This will be the first of a handful of posts covering new material, material I should have covered but haven’t, and just good old fashioned quick blurbs. This is a quick blurb…
We got some text messages from Mark last night. The veil of silence is lifting for the Plebes, and that means Plebe Summer is winding down. The rule of thumb goes something like this: one third of the pain suffered at the Academy happens during Plebe Summer. One third happens during Plebe year. And one third happens in the final three years. Kinda’ gives you an idea of just how great the summer was, right? One third down…
Anyway, Mark hit the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) yesterday. This is important stuff, folks. Fail it, and you’re subject to remedial physical training. Fail it a few times, and you’re subject to “separation” (i.e. being tossed from the Academy).
Mark is not a big fan of sit-ups. If he’s got a weakness in the PRT, it’s sit ups. He managed 68 in two minutes. Weak (sorry Mark), but he’ll improve.
He did 90 push ups in two minutes (almost a max score), and he did the one and a half mile run in 8:12 (max score). Overall that’s an 85.2 %. The PRT score is combined with his grade point average (and other factors) to determine a “cumulative” index that’s used to determine his Order of Merit (class rank). The higher your Order of Merit, the more choices you have as your career progresses. He’s well on his way to a high number.
Plebes also got a chance to hit a local minor league baseball game. Check out the swarm consuming seats:
About 1,200 plebes and 250 detailers must take just about every seat, right? The funny thing is…in other pictures I saw, the rest of the crowd hardly gives these guys a glance. The Baltimore locals are used to seeing Navy boys and girls running around…
We’re hoping to hear from Mark at some point over the weekend. Details soon…