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Back In Blue

(The Cadet Experience, Class of 2012) Permanent link All Posts

It was good while it lasted, but it is no more. Summer is over. The corps is back, Chase Hall has never needed air conditioning more, all the professors are busy handling out syllabi and detailing just what we’ve gotten ourselves into for this semester. Leave has come and gone all too fast.

Overall, from CATP back in May to my time as cadre over the month of July, I can say it was definitely both a fulfilling and a demanding summer. I always thought that going through something like Swab Summer or AIM was the hardest when you were the kid being yelled at. Little did I realize it’s actually just as hard going through it on the other side, when you’re doing more yelling, getting less sleep, and are given an unprecedented level of responsibility. Regardless, being cadre and going through 2/c summer really was a blast, with some truly great experiences like sailing around Long Island Sound in the Coastal Sail Training Program and traversing the mighty Thames on T-Boats. I can honestly say I feel like I’ve developed greatly as a leader and a cadet, and had a great time in the process.

With the summer behind me, I’m looking ahead to the new school year. As a 2/c Marine and Environmental Sciences major, I’m now taking many more major-specific classes, including Fish Biology and Ocean Dynamics. My schedule this semester is much better than previous years, with a couple more free periods and labs that seem like they’ll be quite interesting.

Probably the best part about being a 2/c, however, is the increase in privileges that came along with it. We now get “shorts” every weekend, meaning we do not have to spend Saturday nights at the Academy and don’t have to be back on Sunday until 1900. That’s in addition to Friday night liberty. The best privilege, however, is what we call “civies.” After two years of having to wear some sort of uniform every time we walk out the Academy gates, we’re now authorized to don whatever civilian attire we deem appropriate. It’s exciting, despite how mundane it may sound. That’s how it is at the Academy: it’s the little things that you have to learn to appreciate. Right now, there’s not much I can appreciate more than rolling out of the barracks in Levis and a death metal t-shirt, ready to enjoy the weekend before putting pen to paper all through the week.

More about Mark.

Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/1/2012 3:16 PM