The Academy Insider Podcast - Your Guide to The Naval Academy Experience

#051: Blue and Gold

• GRANT VERMEER • Season 2 • Episode 51

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Ever wondered what it’s like to transition from a novice plebe to a seasoned leader at the Naval Academy? Get ready to learn from the experiences of Jake, a Naval Academy graduate and current P-8 pilot, who takes us through the cherished tradition of "blue and gold" sessions during Plebe Summer. With a family deeply rooted in military service, Jake’s journey to the Academy is both inspiring and enlightening. Listen in as he shares his unique perspective on mentorship, leadership, and the invaluable life lessons gained during his time as a Plebe Summer detailer.

Jake recounts the transformative process of moving from a plebe to a leadership role, shedding light on how impactful figures like XO Ryan Iverson can shape one’s development. From the significance of daily routines and emotional support to the complexities of recognizing prior enlisted members, Jake’s stories provide a compelling look at the inner workings of the Academy. We also explore the vital role of feedback and mentorship, where even small acts of kindness can leave a lasting impression on both plebes and their leaders.

Our discussion touches on essential topics such as personal care, mail delivery, and the powerful 'thought of the day' practice, which helps gauge plebe morale. With heartwarming anecdotes and humorous moments, Jake's motivational speech during the Blue and Gold phase is a testament to the spirit and resilience of midshipmen. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone curious about life at the Naval Academy, offering a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs faced by those who serve. Don’t miss this engaging and informative episode of the Academy Insider Podcast!

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Season 2 of the Academy Insider Podcast. Academy Insider is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. At its core, this podcast is designed to bring together a community of Naval Academy graduates and those affiliated with the United States Naval Academy in order to tell stories and provide a little bit of insight into what life at the Naval Academy is really like. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for listening and reach out if you ever have any questions. The Academy Insider Podcast is sponsored by the Vermeer Group, a residential real estate company that serves the United States Naval Academy community and other select clientele in both California and Texas. If I can ever answer a real estate related question for you or connect you with a trusted Academy affiliated agent in the market which you're in, please reach out to me directly at grantatthevermeergroupcom. You can also reach out to me on my LinkedIn page, grant Vermeer, and I'd be happy to respond to you there. Thank you so much, and now let's get back to the episode.

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Academy Insider Podcast. In today's episode, we touch on a topic that happens at the end of every single night during plebe summer, and that's a thing called blue and gold. We run about how it's structured, how it's organized, how detailers prepared about it and share a lot of funny stories about our respective blue and golds, both as a plebe and as a detailer. Jake and I cover all these different topics and I think you're going to get a lot of real good information and fun stories out of the episode.

Speaker 1:

If you like it, make sure to subscribe and like the podcast. If you can leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever your preferred podcast provider is, that'd be great. Otherwise, I hope you really enjoy the episode. Feel free to reach out to me with questions at any point. Enjoy the episode, all right. Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the Academy Insider Podcast. Today I'm joined by my man, jake. Thanks so much for taking the time to join us today. If you don't mind, just give a little background about where you're from, what brought you to the Academy and now what you're currently doing in the Navy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, thanks for having me, Grant. I'm from Clark, new Jersey, south side of New York City. North Jersey is better than South Jersey. Had to throw it in there. Had to throw it in there. Had to throw it in. I came to the Naval Academy in 2017, class of 2021. My great-grandfather, all my grandparents were military and they were like the awesome figureheads for me to look up to. And my great-grandfather he did 30 years in the Navy. He was a chief warrant officer. Everybody in my family is enlisted and so when I told him I was like I was thinking about joining the Navy when I was like in middle school, he was like I think about joining the Navy when.

Speaker 2:

I was like in middle school he's like good, you're going to the Academy, so he knew better. He went through 30 years in the Navy so he knew the ropes. And he's like, all right, that's your goal. So I made that my goal all throughout high school and ended up making a reality.

Speaker 1:

That's incredible, and when you showed up at the Academy, obviously you had the Navy background in the family. Did you know you wanted to be a pilot, or was that a discovery once you got to the Academy? I?

Speaker 2:

mean aviation is always in the background. I mean, yeah, top Gun, I've seen the Blue Angels, saw the Thunderbirds. Like oh, that's cool, I live right outside Newark Airport. Like that's really awesome. But when I got to the Navy I was like, hmm, what do I want to say? Like I went to the Navy and I did. I was like being a pilot is pretty cool. So that's what I ended up going with become a pilot and now stationed down in NAS Jacks to fly some P-8s.

Speaker 1:

P-8s baby. So a little submarine hunting going on, that's not bad. And land-based living For everyone who's listening, and we'll do a deep dive episode at some point, I'm sure, about the difference of pilots and everything, but that's one of the huge perks of being a p8 pilot is, instead of being like having to go on a ship and being based off a ship, you're all land deployment is in a hotel.

