Naval Academy Observation Report
Life at the Academy especially the first year is tough. There are days the
midshipmen will love it and other days when they hate it. Eventually I understand
that the loves out weigh the hates, however, in the beginning, during plebe year, it
may feel overwhelming to many of them. As a lot of Naval Academy graduates say
about the Naval Academy, It s a good place to be from, but not a good place to be.
Concerning that, there were some regulations that I only discovered with further
observation. For example, at all formal meals, plebes only use the front three or four
inches of their chairs, sitting at attention, with the exception of chair in the academic
buildings and plebe/Fourth Class dorms. Also when walking down corridors they can
only use the center alley and chop (quick step with high knees) with eyes in the...
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Also when eating at King Hall, they must not speak unless addressed by an
upperclassman. If a plebe needs to speak, he must first extend a fist (known as
putting out the paw ) for permission to speak. Alas, for the plebes, those are only
the rules which apply in King Hall. There are also many other rules they struggle
with on the entire academy. Directly before a formal meal, during their formation
outside of Bancroft, the midshipmen must recite the menu, whether it is breakfast,
lunch or dinner. When plebes are asked, How long have you been in the Navy,
they must answer, All me blooming life, sir! Me mother was a mermaid, me father
was King Neptune. When plebes are asked, How s the cow, they must answer, Sir,
she walks, she talks, she s full of chalk. Although these myriad of disjointed
memorizations, ludicrous tasks and perpetual Panic mode as a plebe may seem to
have very little to do with the profession of arms, the sole purpose of the regulations
is to make them into better officers as a whole. In the real world, these traditions
encourage the quick execution of orders, discipline, knowledge of your environment,
and respect