A.war.IN.me
Space Geek x pi
A bit off topic but I'm enlisted applying for class 2017. Can I send a Highlight Tape to an athletic director/coach?
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
USNA Class of 2016
- Thread starter mr sparkle
- Start date
First off, congrats to Mr. Sparkle. Of course he won't see this for a couple weeks as he is running around sweating to death in the Annapolis heat getting yelled at (but at least he gets to sleep in the air conditioning.... damn plebes have it so easy), but when you get that issue computer.... welcome.
Second, as a grad of Canoe U, my advice is to do your best at everything. The idea that you just bury your head in the books and don't give a crap about anything else is very dangerous. While your GPA (QPR) is what the admissions board to grad school one day will look at, your reputation as a "shipmate" (yeah I said it) will follow you into the fleet from day one. And the thought that academics is all you need because your ground job is all that counts is ridiculous as well. I've seen decent number of guys get their wings pulled because they suck behind the boat, in the bombing pattern, at ACM, etc. Not a whole lot lose their wings because they were a terrible DivO. Yes, your FITREP will suffer (ie do your best at everything), but your reputation as a team player is the most important thing in the ready room if you want to be an aviator. Also remember that every question or rate you don't answer, typically goes to the pleber sitting next to you. Don't be that guy..... You will be graduating with 1000 classmates, all going into the Navy. They will care much more about how good of a classmate you were, than your GPA.
USNA is tough, but personally not the hardest thing I've done. Night, pitching deck, bad weather on the pickle or in the cockpit I would say trumps it. But that's just me.....
"Time, tide, and formation wait for no one. I'm now shoving off. Beat Army sir!"
Second, as a grad of Canoe U, my advice is to do your best at everything. The idea that you just bury your head in the books and don't give a crap about anything else is very dangerous. While your GPA (QPR) is what the admissions board to grad school one day will look at, your reputation as a "shipmate" (yeah I said it) will follow you into the fleet from day one. And the thought that academics is all you need because your ground job is all that counts is ridiculous as well. I've seen decent number of guys get their wings pulled because they suck behind the boat, in the bombing pattern, at ACM, etc. Not a whole lot lose their wings because they were a terrible DivO. Yes, your FITREP will suffer (ie do your best at everything), but your reputation as a team player is the most important thing in the ready room if you want to be an aviator. Also remember that every question or rate you don't answer, typically goes to the pleber sitting next to you. Don't be that guy..... You will be graduating with 1000 classmates, all going into the Navy. They will care much more about how good of a classmate you were, than your GPA.
USNA is tough, but personally not the hardest thing I've done. Night, pitching deck, bad weather on the pickle or in the cockpit I would say trumps it. But that's just me.....
"Time, tide, and formation wait for no one. I'm now shoving off. Beat Army sir!"
Probably not the right thread to opine that, despite all of the heartache and hardship described above, there isn't, I don't think, more than a nickel's worth of difference between a new ENS or JG arriving at his first fleet squadron based on his accession source. In fact, sometimes the nickel comes up heads...and sometimes it comes up tails. Go figure...
I believe you have to post these on Facebook first and solicit our comments. It's one of those little-known codicils in the Faber College constitution. ~Dean Wormer
True..... however I do believe it has been shown that it is cheaper to create an O-6 through the Academy than ROTC or OCS. Definitely not saying that one is better than the other, just that Academy grads seem to stay longer in the military than their civilian college counterparts. Of course this is said by an Academy guy who is now part of the civilian side....
I'd like to see the cost data supporting that. May...and I say again..."MAY"...be true, so long as you admit that there is still the fetid whiff of some "ring-knocker self-selection shenanigans" that are probably less than fully apparent to the pure statisticians among you. "What happens in the Tank stays in the Tank." Figures lie...and liars figure. That said...glad we're all on the same side of "the big issues"....I think.
Gotta get something out of 4 years by the bay other than a free haircut and a full sea bag, right?!
Gotta get something out of 4 years by the bay other than a free haircut and a full sea bag, right?!
So you're saying the "free" college education doesn't count?
-ea6bflyr
Sigh...really didn't want to go there but here we are.Gotta get something out of 4 years by the bay other than a free haircut and a full sea bag, right?!
Even though I think you meant that light-heartedly, that attitude is "the worst part" to come out of Bancroft Hall..."I earned something you didn't earn". Apparently the college education and the commission as a Naval Officer weren't enough...cuz everyone else had those as well. Just via different paths. Like I said at the start...on check-in to your first fleet squadron? Everyone's the same. It's got nothing to do with "how you got there"...and everything to do with "where you go from there".