Speaker 2:

Yeah sure, land-based some very long missions, uh, but it'll take you all over the world, which is really fun.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for that and good luck with everything moving forward in this. Genuinely appreciate your service and what you're doing. So thank you for that. But to bring it back to kind of the purpose of today's episode, to really get people going, today we're going to be talking about blue and gold, which is a really unique aspect of Plebe Summer, and so kind of what I want to get to in building the context of there is when it came to Plebe Summer, what was your billet and can you briefly explain what your role was as a detailer in Plebe Summer?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I did two stints as a Plebe Summer detailer a second-class year and a first-class year. Second-class year was a squad leader. So it's the lowest levels of a plebe summer leadership role, the most direct interaction that you're going to have with a plebe. So squad leader is leading nine plebes nine to 10 plebes depending on the size of the company and you're the first interaction with them. You're the ones that know the most about those plebs.

Speaker 2:

And blue and gold and that sort of billet is like what do my plebs need the most? Which person needs more attention? Which person is really killing it? Which person needs more motivation? There's a whole bunch of other things. Which one has family stuff going on, like that's your job to know, like what is happening and what you can best facilitate your leadership ability for. And then my first year was XO. I was XO of the company and at that point now you're just a tier above your squad leaders and you're just trying to facilitate the squad leaders and help your coming to commander execute the vision. Just trying to facilitate the squad leaders and help your coming to commander. Uh, execute the vision, but make sure your squad leaders are executing their roles and uh see if there's anything you can do to help facilitate, uh what I just previously talked about.

Speaker 1:

Uh, sure, For absolutely and what? What company were you in during the academic year and how did that relate to plebe summer, like what? What company during plebe summer were you as a result of that?

Speaker 2:

Um, so I was um during my Plebe Summer time. I was 10th company, so I was an Echo company, echo. But what was interesting, when I was coming from my second class here we were just shuffled. So we were previously, our second class, were from 18th company Shout out to the yard dogs. And then we got moved over to the War Turtles and 10th Company and we knew nobody. So all the other detailers we were working with were just brand new people.

Speaker 2:

So that was a really cool and interesting to see how ideas and philosophies can clash, but just make it suppose what was great and then we stayed.

Speaker 1:

Echo intense company yeah, and what about your experience, either as like a plebe yourself or as a squad leader, made you want to come back and reapply to be, uh, in a plebe summer leadership position going into your first year um, so I'll start as a plebe.

Speaker 2:

Uh, my favorite detailer he was an xo? Um. He was first at exo ryan iverson, I'll give a shout out to him. Um, he was a prior enlisted um, but the only way you could tell that was just by how old he looked. But everything else he was just a little bit of a goofball, but he had that respect for the navy and for everybody else that you would you immediately just like yeah, I want to follow that guy.

Speaker 1:

Um, it's so funny that you talk about like noticing prior enlisted just based on like looking older, cause again, when you're, when you're a plebe or again you're coming in 17, 18 years old in most cases and a lot of these prior enlisted sailors or Marines are 21, 22 years old. So by the time they become these prior enlisted sailors or marines are 21 22 years old. So by the time they become detailers, now it's like a 24 year old with a bunch of 19 year olds and you're like, nah, something's a little. Yeah, you're older, yeah what's going on?

Speaker 2:

when he was, I think he was 26 or 27 years old um, so the fact I'm 25 right now and I'm still not his age, like man, like I'm, I'm sitting here out of the academy three years, three years removed. I just got married, like there's so many other things, that I'm 25 and he was 27, like man, um, but yeah, he, he was my number one inspiration to come back and, like, uh, set a good example. Um, but squad leader, uh, I just knew that that would be the most interaction I would have with a plebe and really, um, get that quality leadership, that one-on-one leadership you can totally have and, um, my, my flea summer squad leaders like you'll never forget them. You'll never forget their names liz cameron, chad hollinsworth, like, immediately, like off the top of my head. There's a couple detailers that like ops and admin. I might not remember, but that squad leader like you'll know them for sure, yeah, no, it's so.

Speaker 1:

It's so funny. You say that because, like my first or my first set squad leader was mitchipman ensign cox and he, he like, he did his thing that first night. Where he's walking up and they're introducing himself, he's like my name is midshipman ensign cox and he like pauses, like and I swear to god, if any one of you laughs at my name, I will kill you and he's just like dude and he went and he's like it is spelled c-o-x and uh, I just like for me like forever, like that, like literally, that's like a core memory, like because I'm staying on the bulkhead. I'm immature, I'm immature at 28 years old, I was really immature at 18 years old. I was like that's funny, that's a funny thing, and so I'm like getting ready to laugh and he's like I will kill you. I was like I was like lock that up real quick, put those eyes in the boat, put those eyes in the boat.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, no, like you're saying, the squad leaders make such a massive impact on your experience, right, because they have so much direct for lack of a better term like contact to you in your day-to-day of Cleve Summer, right? And so how was that to transition from going to a squad leader to then becoming a company XO, where you're not even at the platoon level but now you're at the company level and kind of like you're saying you're more there to help facilitate for the squad leaders and get them what they need to do their jobs well. How was that transition for you and did you enjoy that aspect of it?

