Tango Company
Jul 06, 2025
If you listened to my podcast on the subject of the Plebe Summer organization, you know about the Plebe Summer companies. However, you may or may not have heard about this mysterious extra company: Tango Company.
So what is it?
Plebe Summer sucks. And not only that but for some, it’s an entire lifestyle change. Many plebes start to think that maybe going to Navy was a mistake for them. I know I did.
And while I never did, some plebes who are struggling, who hate the Naval Academy and simply who just want to go home, put themselves in Tango Company.
What Is Tango Company?
Tango Company serves as the intermediary stage between deciding to leave the academy and deciding to stay. Entering Tango is ultimately the beginning of a plebe’s resignation and out-processing.
Whether or not you agree with it on a philosophical level, the mission of Plebe summer is NOT attrition. Therefore, if your plebe has found themselves in Tango, he or she is not locked into that decision. In fact, the real purpose of Tango is to convince the plebes to stay. In the words of USNA, “Tango Company leadership shall make a honest and concerted effort to highlight the positives of being a Midshipman and accepting the challenges and opportunities that exist at the Naval Academy and as a commissioned Officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps.”
Members of Tango are kept in a separate wing of Bancroft from the rest of the plebe summer regiment, they participate in a modified version of PEP, they have the ability to make phone calls home for extra advice and encouragement, and much more of their daily schedule is slightly altered.
The following image may have been adjusted slightly in recent years, but will provide context into what a day in Tango company looks like.
And, to help alleviate fears of a negative stigma surrounding rejoining the regiment, plebes may be transferred to a new company if they decide to stay at the Academy.
Post-Resignation
If a plebe decides to complete the resignation process while in Tango and ultimately leaves the Academy, there are some Naval repercussions. Leaving the Academy may, and likely will, affect later applications for any program leading to a commission as a Naval Officer and well as prevent enrollment in any Navy subsidized program under nearly all circumstances.
Due to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), those in pending-separation status can be recalled by the Naval Academy for official reasons. But if not recalled, the former plebe will have the ability to visit the Yard with the privileges of any other civilian.
Advice For Those With Plebes In Tango
While I never was in Tango myself, I wished I was at many points. So although I don’t know the process firsthand, I can speak to what worked for helping me decide to stay at the Academy.
If you have a plebes in Tango at the moment, my only advice is to try and keep them as calm as possible. When we get flustered, upset, angry and emotional is when we make rash decisions. And for that reason, I personally suggest that you don't tell your plebes that they can't come home, as that might trigger an emotional decision.
My best advice is to just continue to converse with them using sheer logic. That is what resonated with me the most. What kept me going was my father telling me, "If you come home now, you're going to have to go to junior college for a year. You can't apply to other schools now, it's too late, and you will have to sit out for a year. Just make it to the academic year, and then you can start to apply to other schools with the transcripts from your first semester at the Academy."
And for me, personally, that logic resonated. I didn't want to go to junior college. So I decided to stick it out to the academic year because it would be an easier transition to a normal college, and now look at where I am.
Now obviously I don't know your sons and daughters, so I don't know exactly what to tell them. But plebes in Tango are in an emotional and uncomfortable state of mind. You need to overpower those emotions with calmness and logic. Those are what I believe can actually get through to a plebe who is having a hard time.
And remember, for some plebes the Academy might just not be a good fit and that is okay. While I do encourage all plebes to try and make it to the academic year (because life really does get better), it is important that everyone makes the decision that is best for himself or herself.
The academy does a tremendous job in helping plebes questioning their decision to come to the academy discern what might be best for them. They have a very thorough process with the help of midshipmen detailers, senior enlisted leaders, company officers, chaplains, professional staff and all the way up to the highest levels of command at the naval academy. The process is designed to honestly highlight the positives of being a midshipman and treats the struggling plebes with great dignity and respect.
If you want to learn more about Tango company, listen to my podcast on this subject while I go in depth with Chrishad Broadway who was a detailer in Tango company.
---
Founder of Academy Insider and Podcast Host Grant Vermeer
Grant Vermeer is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four-year member of the varsity basketball team.
He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.
He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community with nationwide consulting and connection.
Connect with Grant Vermeer, The Academy Insider here:
Author
