United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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il ll l l l j. l l . l ii closer on the horizon. X-. j. i l, il ji l ii i l i by our cadre or members of the Class of 1955, but we couldn't wear them l ij their racks to grab some much needed sleep. ll ltogether as a team, building up ' l until after graduation jthe way it should bel. That night marked a new be- departed on Thanksgiving leave and savoring our first taste of home since the end of June. People thanked us for our service to our country but we felt like we hadn't done anything yet. Little did we know when we arrived on June 29 that we would be the last class to come to the Academy in peacetime for many years to come. Clur nation was now at war, not with a coun- try or an easily defined enemy, but against an expression of hatred so deep that men were willing to throw their lives away in suicide attacks to destroy our way of life. This war was going to be fought throughout our whole careers. We came in expecting to be part of a new era of peace and prosperity, to take advantage of free college, cool summer vacations, and guaranteed employment after graduation, only to find out that there was no joke about it, We, as COL Allen would tell us so many times, were a nation at war. On the lighter side, Thanksgiving break signaled the first semester's nearing end. We enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast, showed off our uniforms at home, and brought back some good material for pranks for the week of all weeks: Army Week. Army Week our Plebe Year was not just about the game. lt was about crab meat that had been sitting in the ceilings since August coming out and getting used against the upperclass. lt was about bringing out mattresses and having hall brawls with other companies and the other classes. lt was about getting the detailers back for sending us to the quarterdeck. lt was about flooding the deck with water and soap and practicing carrier landings. lt was drinking a Beat Army, assassinations or Wildmans in King Hall. lVlost of all, it was time to get the exchange cadets. An all-time high for injuries, capped by a broken arm for one ofthe Army Cadets, led to the lock down of Army Week on Thursday night and the end of that kind of Army Week forever. We survived our first Academy Finals and headed out on a Christmas leave that came and went far too quickly. The 2!C welcomed us back with Back to Basics. The Dark Ages set in and though it only snowed twice, the dreariness of second semester was still inescapable, classes were tougher and we became more and more tired of be- ing Plebes. Spring Break couldnlt come soon enough, but more importantly, Herndon loomed ever y Sea Trials was held the week before Herndon and was the last step- l ping stone in our path. Our closing ceremony was held in Halsey, with us in , dirty cammies and the Brigade watching in whites. We were given anchors l gunning as many of us headed out to town to celebrate, others headed to ' . , -.rf -,iw V , -- ' ... ?.'9' L ii i i tl ,l Monday the following week was Herndon, the official end of Plebe ue rim ' Break Army or I have no bearing. We worked and falling down together. We were just a few feet short of the goal. Once found out that packing tape completely little over two hours, Daniel Knott was leave before the end of Youngster year, more Plebes rang out as our class pre- journey to May 27, 2005. year. We wrote funny phrases on our bl s, like close after about a half an hour, we got up to the top, we soon covered the Dixie Cup. After a to be our first Admiral. jHe would so much for that predictionl. No pared for the next step on our Mnfgjjb ,

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Parents weekend was not the end of Plebe Summer by any stretch of the imagination. First, we had to move out of our Plebe Summer rooms and into our rooms in our company areas. Some had it easy moving up, down, or over a few decks, others had the misfortune of trying to move out to 7th and 8th wings or for one company, Bicketts. Then came the last test of Plebe Summer, Brigade Trials to prove that we were ready to join the Brigade of Midshipmen. Ah, the Brigade of Midshipmen, the entity we knew only through the stories our detailers had told us: the three-to-one upperclass to Plebe ratio, that it was Plebe Summer with chemistry. Hello night was a terrifying experience with 90 to 100 upperclass in your face asking you 100 differ- ent rates. During Beform, we would walk around in packs, afraid to venture off alone and get cor- nered. BearAdmiral Locklear, our first Commandant, told us The Naval Academy is not Camelot. It wasn't perfect and it wasnlt for everyone. Once the year really began, we found out that things had been slight ly exaggerated. The return of the Brigade showed us there where two stan- dards, the Plebe standard of spotless uniforms and rooms and the Upper Class standard far below that. lt was all a part of the indoctrination. Our first football game was a disappointment, the worst lost in