Speaker 2:

I really did enjoy that aspect of it because I knew what it took to be a good squad leader, um, and I knew what they would need, um, so I would always look out for that stuff. But I want them, wanted them to learn what they needed first, so like I would ask them every now and then what they need, what they don't need, or just like um, but in the back of my head, like I knew what they needed to do. Um, so like it's still much please, summer, yes, it is please being indoctrinated, but at the same time, it's very much one of the first leadership experiences that are very hardcore for these, uh, for us as detailers, and so it's very much a training for us as detailers, and so it's very much a training for us as it is for the police. Um, it's not more for us at times, um, so making that transition was just like all right in the back of my head. I want to make sure that they're, you know, tracking who's getting the mail? You know, is there? Uh, especially internationals probably don't get mail. Uh, some people, just parents, like they don't get the concept of Naval Academy and they just don't get mail. Um, are there any family issues going home, is there any family issues? Like that comes right to me and then we're going to be constantly tracking that.

Speaker 2:

Um is, uh, is there any significant like, really like, am I supposed to be here? Kind of thing. Like, uh, is the academy right for me? Just like, it's the academy right for me? Yeah, is there anybody considering? Like just a bunch of that little stuff and just like a general feel of like hey, was that training we did today productive? Like how do they feel after this? How do you feel after that? And like getting that feedback and then countering, making that all right, this is the time that we have for the next week. How can we fix this issue? Or how can we build off that and just keep going. And so the squad leaders are the immediate bounce back between plebs and XO and coming to commander, like they're giving that immediate feedback of what's good, what wasn't. How are they feeling? What are they anxious for, or nervous, or fearful? That's the immediate reaction that we're trying to get for.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and kind of one of like you're saying, one of the main ways to do that is kind of at these end-of-day recaps, where plebs are submitting their thoughts of the day, right, and that's getting fed up to you directly, the mail is coming to them thoughts of the day, right, and that's getting fed up to you directly, the mail is coming to them, or lack of mail, right, and you can kind of see reactions to that. And all that happens in what we call blue and gold, which is the end of night recap and kind of the purpose of this episode. So I'm going to turn it back to you and just say, hey, if there's a parent listening or a grandparent listening or whatever the thing that's going on, can you explain to them, if they hear the term blue and gold, what is blue and gold and how does that apply to the plebs, what's going on, what things are happening, what is the purpose of blue and gold at the end of the day?

Speaker 2:

So blue and gold in its most basic form is the wrap up of the day. It's probably the last thing. It is the last thing that you do at the end of the day. So, literally, it's blue and gold brush your teeth, go to bed, and so that's. It's the last thing you're going to do with your detailers until, like lights out, detailers coming around making sure everybody's in bed, and so blue and gold is constructed and to be almost like a wrap-up of the day and to be a motivator for the next day. So, wrap-up of the day, the squad leaders go around like we just talked about. They'll be passing out mail. They'll be going and checking people's feet, any medical issues, collecting the plea stuff for the day, um, and just doing a general welfare check, um, and then do you mind, do you mind, giving a quick, just a quick pause there on on the thought of the day, what?

Speaker 2:

what is the thought of the day, kind of, what's a format and what's a plebe filling, filling out in writing really kind of during their personal time, right before that blue and gold yeah, uh, the thought of the day is, honestly, whatever they want it to be, some people will express like some people were, so like I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it they write the same thing over and over.

Speaker 2:

They write the same thing over and over again, there's always one or two people in the same company. I remember very explicitly I had this enlisted Marine who would just be like Hooyah Navy, today was a great Navy Marine Corps day, and then he'd be like one more sentence after that and that was it. And then there were some people that thought of the day to use it as a journal, almost. So it's like they will sit there during their time and like this is what I'm really thinking and this training that we did today was very informative. They will sit there during their time and like this is what I'm really thinking and, like you know, this training that we did today was very informative.

Speaker 2:

I really did not like the obstacle course, like I was really upset that I couldn't get over on the rope or something like that, and so it's those thoughts that are actually really beneficial to us to see like, hey, what?

Speaker 2:

Uh, some people feel more comfortable just writing out a thought of the day. Um, I remember, as a plea for myself, I wrote like one very motivational, like, uh, hey, I remember, uh, just writing out be like today was a turning point, like I saw where I really screwed up but where I can really go from here, and this is like how I can keep improving my training and this is what I'm going to be looking out for. So for me, as a plebe, I was like that was a message to my squad leader and my staff was saying, like this is how I'm going to turn it around. Just hold me to it and look out for me. That's how I did as a plebe. There's also days where, like I'm just missing home. I'm missing my mom, missing my sisters, you know, uh, and that's perfectly okay. Or people just saying I'm looking forward to Sunday church and donuts.

Speaker 1:

Sounds good to me. Literally, I think that's the funniest piece about it is like, again, there's no requirement for you to put anything in specific, necessarily right, like there's some people that you're saying, some people will put the same thing over and over again because it saves them time during their personal time. I don't have to write 20 minutes of my 30 minutes of personal time right before I just be like, yeah, today was a great Navy and Marine Corps day. Who? Yeah, and put it in and like that's it. I'm turning that sucker in from midshipman fourth class, blah, blah, blah, you know, to the, to the company commander or to the squad leader, right?

Speaker 2:

And so forgot yeah like the whole format. Yeah, it was like two, like Lieutenant Colonel Coleman, and then like via, you know, you went through the whole chain of command Via Mishima, lieutenant Mishima, lieutenant GG Gray, mishima Nelson, like, oh man.

