared than memorizing reef points, something that you will get plenty of time to do once you get to the yard. Let the system work the way it should- studying them ahead of time will not put you ahead- whereas falling behind academically during your senior year, or worse still, falling behind physically- will definately impact. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>DMeix,</p>
<p>Thanks for the update. In my day, we spent 4 years with the same company. Then, with '88, they started "scrambling" after plebe year. Then, at some point, I think they scrambled after the summer & again after plebe year. And, now, back to no scrambling. All comes full circle.</p>
<p>In some ways, I enjoyed being with the same folks -- we really knew each other well. However, my one regret is that I didn't get to know a lot of my classmates. Some from sports, ECAs, etc. But there are probably 500 out of my class that I may never even have met. </p>
<p>It is what it is. But, you're right. If plebes stay in the same Co. for ac year, their reputation will follow them to at least some extent.</p>