Navy history to Geor- gia Tech, and foreshadowed the long season ahead of us. Instead of betting that we would win, we bet in the hope of betting the spread, but we always lost this year. Cur first march on was also the last march on in front of St. John's for the next couple years as a tragedy was about to strike our country. I Ain Plebe Year was rolling along just as it should, with pro-knowl- edge, chemistry, and calculus when a day dawned that changed our lives, our careers and our nation forever. September 11, 2001 occurred just a few weeks into our first semester on a regular Tuesday morning. Whether you were in Chem lab, leadershp class, or taking a Calculus quiz, we all distinctly re- member where we were and what we were doing when we found out. Classes were officially cancelled during fourth pe- riod and the Mids sent back to the protective walls of Bancroft Hall everyone gathered in the ward room to watch the chaos and devastation unfold. Lunch was rolling tray with no more than one battalion at a time in King Hall. No one knew what was really going on. Who attacked us? Why did they choose the targets they did? Were more attacks yet to come? We were glued to our computers and TVs as NADN delvered us images that we will never forget. We stood watch armed with our bayonets in front of every door to Bancroft, regardless of location. Suddenly, in the course of one fall morning, we were at war. President Bush addressed the nation that night and told the men and women of the Armed Forces to be ready. He was speaking to us, though we were still in school, we had been given a new resolve and purpose. The country bounced back, as did we. A new sense of pa- triotism surged through the nation as we went back to our ev- eryday lives. The football team still struggled, as we did with Plebe chemistry. The nation mobilized for war against the Tal- iban regime in Afghanistan that had given the terrorists who attacked us asylum and had oppressed its own people. We I

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2002 graduated and went on its way as we put on our new stripe and head- ed into Youngster Summer. YPs or LANTPATTBAIVIID was the highlight for us all. An all expenses-paid trip to Boston, New York, and Newport with liberty in whites, a chance to bond with classmates, and the opportunity to earn the coveted 'fnerd nickel. V-berthing smelt something fierce after two weeks and anchor watch couldnlt have been more boring though. Besides YPs, we also had to do CSNTS or NTT, or for those select few, Summer Seminar or Dive School. CSNTS meant hot racking, navigating through storms, and wrecking some sailboats. NTT was a time to play lVlarines and SEALs for two weeks and have a week of tours thrown in the middle. lt was a good time to meet more classmates and get some liberty on the week- end. After the summer, we were all thrust into new companies, with the Academy's practice of shuffling classes after Plebe Year. Some of us loved our new companies, some of us hated them. Plebe-Year- with-carry-on was a rough year. Cynicism began to creep in for some, as many of the things that we had thought were Naval Acad- emy traditions were labeled bad habits. Admiral Naughton was not the Grand Old Supe that we had become accustomed to, and his incident with a gate guard become something of a joke within the Brigade. Three weekends just weren't enough either, as weekends were given out solely based on class. Army-Navy was a highlight and the steam rolling of Army demonstrated just what our Navy Football teamwould be capable of in the years to come. S . . . . 'X :if V' now in the Dark Ages made staying in on Friday . A -- A j nights dreary. The blizzard of President's Day Weekend -, ,- ' ' Q ' ' Us led to six-day weekends for some, for others it meant a if it few more days of CIVIOD. The t'Shock and Awe of Op- ' at eration Iraqi Freedom began right after we returned from I PM H Spring Break. The end of the year brought the Youngster 5' Luau with our class officers coming through with some good-looking shirts, because in the end, that's all mids really care about, the free shirt. The copious amounts of ice cream bars were pretty awesome as well. Graduation that year was miserable. Despite the poor weather, the Class of 2003 was al- lowed to have their graduation and commissioning ceremonies outside. The other classes watched miserably as a huge rainstorm hung over the stadium dumping water on everyone. Not allowed lke jackets, let alone rain coats, we scrounged for cover where we could: garbage bags, huddling together, trying to hide out in the bath rooms, or by the concession stands. ln a moment of confu- sion, word was passed that the rest of the Brigade could head back. Many bolted right then and there, others waited for more definite word, only to hear that we did in fact have to stay for the re- mainder of the ceremonies. The hat toss finally came, we raced back to the hall to put the symbol of our new rank: dry CIVILIAN clothes. Second Class Summer was also a good time for us to bond as a class. PBOTBA-party 16 .1