<p>I picked up the flag at a party supply store. Had my husband bore a hole in a small block of wood for a stand.
CM</p>
<p>3C son (man, that is nice to say!) highly recommends Power Bar Gel packs. He saw some at the sports store and made sure that I saw them so that I would know what he was talking about. He said they are great because you can suck the gel while doing other things, like shining shoes, making racks, and the various other Happy fun things they do! ;-) Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>Hang on the for roller-coaster ride!</p>
<p>When are the plebes at the Naval Academy allowed to receive their Big Screen TV's? :)</p>
<p>Seriously, are you guys really allowed to send all this stuff plebe summer?</p>
<p>Shogun,</p>
<p>Add a Weber grill and some lounge chairs to the list.</p>
<p>Seems that some of the Navy plebes have been complaining that the air conditioning in Bancroft Hall gets too cold some times and that the conditioned air just "lacks that natural smell". To remedy the situation, private balconies are being added to all the rooms in Bancroft. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, plebes will be responsible for providing their own deck furniture and grills.</p>
<p>Throw a couple of prawns on the barbie, Mates !!</p>
<p>A jealous Army cadet parent.</p>
<p>Air conditioning? Air Conditioning? AIR CONDITIONING?????????</p>
<p>AAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! :)</p>
<p>What the heck is going on in here!? My Plebe gets letters at USMMA. Thats it. Letters. One in a white only envelope with a flag stamp on it. I'm not telling him about this stuff! He'll pull a mutiny and go running for Annapolis! Do you know what he'd do for a bottle of hot sauce right now? I shudder to think...... And another thing you guys, what the heck do us USMMA parents do while our kids are all Navy this and Navy that over the next four years (and I get all excited with GO NAVY BEAT ARMY! cover your eyes Aspen & momoftwins...) then choose to go Army when they graduate! They can go to any branch of service they want! I have to find a way to stop the madness! No way am I giving up my Navy sweat shirt for anybody! Hmmmm. Snacks. I think I'll call the Vice Admiral at USMMA & see why I can't send my son some beef jerky or kool-aid. He loves bagel bites too. Maybe I can send a microwave for those. Just kidding ya'll! This was just too funny to pass up without adding my little dig too! None of them can be very comfortable at he moment. I see kids in arm slings and on crutches in our photos. Arrhggg. Well I guess we can take comfort that they are all trying to get some rest in their racks tonight.<br>
I hope......</p>
<p>Just because the Plebes can recieve items besides letters does not mean they are working any less than the USMA cadets. They suffer through so much and live though hell just like all the others at Service Academies. I don't think that they deserve the ridicule thats been going on. I realize that all of you are just joking, but don't you think that they deserve the same amount of respect as the USMA cadets? Anyhow, its not like their asking for all this stuff. Its not their fault the Navy happens to treat their people well. </p>
<p>I don't mean to disgruntle anyone's feathers, just thought i'd put in my two cents since no one was defending the plebes. I say "hats off!" to newbies at all the service academies!! They all deserve major kudos for what they're doing. And I know all you here believe the same :)</p>
<p>thanks candidatemom for the info!</p>
<p>Lightenup, twofme! The plebes stand on their own. There are differences between the academy experiences, but no one here has criticized the plebes. I am sure some of our kids might have gone to Navy if they hadn't been accepted to other academys and vice-versa. On this particular subject the differences between the academys seems to be huge and bears mentioning (even if in our own little light-hearted way :) )</p>
<p>I agree; I don't think anybody was being critical of the Navy plebes.</p>
<p>It is odd how the academies have different policies.
From what I understand, one reason [justification] for the air conditioning--apart from it simply being hotter in Annapolis--was the that the plebes would [are] rest [resting] better at at night which, in turn, led to better performance during the day.</p>
<p>Same logic has been applied to overnight Saturday for PPW. The cause last year for that to happen was a plumbing problem in Bancroft hall. The Plebes were permitted, at the last moment, to stay w/ their parents [some accuse a mother of causing the problem to begin with]. The Plebes came back re-energized and ready to go; contrary to the belief that many held that such long-term exposure [an additional 12 hours!] to the parents would ruin the results of the previous 6 weeks.</p>
<p>Why can't the Army accomodate a period of final farewell at the end of a long first day? The final hour with our son was glorious! Was it hard to see him march off at the end of the day? Sure; but it sure made us [and him] feel a lot better about the process.
What is the benefit of not permitting packages? [Good question to ask the commandant at your PPW briefing] The cadre ensures--and the honor code requires--that no contraband is sent. Packages permit the parents to provide those things that the Navy cannot or will not provide on an individual basis.
What is the benefit of no phone calls until five weeks? This generation is used to instantaneous communication. In fact, there is such communication available on the battlefield. A phone call every two weeks, IMHO, provides a bit of needed lift to the mids. [Not to mention the donuts that the chaplains pass out on Sundays.]