Speaker 1:

You got to go the whole chain of command, the whole chain of command from the top to the bottom, yeah, yeah. But I think genuinely again for kind of directing this conversation almost directly to to the parents out there. I think the thought of the day is a great opportunity. I want you to let you know if, if your son or daughter may be struggling, the thought of the day is a great opportunity for them to kind of express what's going on without having to kind of like publicly again. Everything in in plebs summer is so structured and everyone is around all the time that sometimes you don't feel comfortable again quite literally sticking out a paw and saying, hey, I need to talk to you. Thoughts of the day are also a great opportunity to express if something's going on.

Speaker 1:

I thought that was interesting because when I was the regimental commander at Plebe Summer, there were a couple of thoughts of the day that would make it all the way up to me on a daily basis right, and a lot of times it was like, hey, I just got a letter in the mail that my grandma passed away.

Speaker 1:

I'm like I'm struggling right, like I'm hurting right, and it would give me an opportunity, you know, as a rich commander to like pop by the next morning and be like, hey, how are you doing Right? Like, are you okay? Because, again, training is not going to stop right. I want to also make that very clear as like, hey, if you're having a rough time, it doesn't mean training stops. It's not like we're coddling you, but like we also want to make sure that you're okay, so that way you can go through the process of this whole thing. And so, um, you know these thoughts of the days that happened during the blue and gold turning in, doing blue and gold. They get sent up Like and concerning enough. Whatever the case is like we would let the office, the commissioned officer staff know about what's going on. So, um, a really interesting perspective of plebe summer is that is that thought of the day, cause it can range from anywhere, from quite literally like, oh yeah, the donuts at mass today were great, right.

Speaker 2:

Like after church, right, it was just like all right, dude, thanks.

Speaker 1:

You know what I mean To like very serious stuff or quite literally, some real commentary. Hey, during leadership class today I really learned this and this was a really big thing, and it turned into a journal for them to kind of write down some of the leadership lessons that they experienced during that day, and so there's a lot of range of things that you'll get in that thought of the day, but definitely a cool way again, if there's something seriously going on, for a plebe to basically reach out and say, hey, I'm going through something without having to publicly put themselves out there, right? So interesting perspective of the thought of the day I want to touch a little bit on as well is you're talking about like hygiene? It's like going around and looking at people's feet, Like what are you doing at that point? Because that may sound obscure but like this is a really important thing that we have to go do.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean at the basic, I mean everybody. You see, like these old war movies and every Marine will tell you, change your socks. Like literally, just take care of your freaking feet, just change your freaking socks. But you're on your feet all day, like pretty much. Besides, like a couple of lectures or anything, like you're always walking, you're always moving.

Speaker 2:

I think me as a detailer, like as a detailer, I think I did like at least seven to eight miles walking or running a day. And so, please, like you're chopping everywhere, you're going up the stairs, you're doing your PR, you're doing your pep and everything in the morning, like you're moving. And so we're checking people's feet and make sure that you know there's our blisters being taken care of. Is there uh, like, uh, any cuts, bruises? Like cause people are going in and out of boots that maybe don't fit them, when it's breaking them in and going into dress shoes and then going back into your, uh, you know, go faster as a new balances, because maybe on I day, like they didn't fit the greatest, but you didn't want to say anything. So you know if you're seeing any trends, like their pinky toe just keeps getting red and red and red, like hey, man, are your shoes too tight? Like just tell me. Just tell me, please, so you should go around checking that. Like also, does anybody smell bad? Like during your personal time? Take a shower, please, please.

Speaker 1:

Some people just like Wash yourself, yeah, like just generally taking care of yourself, yeah, like just general taking care of yourself, just brain deodorant or you know other females like washing their hair and other stuff, like that too. Like, uh, so really being attentive, like hey, this is training you to actually take care of yourself. But it's funny that you brought up the, the, the shoes being too small or like boots not fitting, because I remember one time it was again part of my thing was I wanted to go to a blue and gold of every single different company on a different night, right, and kind of rotate through as a reg commander. And one night I showed up to this company's desk and they're doing the blister walkthrough and looking at the feet and some kids feet were destroyed, right, and we're like dude, what's going on? What happened? He's like they, he's like I have two different size feet but like my right foot is a size it was like size 15.

Speaker 1:

He was an offensive lineman, a recruited football player, like he's a big dude, right and so like one foot was literally a size 15, the other one was like a size 12, but they only measured the foot that was the size 12 and he was like trying to tell him I have two different size feet, but in like the process of like just moving through. They're like, yeah, whatever, here we go and gave him and he had he was wearing two size 12 boots on like a size 15 foot and it was destroyed after their day at the oak horse right and I was like that was crazy. But again, this is why we have those blue and golds and check-ins, because it was like holy smokes, dude, we got to fix this right now and so it was like first thing the next day we went down to the issue, the supply, and we're like we need a pair of boots, we need to get this kid boots that actually fit. And funny enough is that night I get a thought of the day come up to me.