Gotta get something out of 4 years by the bay other than a free haircut and a full sea bag, right?!
I can assure you the comment WAS intended light heartedly. He was stuck living with a lowly ROTC puke from a state school long enough
Here's a nugget: Leave that "No excuse, Sir" crap at Canoe U.
Academy grads have a nasty tendency to say "No excuse, Sir" when asked why something is jacked up, as if that answer is good enough.
"No excuse, Sir" is not a get out of jail free card in the real world ...explain why you're screwed up, tell me what you're going to do to fix it, and then make it happen.
Academy grads have a nasty tendency to say "No excuse, Sir" when asked why something is jacked up, as if that answer is good enough.
"No excuse, Sir" is not a get out of jail free card in the real world ...explain why you're screwed up, tell me what you're going to do to fix it, and then make it happen.
Oh boy... apparently "Emoticon 201: Smileys and Sarcasm" is not offered in OCS or ROTC (another reason to go to USNA!!!).
It was meant light heartedly. A lurking Gator on here can attest to my ring knocking attitude, be it good or bad....But since you broached the subject, I will say you are absolutely right that one should be evaluated on what they do in the fleet, and not where they come from. However, the Academy, like some other schools, is a close knit fraternity of officers that take pride in what they accomplished in 4 years by the bay and are forever linked to other Naval officers through the tradition and lore that only Bancroft Hall provides. No different than aviators all getting together on an internet site to talk about the good times, the bad times, the time I almost died because of this or that.... It is a connection to others through a mutual understanding of what the other has gone through. This "club" behavior can be construed at times as an "elitism" perhaps by those who did not grace the banks of the Severn. In all honesty, I didn't run across any more "I went to USNA so I'm better than you" guys than I did "I'm a fighter pilot, so I'm better than you" guys.
I am not one that thinks just because you went to the Academy, you come out a better officer than any other source. A lot of leaders are just that, leaders. Regardless if they went to USNA or UNC. I will say that I feel the Academy provides a lot more leadership opportunities to students (mids) during the four years, but once again that does not directly translate into a good officer, just opportunity to develop leadership. Some of the best officers I served with were from the Academy, and some were from state schools. Some of the worst the same.
Bottom line, we are all on the same team once we get our butter bars and for the first 3 years you're in the fleet all you should be saying anyway is "Lead, you're on fire" or "Dude, I've got the fat one."
I agree that doesn't fly in the fleet, but really it is what is taught for four years. I think it takes about a couple months to work out of the system. Everyone has their crazy holdovers from training. I want to tell the OCS kids to stop saluting from 3/4 mile walking around Pensacola... knock it off, I can't even see you!
phrogpilot73
Well-Known Member
Whoa, whoa, WHOA!
Some of us go into the Men's Department of the Department of the Navy...
Glenn: I agree with everything you say. Thanks for closing the loop on an unfortunate threadjack turn that you can probably blame me for starting.Oh boy... apparently "Emoticon 201: Smileys and Sarcasm" is not offered in OCS or ROTC (another reason to go to USNA!!!).
But since you broached the subject, I will say you are absolutely right that one should be evaluated on what they do in the fleet, and not where they come from. However, the Academy, like some other schools, is a close knit fraternity of officers that take pride in what they accomplished in 4 years by the bay and are forever linked to other Naval officers through the tradition and lore that only Bancroft Hall provides. No different than aviators all getting together on an internet site to talk about the good times, the bad times, the time I almost died because of this or that.... It is a connection to others through a mutual understanding of what the other has gone through. This "club" behavior can be construed at times as an "elitism" perhaps by those who did not grace the banks of the Severn. In all honesty, I didn't run across any more "I went to USNA so I'm better than you" guys than I did "I'm a fighter pilot, so I'm better than you" guys.
I am not one that thinks just because you went to the Academy, you come out a better officer than any other source. A lot of leaders are just that, leaders. Regardless if they went to USNA or UNC. I will say that I feel the Academy provides a lot more leadership opportunities to students (mids) during the four years, but once again that does not directly translate into a good officer, just opportunity to develop leadership. Some of the best officers I served with were from the Academy, and some were from state schools. Some of the worst the same.
Bottom line, we are all on the same team once we get our butter bars and for the first 3 years you're in the fleet all you should be saying anyway is "Lead, you're on fire" or "Dude, I've got the fat one."
As for the young man who started this thread and is totally ...and rightfully...stoked at the adventure before him...I surely wish him well, as I'm sure all of us do.