How Plebe Summer Phone Calls Work During Plebe Summer at USNA

Wondering how these phone calls actually work? Let me break it down.

Plebes in the Class of 2023 will make three phone calls home during the summer (All times Eastern)

Sunday, July 07 1:15-1:45 PM 
Sunday, July 21 1:15-1:45 PM 
Sunday, August 04 4:00-4:30 PM 

About a week in advance, the detailers use a spreadsheet to sign each company up for a different area on the Yard – whether it’s in the shade by Alumni Hall, by the Wesley Brown Field House, on the soccer field, on Red Beach, etc. – for its plebes to make their calls. They purposely spread the locations out across the yard in an attempt to avoid a clutter of service and data loading so that everyone can get good reception.

On the actual day of the call, the plebes will have formation at 12:05, they will then each lunch, and the call follows at 1:15. They generally get out of lunch at 12:45, so they have about 20 minutes to find their spot on the Yard. The plebes will be lined up in rows as they do during formation, but with about 5 feet in between one another. This is meant to give them a little bit of privacy.

The detailers will get the plebes’ phones, meet them at the designated locations, and then pass out the phones at approximately 1:10. The phone calls are a big deal and the detailers respect that, so they take their jobs very seriously. They make sure that all the phones are charged. At approximately 1:12, the plebes can turn their phones on. At approximately 1:14, the detailers will say “dial the number” and after dialing, the plebes will hold the phones over their heads. The detailers will count down from 10 when there are exactly 10 seconds left before 1:15, and when they reach 1 second, the detailers will say, “call.” So, in military fashion, that call will come in at exactly 1:15.

At that point, they can call as many people as they want during the 30 minute time period. So, it is not restricted to a single phone call, and a plebe can call parents, boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, whomever. But I make this clear: this period is restricted to calls only. If a detailer catches a plebe going on social media or texting, that is a huge problem and the plebe will get in a lot of trouble.

The detailers will give 15-10-5 minute warnings and then count down the seconds until 1:45. At exactly 1:45, the plebes are required to place their phones above their heads once more to be re-collected from their detailers.

Hopefully this helps parents, friends, and family who were curious about today’s call. If you have any other questions, comment below!

Photos by Bob Peterson