Speaker 1:

That's like my feet have never felt so good, like thank you so much for getting me boots that fit um, and it was just like, yeah, man, I but like that's so serious, like you're saying, you're on your feet all the time. So so blisters, blisters happen, blisters happen a lot.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot of blister investigation going on I really, uh, I really felt bad for the athletes, especially, especially the big paul, like uh. I remember in my squad as a plebe I had a big, tall, small forward, daniel galley, six foot seven, like yeah daniel kelly's big dude. Yeah, I'm like 5 11, but still like man his feet. Like you know, if you get one size off like oh, that's being a big guy, that's gonna suck, so so getting off the man. I'm glad you got that figured out.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, absolutely. And kind of shifting to just another aspect. I really want to try and touch on all the different aspects of blue and gold. Another piece is like mail delivery. We had touched on that a little bit earlier. Do you mind walking through again how mail is delivered and what the process is when you're handing mail out to the pleads that they've received?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so every day one of the detailers goes down to the post office and picks up the mail that's been sent to that specific company. So whenever parents and grandparents put, you know, mission before class, lund, echo, echo company, and then write out the address, and so echo company immediately gets sorted out into that staff and then detailers bring it up on deck and then we can sort it out into uh squads from there and then, like uh, when it gets to blue and gold, like end of the day, we can give that to the squad leader and the squad leader can then uh make that appropriate mail delivery uh as as he fits. Um, and from there, like you know, day one was probably gonna be maybe a letter or two, maybe some very strategic parents like mine like sent uh, my mom, I think, put some mail and packages in like a day or two before I day. So like day one or two there was already mail there, um, so she was a step ahead.

Speaker 1:

Uh, beating the system, yeah yeah, exactly so.

Speaker 2:

Parents and grandparents want a little trick on that. Send some mail beforehand. It's always a little good on like the first day or two. That's the initial shock to like get something. It's like, all right, yeah, I'm still here, sure, um? And so the squatters then will give it out to each, each person, package or mail and so on and so forth. And the process is that they have to open it there in front of you to make sure no contraband or anything is coming in. So the packages, they're open it up and you know there's going to be your granola bars and other letters and pictures and stuff. That's great. And then sometimes there's some random stuff that can get thrown in there. I'll let your mind wander. Uh, some friends have some more, um, fun, fun, fun pranks. Yeah, yeah, some friends have some more fun pranks.

Speaker 1:

Other parents just throwing some stuff that they didn't even know was contraband, but uh, and then, yeah, what kind of stuff would you consider Like, would you put in that category that like parents didn't realize was contraband likely, but like you can't actually deliver this stuff during plebe summer?

Speaker 2:

Um, you know, if people were sending uh like personal, like civilian clothes, like, hey, I knew this was your favorite uh shirt or a pair of pants or different stuff like that, like I knew this was your favorite uh shirt or pair of pants or different stuff like that, like I knew it's gonna make you feel comfy, like, oh, like did that hurt to be? Like, oh, I know this is your favorite.

Speaker 2:

I know how much you want to put this on right now, but it's like you gotta stay in that potato sack, sorry, um. So that that was always like the, the biggest like oof um, did you guys?

Speaker 1:

did you guys confiscate junk food like cookies and candies and stuff like that, or did you? Did you allow the plebs to maintain that if those were sent?

Speaker 2:

uh, me as a slaughter. I maintained it. I said you can have it, um, but just letting you know like I mean the more calories you get, the better. In my opinion, it was just like, uh, but also like I highly encourage you to share with others, like during that that's. That's that sunday day downtime, like go around, share with me, because, like my mom would always send cookies, so I was like during some days I would go around and pass them around like that's fine, uh, I just highly encourage that. So nice of you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, promoting kindness, promoting kindness amidst Bleep Summer, yeah, no, it's funny because some companies just do it slightly differently. I think, again, as you hear these stories, what's interesting is your son or daughter, whoever may be going through this experience people do it a little bit differently from company to company as well. Again, my plebe summer is now freaking. 10 years ago, 10, 11 years ago, so a long time things changed, but it was the same thing, like if they tried to. If you got some like candy or what they consider junk food in your uh, in your package, they were like uh-uh, you ain't eating that weakness you're not putting that weakness in your body.

Speaker 2:

There's no, no way.

Speaker 1:

There's no way. And so that got, that got confiscated. Uh, so that was always a thing. And then, kind of like, you're saying you know, mail time in my opinion can either go two ways, depending on um how you are as a family and friend group. Right, because you can have it be a really wholesome, really great thing. Right, you put some letters in there, you do some things to try and lift their spirits, but it's also an opportunity to totally mess with them if that's what you want to do.

Speaker 1:

And you know I joke because there's a kid in my company, tristan Tello, and he sat next to me, right, and it's always funny because, like during plebe summer, as you're getting the mail handed out to you, you have your reef points up. You're like studying your reef points up. You're like studying your reef points as people are like laying packages or mail at your feet or whatever the case is, and you're trying to like take little peeks. You know what I mean. You're like trying to like see if anything's coming to you or whatnot. And I remember I'm standing next to tristan tello and he gets a package and they open it up.

