"R" Day (Reception Day)  June 30, 2008

This day marks the beginning of a unique experience for your son or daughter, and to some degree for you.  We strongly suggest that you accompany your Candidate to West Point for R-Day.  West Point, the oldest continuously operated military post in the country, is steeped in the history of our great country and its many exceptional leaders.  It will help you to be able to picture where your son or daughter is going for the next four years.

Parents and R-Day visitors should wear comfortable casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes.  Casual dress at the Academy is defined as Men – slacks with collared shirt, sweater or sports coat; Ladies  - slacks with blouse, skirt and blouse or pantsuit  (while you will see blue jeans, shorts and T-shirts, you may feel more comfortable, or more appropriately dressed, a bit more in the classic style.)

Other family members may accompany you for this important day.  Note – If elderly relatives come, it may be a grueling day for them because of the heat and the amount of walking, which is mostly uphill.  No matter where you go at West Point, it always seems to be uphill.  This is also a day of emotions.

With respect to arrival time, we would only suggest that you neither be too early nor too late.  Follow the schedule prescribed by the Academy, which is based on the last digit of your son/daughter’s social security number.  Your son/daughter will very rapidly learn to not draw attention to themselves and to become a part of the team.  Being first or last in anything only makes them stand out.  Be sure to say your good-byes BEFORE you get to the reporting-in location because you only get a few seconds for a quick hug after the greeting by the Officer of the Day and the instructions “Candidates exit …(wherever) – This will be the last that you will see your Candidate until CBT is finished in August”.  Relax.  Your child will be totally occupied and in the best of hands.  If you should happen to see your son/daughter or pass them during training on R-Day (very unlikely) DO NOT try to talk to them.

After your son or daughter has departed, you will have the opportunity to visit all the vendors set up at the Parents Welcome Center.  You will have the opportunity to order football tickets, purchase various 2012 souvenirs which are only available on R-Day (such as special T-shirts and tote bags emblazoned with the names of all members of the Class of 2012, and 2012 coffee mugs, hats, etc), visit various exhibits and most importantly to get your son/daughter’s CBT Company assignment and Post Office Box number.  Some parents do not purchase all the special year memorabilia on R-Day, and are later disappointed that stock has run out and will not be reordered.  If you place your order on R-Day, even if they HAVE run out (which happens often) they will ship the tote bags, shirts, etc., to you, and you are sure to have them.  You may wish to purchase extras of some special items, as Grandmas are known to have been unhappy to be left out, and bragging rights go beyond parents!  Remember to bring pencil and paper to jot down the P.O. Box number and other important information that is available at the various booths.

During the day, you will most likely have time to walk around The Plain and Trophy Point areas, but will not be allowed in the Cadet Area, which is beyond the chains in front of the Barracks and Washington Hall.  There will be some locations near the central area where you can observe the New Cadets being instructed by the cadre, but again remember even if you are close enough to talk to New Cadets, please don’t.  Also, the large grassy parade area (commonly referred to as “The Plain”) in front of the bleachers is off limits to pedestrian traffic.

In the past, there has been a Superintendent’s briefing for new parents in the Eisenhower Hall Auditorium sometime in the mid-afternoon.  This will be an uplifting, emotional and very informative introduction to Academy life and an opportunity for you to better understand the various aspects of Cadet life.

In the early evening, there is the R-Day Parade and swearing-in ceremony that is usually held on The Plain or at Trophy Point.  (Check your instructions on R-Day as to the exact time and location of the swearing in ceremony – this has changed over the past few years).  Arrive early (up to 1 hour before the ceremony is scheduled to commence) to obtain a good location to observe this ceremony.  It gets very crowded.  Bring your camera, video camera or binoculars.  Remember that all New Cadets will look alike.  They are not easy to identify because all have the same haircut, uniform, and no expression.  They will be lined up by height, front to rear of each Company, and this may help you pick them out as they march past (yes, they will actually march! in uniform!) And with a great sense of pride and accomplishment.  The information on your Candidate’s Company assignment will also help.  You will receive this typically along with their P. O. Box in Eisenhower Hall, shortly after your Cadet reports.

Once your son or daughter has taken the official Oath during the morning swearing-in ceremony, (which is actually held in a classroom, and not open to the public) they will be called “New Cadets”, a form of address that they will grow to hate, for the next several weeks.  Only after they complete Cadet Basic Training and are accepted into the Corps of Cadets at the Acceptance Day Parade, in August, will they become “Cadets”.

After the ceremonial swearing-in at 6:00 P.M. (or whatever time it is scheduled for this year), the New Cadets will march directly into Washington Hall (Mess Hall) for their first evening meal as New Cadets.  The day is over for you and your family at the conclusion of the swearing in ceremony.  Don’t forget to mail those letters and cards before you leave so that your New Cadet will be among the first to receive mail.  Mail from home is extremely important during Beast and the entire first year.  Make out post cards, envelopes or address labels with your New Cadet’s address and send them out to their friends and relatives.  Write very often yourself.  Keep it upbeat as you let them know how your summer is progressing.  Be as newsy as possible, and you can even send news clippings of events back home.  Be sure to give your New Cadet an address book with family and friends’ addresses,  important dates, lots of stamps, envelopes and writing paper before they go to R-Day.  However, DO NOT EXPECT A LOT OF MAIL FROM THEM.  New Cadets have almost no time to write.  The cadre (upper class Cadets in charge of training) normally requires them to write a letter home the first night.  It will be short and should arrive 4-5 days after R-Day.