News & Events

From the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation: The 2021 All Academy Challenge has begun! Despite the challenges of 2020, last year, you all came together for our best year of the All Academy Challenge to date. Nearly 6,000 alumni and several hundred parents and friends showed up for the five day competition bringing in over One Million dollars in support for the Academy. Remember, this challenge is about participation, and beating the other service academies. To make a donation count, follow this link from 16-20 May 2021 https://navy.allacademychallenge.com/pages/usna-home Go Navy! Beat them ALL!

See Brian’s remarks as well, on our class Giving page.

Please share with any 7th-12th graders, parents, teachers, and counselors!

Don’t miss the Virtual Information Session for the US Naval Academy — one week from today! Speakers will discuss what life is like on the Yard, how to navigate the application & nomination process, career opportunities available upon graduation, and what parents need to know throughout this process. This session is hosted by the Greater DC area Alumni Association but it is open to ALL who are interested in the Naval Academy.

Registration is via the USNA GWC website, or see their full event flyer here.

The USNA Alumni Association regional Board of Trustees elections open 01 March for the Mid-Atlantic and the Western regions and will run through 21 April. Whether you fall in either of these regions depends entirely on the address you have on file with the Alumni Association. We’re reached the point in life when a good number of folks running for regional and area chapter board position are from our own class, adjacent classes, or Shipmates we crossed paths with in the Fleet – so be sure to read about who is running so that you are equipped to support those you know if you choose to do so!

From the Alumni Association: If you live in the Mid-Atlantic or Western regions, be sure to vote in this year’s Alumni Association Board of Trustees election. Your input strengthens our Association and our shared future. Those elected will join the board for the Spring 2021 meeting. Those living in the Mid-Atlantic and Western regions will receive a ballot via mail for the 2021 Board of Trustees election. Printed ballots will be sent to regular members by an external vendor, Yes Elections, with complete voting instructions for mail, phone and online options. You may opt out of a paper ballot and vote electronically should that be more convenient for you. Additional information on the election, including candidate biographies, is available here. Voting closes on 21 April 2021 by 5 p.m. EDT.

 

From the USNA Alumni Association: We are looking for the best design to use as our Army-Navy button this year. Navy fans are an amazing, creative, spirit-loving group—so show us what you got! Make it fun and eye-catching, family-friendly and all about NAVY! If your button is selected, you’ll have bragging rights for the year!

• SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN: Email your design to events@usna.com before 12 p.m. EST on 16 November. Include your name, address and phone number.  The top three entries will be chosen by staff and then posted on our social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram: @usnaalumni) for Navy fans to vote for their favorite from 17-19 November. The winner will be announced on social media and this space (USNAAA website) on 20 November.
• DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS: Button dimension final trim size is 3.5 inches. Live content area is 2.75 inches (copy not to exceed this area).
• ACCEPTABLE FILE FORMATS: Artwork can be accepted electronically as a jpeg, tif, eps or PDF. Electronic files must be 300 dpi.

Contest open to all Navy football fans! Share as desired among friends and family. See the USNAAA official contest page for details. Best of luck to all competitors!

 

When: 19 Sep 2020 08:30, EDT
Where: Falls Church – American Legion Post 130 – 400 North Oak St Falls Church, VA 22046

This will be a group ride to get us together and outside.  We will vary the locations to maximize exposure to area resources and get members of the GWC together.  Ride #1 will be on the W&OD trail, road bikes are preferred but not required.  We will group by bike type and ability.  

See the flyer for more details, including meeting location, ride distances, and parking information.

When: 1900 (EDT) Monday, 07 Sep 2020

Where: Virtual (hosted on Facebook Live by the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation)

Link: https://www.facebook.com/USNAAlumni/

From the USNA Alumni Association: Calling All Navy Fans…Navy Football is back! Are you ready for the season opener on Labor Day? The Midshipmen will face BYU for this historic game in Annapolis at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. We wish we could welcome you all in person but are excited to invite you to tune into our FB live event on our page with remarks from Byron Marchant ‘78, CEO of the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation, Superintendent VADM Sean Buck ‘83, USN, and Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk.
Tune in to the event on the Alumni Association and Foundations’s Facebook Monday Night at 7 p.m. EDT . #GoNavy

 

Just plucked from the July 2020 edition of Wavetops: an interesting tidbit buried in the sidebar… a book title collection. Looking for reading material? Check out the Lucky Bag of Books, an electronic collection of reading material championed by the Alumni Association and Foundation, with links to purchase (via Amazon). There are over a hundred titles to peruse. Surprisingly, the subject matter varies greatly beyond the expected sea chronicles, histories, and new-era “Clancy-esque” novels. There are children’s titles, as well, and an interesting looking fantasy series by a ’10 grad that harkens back to Carnival Row, a binge-worthy Amazon Prime series that debuted last year (and which I may or may not have watched in a single weekend). Check this collection out if you need more Kindle fodder (and who doesn’t?) or are looking for gifts.

From the Alumni Association: “The Lucky Bag of Books is a varied collection of fiction and non-fiction books, some written by alumni, some are about alumni and subjects of interest including children’s books. When you purchase through the Alumni Association and Foundation partnership with Amazon, they will provide a 4-8% share of your order total to our organization.”

In other book-related news, the Fall 2020 collection being released by the U.S. Naval Institute press is available for pre-order now (view/order here).

---

I was intrigued by the reference to a Lucky Bag, so I took a little side trip through the halls and stacks of Wikipedia to dig in a bit more. The 1940 edition of Bluejacket’s Manual reminds us to keep track of our articles, lest they become loose and cause us strife in accountability. [Triggers dim reminders of Plebe Year.] As printed: “The lucky bag is a place where the police petty officers stow for safe-keeping effects that are found adrift about the ship. All clothes, etc., found about the decks are placed in the lucky bag. When clothes are piped down, the police petty officer attends and takes care of all clothes not called for and places these in the lucky bag. All effects in this bag belong to the person who lost them. At frequent intervals the lucky bag is opened and the effects distributed to the owners. Where persons have been guilty of carelessness in leaving their effects adrift, they are placed on the report.” According to the log of the USS Yosemite, on June 24, 1898 several sailors were given 72 hours extra duty for having an article in the lucky bag.

“Every man-of-war, you know, has her Lucky Bag, containing a little of every thing, and something belonging to every body. For variety of contents, a regular Lucky Bag may vie with the caldron that witches boil and bubble “at the pit of Acheron.”                   horse of middy and waister’s sock,
dresses of a cat mouse game
Purser’s slops and topman’s hat,
Boatswain’s call and colt and cat,
Belt that on the berth-deck lay,
In the Lucky Bag find their way;
Gaiter, stock and red pompoon,
Sailor’s pan, his pot and spoon,
Shirt of cook and trowser’s duck,
Kid and can and “doctor’s truck,”
And all that’s lost, and found on board,
In the Lucky Bag is always stored.”

Printed under the column “Scraps from The Lucky Bag,” Southern Literary Messenger Vol. VI No. 4, Richmond, April, 1840

• USNA Website
• NavySports.com

©2013-2024 United States Naval Academy Alumni Association
Class of 1996