In years past, the mids were required to use the running shoes issued by the Navy. Now, recognizing that injuries may be lessened, the mids are permitted to use their own shoes. This has arguably improved efficiency and has not harmed the overall mission: preparing these children to be in the military.</p>
<p>As with any organization, the old warhorses think this is the way to "toughen" em up! Treat 'em bad now and THEN they'll appreciate how good they have it--or something like that. They never want to change. I am proud and pleased that the Navy is progressive enough to permit change when there is a benefit--physically, mentally, and morally--to be derived. This is not a prison camp; while it is meant to be difficult, there is no benefit derived from depriving them from ALL comforts. [Following that logic, for example, there is no justification for providing Thanksgiving dinners to our servicemen around the world.]</p>
<p>In any event, I am particularly proud of the almost 6,000 young men and women that have chosen this very difficult educational program. Each of the men and women [and it is hard to think of them as that] attending the service acadamies could have attended just about any school they wanted. They chose--and were chosen--for the servcie acadamies.</p>
<p>Air conditioning? Ships, the Pentagon, and even some aircraft are air conditioned so why not the dorms.</p>
<p>just a small correction: I was responding to "what to bring" in making suggestions as to what might be sent to the plebes....in fact i agree, the plebes should "bring nothing"....my "what to bring" list are items intended for the first care package that will be "brought" to Annapolis to "mail" from the local post office....
never mentioned candy, contraband or over-the-counter medications except for foot powder (which is topical)...and if it is not medicated, then don't even bother....
as for air conditioning....I agree with Bill....it is my opinion Navy has set the benchmark that perhaps the other academies can imitate...it gets mighty hot in Highland Falls as well as in Anapolis and the cadets are that much closer to the sun to boot...not to mention the doolies above the frost line!
good luck to all</p>
<p>twofme - You must truly admit that this is nothing more and nothing less but a little stessful playfulness between parents. Just a little friendly competition going on. Anyone who has a child at any academy is fully aware and respectful of what our kids are going through. I believe with all my heart that it never entered anyone's mind to "Ridicule" any of our fine young men and women sacrificing their comforts to serve their country. That is serious business! However, we were just lightening a moment in our stressful lives. Its hard to find a laugh during the day knowing that your kid is pushing himself/herself beyond any resonable limit. It felt good not to be so very serious if just for the moment. I pray for them ALL daily and nightly and I'd just like to thank you all for making me remember to smile really really big! GO NAVY BEAT ARMY! :)</p>
<p>Understand...just thought I'd share my thoughts. Continue with your stress relief!</p>
<p>by the way I have two off topic quick questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What do they do with injured plebes? and...</p></li>
<li><p>Will the plebes have the same roomates and rooms as they continue on into the academic year?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Answers:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fix them</p></li>
<li><p>No</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Injured plebes are given the appropriate medical treatment to heal their injuries. Instead of running, etc, they attend swimming PEP. My understanding is that they would much rather do the o-course, and run than swim!</p>
<p>Once the brigade returns, the plebes are assigned rooms in an area assigned to their company. They will be on that particular floor and within the block of rooms for all four years. The particular room and roommate may change each year, or as often as each semester. (Or sooner if there are roommate problems, or the roommate is separated.)</p>
<p>CM</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, the Navy is progressive and constantly strives for improvement. Last year, I remember reading somewhere that in order to cut down on injuries, Plebes are getting more sleep and the total miles run have been reduced or added incrementally. During an I-Day interview this year, the OIC (Officer in Charge, Commander Dixon) stated that air conditioning and more sleep have REDUCED INJURIES by 50 PERCENT! I was impressed by that statistic. Additionally, everyone learns and retains knowledge better with adequate sleep.
My daughter liked the fact that USNA is in an urban setting. She said that if they went on a long hike, they would end up at Nordstroms! ;) </p>
<p>Can anyone verify the fact that all US Navy submarines are currently equipped with flat screen plasma TV monitors?</p>
<p>Just to reinforce, however, how really useless parents are to this entire process, care packages or not, you may want to look at the following article.</p>
<p>If is evident that many of the things we send, that we think are useful are probably already provided to them.</p>
<p>Bill is right. I read that article in the Trident several weeks ago and I was surprised that USNA provided phone cards, stamps, etc. My daughter did take what they were told to bring along with her tennis racquet (sir/ma'am, yes sir/ma'am)I told her not to strain herself picking up the 90# seabag. Her latest note said "Send more food." Yesterday I packed up three priority mail flat rate boxes crammed with food to send to my Plebe and two of her shipmates (in other companies). Between the letter writing, care packages, and trips to the post office, I'm busier since she shipped out than before! :)</p>
<p>My son is a plebe at USMA and I have no problem with the soft living at the Naval Academy. Since the midshipmen just have to learn how to read a radar screen, sonar, underwater maps, and turn switches on and off why should they have to suffer during cadet basic training. In fact, the big screen tv's, air conditioning, and video games in their rooms are probably meant to remind them of what it's like in the control room of an aircraft carrier. More power to them.</p>
<p>Twoofme!!! Just kidding. But still - Go Army - Beat Navy!</p>
<p>I'm never going to live that down huh?? ahh well, my fault... :)</p>
<p>usna09mom, I can relate! writing those letters and trips to the post office are a lot more time consuming than I thought!</p>
<p>Oh, and by the way Army parents, ponder this: Navy football players, soccer and lacrosse players, wrestlers, and track team members are also chillin' out in their air conditioned dorm rooms after their workouts! ;)</p>