Speaker 1:

And I'm not trying to be like nosy, but you're like kind of looking to see if you got anything good, trying to look under and out of nowhere, he like they pull out some like some women's underwear right, and he's like oh tello, oh tell you, are these for you? We're like these delivered for you and they, they had turned it around and on, like on the back, like well, like on the bum part of it it was like booty camp. It said booty camp, like across the back and uh, I just remember like that was one of those and it was like one of those that I couldn't help but like turn and like laugh and then, and then of course, that got me. They're like hey, what are you looking?

Speaker 2:

at.

Speaker 1:

Right, get your eyes in the boat. And I was just like, oh my gosh, but it just, it is like the male piece of it's really funny Cause, again, any package you send. To kind of bring it back to actual, real advice now is any package you send is going to get opened and every single thing in it is going to get looked at, right. And so if you leave loose letters, you write a really lovely, mushy, gushy letter which my mom did as well Like hey, hey, boo, we love you so much. I'm sure you're doing great All this stuff Like they're, they're, they're getting read by the detailers and you're getting chuckled at Right. And so, again, if you want something to not be read, you need to put it in an envelope inside the package, because we won't open envelopes but we will open the packages Right. So that's, that's one thing there. Uh, and then, yeah, again, everything's going to to to be opened and looked through. So you just need to be aware that anything you send is going to be for lack of a better term investigated.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I would also like to throw out too I'm not sure if the chaplains or Naval Academy still does it, but you could send packages just to the chaplain service as well too, because some people don't receive packages. Because some people don't receive packages, other families are like. I had one plebe. Her mom and dad barely spoke any English. They were immigrants from Vietnam. They didn't really understand what the Naval Academy was. They didn't understand what Plebe Summer was or anything like that, so they just didn't send anything.

Speaker 2:

And so I mean, as a squad leader like I, passing out day one, day two, nothing, day three, day four, day five, day six everybody's pretty much got something by now, and she still doesn't have anything. So I was able the chaplain service is really great and they had packages and letters from other graduates or other parents of the of the class of 2023, whatever it was and, uh, I was able to give her a package and say like hey, like you're supported as well I know your family doesn't know what's going on, but like there's a community here as well too. So I have the courage, if they're still doing that, to help out.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely no, without a doubt I and it's it's a great service that you can provide to some of the midshipmen right that that aren't receiving the same level of support, just kind of based on whatever their situation may be. So I'm pretty sure they are still doing that and I would encourage again anyone who's listening, if you want to again make a positive impact, hopefully on someone else's experience, that that's a way to do it. But now just to move on a little bit past that. So kind of once all of the the pre blue and gold things happen, even though it's a part of blue and gold, you eventually get to what we'll consider like the actual meeting part of it, and so I want to turn it over to you of when you were a company XO or your company commanders getting ready to address the company at the end of the day, what kind of things are you thinking about? What were you considering and what was was that like? What things were you trying to bring to the table and communicate at the end of the day?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so as we get prepared to make our speech during their personal time, we're all gathered up in our wardrooms, typically Throughout the day, we're gathering bits of data and info and also getting a general trend for the week or month or however long you've been there for and you're trying to tailor it to all right, what's what's going to hit, what's not going to hit. And especially those first few nights, like it's more of like a general, just like hey, go to bed, but just like you got to set that sternness a little bit. But we're gathering those bits of data as we're sitting down before uh giving a speech during a personal time and we're just trying to get a general feeling of the day. Like, hey, what went right? Like what did they really execute well on?

Speaker 2:

Uh, was it uh, the rack races? Were they showing a lot of uh speed? Uh, was it a lot of speed? Was it a lot of teamwork? All right, and then what was lacking today? Was there a lack of professionalism? Was dropping sirs and mans? Was there, you know, no professionalism at the lunch table? Was there a heightened sense of professionalism when you went to certain trainings? Was the officer course was sailing? Did those detailers say, hey, this is a great bunch like, very easy to talk to. What'd they say Like, hey man, like.

Speaker 1:

I could not mess it up, yeah.

Speaker 2:

There are a bunch of, you know, slime balls, you know, um, so like money. You don't want your reputation as your detailer being tarnished. You don't want your company being tarnished, like there's other things. You're taking consideration and you're trying, in blue and gold, to go over that and go light, positive light, um, and instill a sense of pride and motivation for the next day.

Speaker 2:

So the next day or the trend of the week, um, as a philosophy for us, as Xo and cc we're sitting, we always said that we don't want to send them to bed angry, just like with your wife, you know you don't want to go to bed angry, um, but so like when you're a flea summer, it's already such a traumatic episode.

Speaker 2:

You went from high school to like now you're in the middle of this with a whole bunch of people you probably don't know, and so going to bed upset and pissed and angry, like probably not going to help you and you're going to just be woken up seven hours later by loud music and bangs that you don't want to be woken up to. So if you send, send them to bed with a happy, uh, generally typically hopefully uh happy and like motivational for the next day, like hey, we're going to attack the next day with this, like we have this for the next day, like, hey, we're gonna attack the next day with this, like we have this training on next day and I want you guys to go execute it, uh, to like the best of your ability. That that was like a general sense of the blue and gold.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, no, I absolutely, and I think you know what's really interesting is what's fun now is, even though I'm not as much of a recent graduate as I once was, I now have a little bit of perspective of like Navy side of the things on top of what goes on, and this idea of the constant feedback loop and constant communication about what's going on. We call them hot washes. Right At the end of a day or at the end of an evolution or at the end of a watch section, you're going to have a hot wash right. You're going to go and you're going to talk about what went well during that evolution, what didn't go well and how we're preparing for the next time we do it right. And so what's really interesting is that I think blue and gold is also a great precursor for what is going to happen when you're out in the Navy or Marine Corps.

