Last Thursday may have read July 5 on the calendar, but for the 274 “plebes” who arrived at the United States Merchant Marine Academy for the first time, that date didn’t really apply.
The Merchant Marine Academy’s class of 2016 descended upon the Village of Kings Point campus last Thursday for “Indoctrination Day,” which is also commonly referred to by the midshipmen as “Day 0.”
When the newest crop of midshipmen took part in “Indoctrination Day,” it marked the start of their service academy’s two-week long INDOC training program before classes officially begin later this month.
“For the kids just coming today, the class of 2016, it’s the first step on what will be a seemingly long and challenging journey for them,” U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Commandant of Midshipmen Capt. John Kennedy said. “It’s the first step in that long journey to becoming a ‘Kings Pointer.’”
Each of the country’s five service academies hold similar “Indoctrination Day” ceremonies to begin a process that is similar to basic training, Kennedy said.
“The purpose behind INDOC, and we only have two weeks to do it, is to help them transition from high school senior, high school graduate, to start thinking, acting and behaving like a merchant mariner,” Kennedy said.
After parting with their family members, the new “plebes” began life as midshipmen last week by completing their registration, receiving their first military hair cut and visiting the campus’ Navy-sponsored supply store.
The “plebes” were also issued their uniforms, quizzed on Merchant Marine Academy procedures and protocol before falling in for their first official formation as midshipmen on the Kings Point university’s Barney Square during Indoctrination Day.
“Today’s more of a shock value, just to kind of again, help them transition from what they were yesterday to today,” Kennedy said. “There’s a little more yelling, again more for shock value, but the discipline will be instilled in these two weeks and through their plebe year.”
The midshipmen of the Merchant Marine Academy’s class of 2016 hail from 47 states and the District of Columbia, along with the countries of South Korea, Malaysia and Panama.
Midshipmen Paige Queen – who is a third classmen, or sophomore, at the Merchant Marine Academy – said that INDOC is a vital part of training for the new group of plebes.
“I just finished my plebe year,” Queen said. “Basically, it’s a matter of different training exercises that they are going to be going to. In the morning they are going to take (physical training). They’ve got classes about the academy’s history. It’s about how the academy is set up because this is not regular college. This is, I call it, college on steroids.”
The process of going through Indoctrination Day and the Merchant Marine Academy’s INDOC training program is something that Queen said she will never forget.
Queen served as one of more than 50 upperclassmen drill instructors who led the new plebes through training on Indoctrination Day.
“I think you really learn to dumb yourself down and kind of just take it all in,” said Queen, a Falcon, Colo. native, who led reporters on a tour of the academy during Indoctrination Day. “You might stress out and freak out, but you’ve just got to stay calm and take it all in”
“That’s what I think the biggest part of ‘Day 0” is,” she added, “It might be scary and you might be freaking out, but if you’re stressing you aren’t going to make it here. You aren’t going to make it here if you let stress overwhelm you.”
And for the parents of midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy, there is a certain amount of stress associated with Indoctrination Day as well.
Joe and Judith Osborne, of Burke, Va., have a son, who is currently a senior at the Merchant Marine Academy. Frank Osborne is an engineering major at the Kings Point university.
“It’s a challenge, obviously,” Joe Osborne said of Indoctrination Day. “There’s some anxiety, but I think most seem to be ready to be out of the house and gone.”
Although Frank Osborne’s Indoctrination Day was three years ago, his parents returned to the Merchant Marine Academy campus to run a booth for the Mid-Atlantic Parent’s Group during last week’s festivities.
“It’s harder for the moms,” Joe Osborne said. “Dads are ready to see them grow up, but moms aren’t ready for them to be out of the house yet.”
But the emotional and physical challenges of enrolling at the Merchant Marine Academy have been well worth the effort for Frank Osborne, his father said.
“Every year he’s matured immensely,” Joe Osborne said. “He comes home after the first summer and he’s polite. He doesn’t clean up his room, but at least he’s a lot more helpful and it’s a whole change of personality.”
In addition to receiving their first day of training, the new plebes also heard speeches from Kennedy and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood during their first official formation on Barney Square.
The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the operation of the Merchant Marine Academy.
“You have selected one of the best academies in the United States of America,” LaHood told the plebes. “You will never regret it. It will transform you and make you a better person.”
