The Pansy Academy

Colleges and Universities A-Z Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point
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<p>What I find most disturbing in this thread, and in the rare occasions when it occurs elsewhere, is the slander aimed at an academy, or any school, by an alumnus -- especially one who presents himself as a graduated commisioned officer. I do mean slander, not constructive criticism.</p>

<p>How does such bitterness arise? What is hoped to be accomplished by such venimous hatred?</p>

<p>There may be a place for such venting, but I doubt these fora are it.</p>

<p>When one lacks pride in where you've been and from where you've come it must be hard to look in the mirror.</p>

<p>Acta Non Verba.</p>

42

<p>As part of its strategic planning process, the Academy has been involved in a year long activity of base lining. Base lining is intended to show which parts of the degree program and majors is dictated, or determined, by forces external to the Academy, i.e., who requires that we teach "that," how much of "that" do we need to teach, and so on.</p>

<p>This whole process is intended to result in an academic program that is more closely aligned with the needs and expectations of a vibrant commercial maritime industry.</p>

<p>This is not an easy process. People try to protect the status quo, or at least their part of it. Yet, it's a healthy sign the Academy is dedicated to staying relevant.</p>

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<p>SealDad,
It is unfortunate that these threads seem to get hijacked by the bitterness of which you speak. First one, then another, and sometimes even another seem intent on asserting their knowledge about everything over everybody. From what I read, it is a problem in all sorts of threaded discussions. Internet anonymity breeds careless, thoughtless, tongues [or fingertips as the case may be.</p>

<p>Your [and many others have already figured this out] best bet is to just ignore the ignorance. Much of what is written on here is meaningless. [And just watch, proving up the maxim that if a shoe fits, those upon which it fits will certainly choose to wear it, see who assumes we are speaking of him or her!]</p>

44

<p>Well... I guess I have to clear this up...</p>

<p>Yes, the Annapolis thing was with a wink and a nod, just as much of making fun of Annapolis as they do to West Point or Colorado Springs.</p>

<p>But to be completely honest, the only real, traditional, Academies out there are the Citadel and VMI. Everyone else, KP included, has gone soft.</p>

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<p>k314- as a VMI alum and father of a current keydet- VMI is definitely more physically oriented- "old school" than any of the Federal Service Academies. But I'm not sure what that really means- everything changes with time and I think that professionalism is really the value you want to see. Although my brother rats choke hearing me say it- but I am convinced that while VMI for example is "softer" than it used to be 30 years ago- it is more professional- so that instead of what I would term "random acts of violence" they now do things that contribute much more to the end goal. The other thing I've noticed is that " the old corps" never was what youngsters think- I had to choke back laughter meeting the parents of a recent VMI grad in an airport and the Mother indignantly parrotting her son's outrage at the administration dumping some "old" tradition. That tradition was certainly less than 30 years old as neither I nor my younger brother had ever heard of it (and it sounded dumb to me rather than something to hang on to) My point really is: I wouldn't sell yourself short just because of some change that the Commandant has decided to implement- KP may in fact have challenges with it's overarching mission (per another thread)- but from what I have seen they produce some darn fine officers for the military and for industry.</p>

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<p>I'm not selling KP short, we, as well as all of the other federal and private academies, produce excellent officers.</p>

<p>Just, if we are talking about a "pansy academy," which conotates a very physical aspect, the Citadel and VMI are the last ones standing, and even there, they are not what they used to be.</p>

<p>It is just an aspect of the current trend of American culture.</p>

47

<p>A word of advice to our original poster, and I know this is easier said than done…, the Regiment is comprised of more than just the Plebes and Firsties. If you see something wrong, a violation of class rates for example - it is your responsibility to correct it. You have no one to blame but yourself. This is difficult – believe me I know. No one wants to be a jerk - labeled a "tool", but the rules of the Regiment serve a purpose.</p>

<p>The Regiment is a leadership laboratory and that means that as Plebes become Third Classmen – they have to learn to be good Squad Leaders. Second Classmen have to learn to be good Chiefs – not just during Gold Rush but all year, and Firsties have to learn to be good officers. This also means enforcing the rules (everyone). If no one enforces them you can’t blame the plebes or their parents. The Firsties have more responsibility but only from an administrative point of view (they get to administer non-judicial punishment) – all upperclassmen have an equal responsibility to enforce the rules.</p>

<p>One of the HUGE benefits of our Regiment is the lack of adult supervision… I don’t mean to be coy or cavalier… but USCGA (roughly the same size as USMMA) has more than twice as many commissioned officers. This is not a good thing for USCGA or bad for USMMA. USMMA Mids have a distinct advantage to gain, since they have to fill in that gap – they get to decide how to run the Regiment – and sometimes they make mistakes. True, the Commandant’s office needs to step in to ensure things don’t slip too far, but the mids call the shots. </p>

