50 Stories for 50 Years | Post 14 As Plebe Summer drew to a close with the reunions and celebrations of Parents Weekend, the First Class had one final reminder waiting for us on the heels of our final goodbye to family – Hell Night. As it sounds, it was a flurry and fury of uniform races, physical demands, and, of course, a lot of yelling. It was our detail’s way of making sure we…
2 CommentsTag: women in the military
The Summer Games – Plebe version
Published February 16, 2026
50 Stories for 50 Years | Post 07 After the initial thunder of yelling and chaos of that first evening at the Naval Academy, the shock and awe of entering Bancroft Hall and realizing rather quickly that I was yelled at from every corner, one instruction rose above all the others: “Eyes in the boat.” Look straight ahead. Do not look left or right. Do not make eye contact. Move. We were told to rapidly…
Leave a CommentGetting In
Published January 19, 2026
50 Stories for 50 Years | Post 03 I didn’t spend much time wondering whether I would get into the Naval Academy. In 1976, I assumed I would. That certainty wasn’t confidence so much as innocence—a product of youth, limited perspective, and a life that had unfolded almost entirely within the familiar boundaries of Annapolis, Maryland. This may sound strange now, but at the time, I never doubted the outcome. I was that young, that…
1 Comment