I won a giant stuffed bear at Kings Dominion in the summer before my firstie year and brought it back with me to USNA. I kept it hidden behind my shower curtain during the day, and pulled it out at night to use as a comfy chair to sit on while I played Goldeneye on the TV that I kept hidden in my con locker. That should tell you about where I fall on the whole YUT JOE NAVY YUT scale.
I have no business even pretending like I was ever a hardass. Nowadays I don’t even pay much attention to USNA endeavors that don’t involve the athletic department. But I will erupt in a geyser of Old Grad rage if I ever read about Plebe Summer detailers being “cheerleaders.”
The Birddog 
So when the zoomies finish “basic” then they are advanced to Webelos?
It’s a continuation of the “everybody gets a medal” and nobody fails mindset and we only have ourselves to blame (Baby boomers and our progeny – generation X). I knew something was amiss when multiple profiles in “Meet The Mid” listed Plebe Summer as their favorite summer vacation…
One side of the argument is this:
The AFA equivalent of the candidate guidance office does a good job with determining who is qualified to be admitted to the AFA, and eventually be commissioned a 2ndLT in the AF. It is the job of the staff and the professors to ensure that they make it through, while meeting all the requirements. It cost too much in time, money, personnel, and resources to lose good, qualified candidates.
The other side of the argument is:
If you dumb the process down so that everybody gets through, is it a challenging enough process? Does everyone who makes it through end up being mediocre?
It’s hard to find the correct balance.
so basically it’s the plebe summer the creators of the Texas Cadet Murders movie envisioned, sans battleship
“Cardinal Biggles… Bring me the COMFY CHAIR”
how did I ever miss that their plebe summer is only 3 weeks? That will be a useful tidbit to “remind” my zoomie friends.
I think the valley part is 3 weeks, not the whole thing. I think.
I love the “cheerleaders” comment in the article. Zoomies are soft.
Anyone know if the Lengyel mentioned in the article is related to Jack Lengyel?
Isn’t that PRECIOUS?!