Speaker 1:

Every day you're going to have something going out. Every day you're out to sea, you're going to stand, watch. Things are going to happen during that watch, and then at the end of that watch, you're going to have to go and you're going to do a hot wash and you're going to get together with your entire unit We'll just use a general term of unit and you're going to talk about what happened. You're going to debrief why you thought it happened that way and then talk about again what you did well and what needs to change for the next time. And so this idea of a hot wash is first brought together during plebe summer in the taking in laundry. Right, you're dropping off laundry one day a week, like there are things that are going on administratively, but at the end of the day, like Jake just said, it's really a hot wash of the day. You're going through and talking about the day that just happened and getting your mind right and motivating and preparing for the follow-on day, right, and so it's a really interesting and fascinating kind of piece that now, looking back on my Navy career, I'm like oh wow, no, like that it makes sense, right, like why would you not do that? It's like that's exactly what would happen when you get out to the fleet, and so fantastic kind of perspective to have as you get ready to go into it.

Speaker 1:

And you know, as we're, as we're moving on here, I do want to get ready to wrap up, just to keep this, uh, under around the 40 to 45 minute mark, and so I I think we did a really good job of kind of talking about all the different aspects of blue and gold, and so now I just want to turn it to you. Um, when I reflect on my Naval Academy journey, and especially at like a blue and gold gold where you have an opportunity to directly address the plebes I talk a lot about how you can make a real impact on someone's life through very simple action. Right, I was affected a lot during plebe summer by simple actions, simple words, simple kindnesses, and so I want to turn it to you and just say you know, during your time at the naval academy, was there anyone or any specific thing that you remember that made a really positive impact on your life, and who is? Who is that person to you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, for me I it was two people Um, one one as a plebe uh like, plebe looking up, and one as a detailer watching a plebe uh like when I was a dirt detailer. I think that's a very interesting dynamic. Um, but for me, as a plebe and plebe, summer specific um was ryan, ryan iverson. Uh, he just carried himself so professionally like he still asked for you to call him sir and like do everything professionally.

Speaker 2:

Like some people are dropped out just trying to be the cool, chiller guy like he's like no, don't do all that like, but like, if you really need anything at all, like knock on my door, uh, and like he was very approachable and he just was able to show you that you're able to respect the institution, you're able to respect the Navy, you're able to hold all these standards and still be a good guy, like just generally be a good dude, and like how could you not respect that and want that to be your philosophy? That was so. I just really wanted to emulate that as I went through my career. Like there's a reason why you came to the Naval Academy in the first part. There's a reason why you went. The Naval Academy has been so successful. It's people, uh, it creates so many leaders and generations, um, and it's now your turn to uphold that duty and uphold that respect. But that doesn't mean you have to be a hard, strict, hard liner about it. You can just be a general good dude, uh, generally good dude, yeah, and so I was like that's awesome, um. And then for me, as a uh detailer, uh, when I was x, oh, uh, sorry, when I I was a squad leader.

Speaker 2:

One of my people I led was his name was Savin, he was from Romania and I'm not sure if you ever talked about this, but there's international partners that come and come here, and he, the first day I sat down with him the international guys come in later. He was very much like homesick and not, you know, didn't know what to do in America this first time in America as well too, and by the end of pre-summer. Wow, like the transition that he made, like he was bought in, like the. He was like I'm pushing myself, I'm trying to make myself better. He was making friends with everybody.

Speaker 2:

He was just really just being himself and uh, I just found that incredible for a guy who's coming from halfway across the world. Uh is being all bought in on this. Uh, mindset, like, like I think that takes a lot to do versus, like, versus, like like I'm home, I could be at home. Like I'm missing my transformative years back home, like that's, that's tough. But he came in and was very, very much bought into it Friends with everybody. I just think that was incredible, yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's really cool. Yeah, I think the international program is really interesting because you have a, again, you you have, like, international exchange students come in every semester as well, where, like, someone's from the Spanish Naval Academy will come in and spend a semester a year, whatever the case is. But then there are also international midshipmen that are like full fledged, full, a hundred percent, like Nate U S Naval Academy midshipmen for all four years, that come from allied partners, partnered countries, right, and so, um, the police experience for them can be very interesting and it's very cool to hear that, um, again, the individual in your case really really embraced it and bought into it and and enjoyed it, right, and so, um, very cool. Well, jake, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. Um, I think, again, looking back on this is a super fun episode.

