<p>Does anyone know the schedule for vacations/leaves/passes? I thought I heard somewhere that freshmen are allowed three trips home (Christmas, Easter, and Summer?) and one Off Post pass (parent visitation). I want to be sure that my information is correct, though, before I start citing it as true.</p>
<p>PS- I just figured out how to use those d**n "smily" things, so I'm going to use one for no particular reason right now.:cool:</p>
<p>I believe Plebes get one pass per semester. Sometimes they earn more for things like high APFT scores, academics, good inspections, etc. Most probably use the one pass for long weekends like Labor Day or Presidents Day. There are times they lose the pass because of trouble with academics, etc. The passes/leaves are priviliges that can be taken away in certain circumstances. They have xmas, spring leave (this year it is March 10-16), and summer leave (IF they are not required to stay at the academy to make up any academic or physical deficiencies from the academic year (STAP). Some plebes are unable to go home over spring break if it interferes with a corps squad activity/competition. If a cadet lives close enough to WP they could go home on a long weekend pass.</p>
<p>They also get Thanksgiving as an opportunity to go home. Depending on the distance home, this could be a challenge, leaving Wednesday afternoon and having to report back on Sunday evening. This can be difficult considering that this is a peak travel time and the potential for weather delays.</p>
<p>As an example, the plebes who attended both basketball games against Navy this weekend may have earned a pass. There is a schedule of weekends that are available to use any earned passes.</p>
<p>Slightly off topic but i think it applies. Do cadets at WP (or any service academy) get discounted airline rates like normal active duty enlistedmen/officers?</p>
<p>Supposedly you can, but I never have. Extra passes are easy to earn. I'm going to have a total of 5 passes this semester from earning them through various things.</p>
<p>well, if you can get away from the academy, you can fly space-a.</p>
<p>The tricky part about space-a travel is the wait often associated with getting on a flight especially with a set report back time. Flexibility is the key to successful space-a travel and that is usually not a luxury cadets have. It might work for Winter or maybe Spring Break but you'd need to travel with enough money to purchase a return flight on the spot in case space-a flights didn't work out. And of course last minute tickets can be expensive.</p>
<p>I believe the number of earned passes can vary from company to company.</p>