<p>So if you allow a plebe to look you in the eye as they blow off a square and you do not flame spray the slacker – shame on you – and shame on your class, and shame on the Firsties if they don’t support you.</p>

<p>I did hear that there were some parents that complained about the "military" training their youngsters were subjected to, but this occurs every year when some parents have trouble learning that there is no PTA and they have no control over their child. This usually subsides when they meet their midshipman (formerly their little baby) during Parent's Weekend. The ends justify the means. A lot has to do with the amount of information available today to parents… When I went through, we got two five minute phone calls during INDOC. There were no cell phones, no internet, no daily photos for Mom and Dad to look at and like someone else said above, no one left the grounds from July to September for Parents Weekend. We had long IT sessions and Tatoo was something dreaded every single day... I can’t say if that made me a better officer, it did make me feel like I accomplished something that was hard – and gave me a sense of pride.</p>

<p>Something else that gave me a sense of immense pride was our Acceptance Day T-Shirt… Do they still have these? On Acceptance Day we each got a T-shirt that had all the names of the original class of candidates accepted that year printed on the back. We sat down and drew a line through all the names of people that could not hack, quit, or were separated. Over the next four years we continued to cross names off the shirt. Many, many, many names were lined out on that t-shirt for a number of reasons – quitters, set backs, honor boards… Did this tradition go away – seems kind of unpolitically correct! </p>

<p>If the rumors are true, KP would not be unique. A similar slacking has taken place at all the Academies as times change. There were fears that the number of candidates across all the Academies would steadily drop due to the unpopularity of the war... but I think this is probably unfounded. The kinds of candidates attracted to the service academies are pretty well studied and are not easily deterred – if so, they wouldn’t make good midshipmen/cadets – officers – anyway. Whether this is the reason for the slacking of standards or not, remains to be seen, regardless the Academies have eased. Just remember that these things are cyclical and they will tighten the belt when things get bad enough. USNA just sent a new Supe to crack down on their standards – now the mids there are really unhappy.</p>

<p>So, don't get discouraged... stand up for what you believe in. You are not alone. Part of becoming a leader means learning to do what you believe is right - and enforcing the rules estabilished for the good of your institution. This often means putting yourself in an uncomfortable position.</p>

<p>Just ask yourself "What is the right thing to do", and then do it - The same way EVERY TIME.</p>

<p>I still have my Acceptance Day Shirt and I still wear it from time to time!</p>

<p>V/r
USMMECOM</p>

<p>Welcome</a> to USMMA Online, the one stop shop for all things related to the UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADMEY</p>

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<p>Very well said USMME! One of the things that makes me proud as a parent is the fact that my son attends an academy that really is run by the Midshipmen. The opportunities for him (and the others) to learn leadership skills are outstanding. There is no other school to my knowledge that fosters this kind of leadership without a great deal of "adult" intervention. The fact that the Mids run everything from the waterfront to the regiment is a testimony to the training they get and the "hands on" experience they receive.</p>

<p>I applaud your mention of the responsibility of all upper class Mids to correct a plebe that is not performing the way they should. I've witnessed to much apathy in the application of enforcing the rules and it saddens me deeply as this is a disservice to the entire regimental system....not only that of KP, but that of the entire military establishment.</p>

<p>I believe they still have the "shirt" system as the 2012 shirts were being sold. As far as the crossing out the names...think that still goes one as well, except one class had a clever idea. They made their shirts black, so the name could be colored in and then would not be so "messy." :)</p>

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<p>I just wanted to say that this is a great topic, I really have enjoyed reading it and learning more about the traditions...and sometimes complaints about USMMA. I do have one question though, what is Tatoo?</p>

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<p>As I understand it "tattoo" is a nightly ritual that takes place until the class is recognized. The Plebes meet with their training officer and review the things that went wrong during the day. Afterwards the appropriate punishment is awarded, usually in the form of push ups, sit ups, Mike Tysons etc.</p>

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<p>My son (3c) told me they were instructed to be easy on the Plebes. They are not allowed to make them do pushups or are they allowed to IT them.</p>

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<p>


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<p>Oh my gosh. They bite off the plebe's ears?</p>

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<p>LOL USNA69 It's not as bad as that. My S demonstrated once, but, it is difficult to describe. As I recall it involved bringing your left elbow to your right knee, your right elbow to your left knee and alternating very rapidly.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for clarifying! KPMaineopsdad, when I saw a plebe demonstrating, I thought I'd missed out on the latest version of the Hokey Pokey :) !
I truly enjoyed the PW and have sooooo much respect for the upper classmen in general and the more I learn the more impressed I am with the USMMA!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>No 69. They don't bite off the plebes ears.... they leave ONE ;)</p>

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<p>To describe something as a 'Mike Tyson', the imagination can run wild. And this is without even going into his time in prison or why he was there.</p>