Speaker 1:

Right, talking about blue and gold is really interesting because there are a lot of memories that your plea will likely make during blue and gold, right, and I think that's one of those things that you can write it in letters. You can ask them on phone calls, be like, hey, have you had anything funny happen at blue and gold, right, if you're able to prompt them with questions that, like, make it easy for them to tell stories. It can be super fun and, again, it shows that you're tracking what's going on, you're understanding what's going on in your life and everything of the sort. So, um, thank you. Thank you for joining us, thank you for sharing your experiences and just taking the time to talk with all of us tonight.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and so part of blue and gold a lot of times is a motivational speech. At the end of the hot wash, is a preparation for tomorrow or reflection of the day and an opportunity for a detailer to give some kind of motivational speech. Jake, did you ever have that opportunity? What was something again when you were going into blue and gold as a detailer that you wanted to express to the plebs, and did you have a speech that you gave?

Speaker 2:

uh, yeah, the one that I can uh remember pretty visibly is when I actually gave it as a squad leader, um, so my company commander, uh, at the time, she, uh, she said, hey, uh, does anybody want to give a speech? And prior to this, blue and gold during that day was our company visit to Memorial Hall. And for any parents or grandparents that don't know what Memorial Hall is, when you walk in immediately what you see is the Don't Give Up the Ship flag. I think that's pretty iconic throughout all of the Naval Academy. And then lining the walls is every class year and crest and anybody from that class that was killed in action.

Speaker 2:

Um, and, as you can assume, like vietnam and world war ii, world war ii those are the more popular populated class years. But you're just so overwhelmed and filled with emotion and pride and it's just a day like wow, like these are people who came before me, who died serving their country, like this. This is different than any other college or university that you go to, and so for me, I felt so empowered by it, because my family we've traced the fact has been in every war since the Revolutionary War in some sort of fashion, and everybody was enlisted, and I was the first officer. So I am the first officer. Everybody gives me crap for it, all my grandparents.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're the first one in the military to not do any work, to not work at all yeah, all my grandparents and uncles are just like, oh sir, good to see you, um, so, but I, I don't take it lightly because it's like I'm the next one up, uh, I'm the next one in line, and so, like this is my duty now, um and so, uh, my whole speech. When I got out there was everybody's on the bulkhead. Everybody that has come before you that was on those walls stood on the same bulkhead. You're standing on today. That crest has not changed. Everybody has that crest over their heart and there's a reason for that. You are deeply connected to this, to this school, now and forever. No matter where you go, you are standing where giants have stood. You can name off Stockdale, mccain, everybody, some of those soldiers that are sailors and Marines that have their names written there. People may not know, but now you know you can go and see them and they stood where you stood and never take that lightly.

Speaker 2:

And I did a whole thing like stick out your paw if you had a family member served during the Iraq-Afghanistan War, war on Terror. A lot of people go up, all right. How about the Cold War? How about Gulf War? Vietnam, world War II will go up, all right. How about the cold war? How about, uh, gulf war, vietnam, world war ii, world war one, the spanish-american war? Uh, you know war 1812, they keep going and you know hands just keep going down like keep your paw out.

Speaker 2:

If you had someone I was, like my family's been in every one, I'm the next one up. I don't know when the next war is going to be. I don't know if there is going to be another next war who knows? But I'm here to serve my country. That is what you're here to do. Those names serve their country and give the greatest sacrifice. And so don't take this training lightly. Don't take going to Memorial Hall. Don't take your, don't throw away this shot. You have so much honor and there's so much pride that comes from this. Don't screw it up and really soak that in and so like that, that's something like the blue and gold speech, like that's you wrapping up the day. You want to get to the high point and you want to send them forward of like hey, take this and like hard, charge it.

Speaker 1:

Like this is going to propel you to that next day so incredible, right, and first of all, thank you for for sharing that, thank you for your entire family service and again, that's again, if the parents listening ask ask your kid about a blue and gold speech or ask something here, because there are a lot of really special moments that happen in blue and gold. Right, when we talk about this hot wash, when we talk about blue and gold, when we talk about these speeches, it's a detailer's opportunity to hit that pause button on the yelling and screaming and training, to really instill a message, to really communicate, to really tell a story, to really make it personal, to really make it matter, and so it's a special opportunity and I have a lot of really special memories during my plebe year from blue and gold and I'm sure, um, the next wave of midshipmen will continue to have that happen. So, um, jake, thank you so much for for sharing that story Really appreciate it, of course.

Speaker 2:

And then there's also funny moments where uh remember the last name is Mariano and he was from Boston. He got so sunburned, forgot to put on sunscreen. He looked like a. He was from Massachusetts. I was like. He got so sunburnt, forgot to put on sunscreen. He looked like he was from Massachusetts. I was like you look like you're back home like a Maine lobster and you know he just for the rest of my time at the academy he's just like hey, what's up? Lobster.

Speaker 1:

Just like that's how you get nicknames, that's how you get call signs in the fleet too, right there, that is true, oh man, All right, Well, I appreciate it. Thanks for sharing that story and, uh, this has been an amazing time. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Academy Insider podcast. I really hope you liked it, enjoyed it and learn something during this time. If you did, please feel free to like and subscribe or leave a comment about the episode. We really appreciate to hear your feedback about everything and continue to make Academy Insider an amazing service that guides, serves and supports midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. Thank you.

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Grant Vermeer

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