The Naval Academy Class of 2017 Induction Day
Under a relentless barrage of commands, most of them bellowed, some 1,200 members of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Class of 2017 ran the gauntlet of Induction Day. It is the start of plebe summer — seven weeks of training that bear no relation to any customary notion of summer.
For the young students, the day started early in the morning as they said goodbye to family members and loved ones. Throughout the day, they were processed through a series of stations in Alumni Hall as they got their first taste of academy life. The stations included picking up uniforms, receiving medical examinations and haircuts and learning the basics such as how to salute.
As part of Induction Day, each new academy member is issued a Reef Points booklet, which is an introduction to the mission, history and traditions of the Navy, that each will have to know by the end of their summer training.
- Cindy Tang of Malvern, PA, hugs her son Jonathan goodbye at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day which marks the beginning of the seven week plebe training for the incoming class of 2017. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Annie Davis of Colorado hugs her son Scotty just before he reported for the Naval Academy’s Induction Day. Scotty’s brother, Eric, is a member of the Academy’s 2016 class. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Two of the plebes get their haircut during induction day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Lily Driver of Columbia trims the hair of Midshipman Alan Lee of South Carolina. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Midshipman Snow focuses on his Reef Points, an instruction manual containing rules and regulations that all Naval Academy students must obey. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Midshipman Saravia frantically responds to commanding officers’ requests at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- David Klose fits a plebe with a new cap at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day which marks the beginning of the seven week plebe training for the incoming class of 2017. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Plebes study their Reef Points, the Navy Academy’s manual covering all rules and regulations at Induction Day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- A plebe begins to memorize the “Five Basic Responses” in the Reef Points, the Naval Academy’s manual complete with all rules and regulations. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Each plebe is fitted with two Dixie cup hats at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Matt Unglesbee fits a plebe with his Dixie cup hat. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Midshipman Scrudato salutes her commanding officers at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Lieutenants help plebes learn how to properly salute at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day which marks the beginning of the seven week plebe training for the incoming class of 2017. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- Lieutenant Madison Carter helps perfect Midshipman Woods’ salute at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)
- New plebes board the bus after going through their medical examinations, getting hair cuts, and receiving new uniforms at the Naval Academy’s Induction Day which marks the beginning of the seven week plebe training for the incoming class of 2017. (Erin Kirkland/Baltimore Sun)