Plebe platoons learn what it’s like to be in the military as they wear camouflage, carry fake rifles, and go through some muddy training. Upper class midshipmen came up with the Plebe Force Exercise to build teamwork among the plebes and to serve as the culminating event of Plebe Summer. USNA photo by Martha Thorn.

The five stations on Hospital Point represented only a small portion of the challenges the plebes faced throughout the day, including two more phases of five stations each on Ingram Field and in Lejeune Hall.

The exercise was followed by a regimental dinner that recognized the plebes’ efforts during the summer and Foxtrot Company as the overall winner of the day’s competitions.

The dinner was attended by representatives of the Class of ’60 who serve as the “link in the chain“ for the Class of 2010.

The first class midshipmen who planned the event wanted to build teamwork among the plebes.

‘‘It’s not so much the specific things that they do,” said Midn. 1⁄C Brian Smith, who was in charge of the physical fitness training at Hospital Point, ‘‘but it’s the difficult physical experience that will pull them together at the end of the day.”

Smith said that in the future he will be a figment of imagination in the plebe’s memory, but they’ll remember the strong bonding that brought them closer to their classmates.

Most midshipmen who created the physical part of the Plebe Force Exercise were interested in joining the Marine Corps, SEALs or EOD. Midn. 1⁄C Graham Watson, co-station commander of the low crawl station, was one of the exceptions. He’s going aviation.

‘‘I wanted to present the fourth class with a challenge,” he said. ‘‘I wanted to create something that was challenging and that would give them a sense of being in the military. They didn’t join the military to just march in their uniforms. They want to go out in camouflage and carry rifles. Even though they’re carrying fake rifles today, they’re still wearing camouflage and getting that sense of being in the military.

‘‘They’re showing their ability to work as a team. They’re going back to help their friends who are struggling. They are also showing their competitiveness, this squad against another.”

The first group of plebes hit the low crawl station at 6:30 a.m. The last group of plebes came through at 3 p.m. Midn. 1⁄C Ryan Sidlovsky helped Watson come up with the idea for the station and man it throughout the day.

Still, the two set the right tone for the plebes. Watson is Foxtrot Company commander and Sidlovsky is his executive officer. On Parents’ Weekend, the parents of the plebes in their company wore blue T-shirts with Foxtrot Company on the back and Invictus on the front. The two explain that ‘‘Invictus” is based on a poem and means ‘‘Unconquerable.”

Other events on Hospital Point included push ups, physical training circuits, relays, and memorizing a map of the Yard. On Ingram Field the plebes engaged in a tug of war, plugging pipes and memorizing parts of a sailboat. They built rafts, played water polo, and jumped from the tower in Lejeune Hall.

‘‘It was a fun event that involved working together as platoons and competing with each other,” said Midn. 1⁄C James Mahan, regimental commander for the second half of the summer. ‘‘The staff did a great job planning this.”

Mahan gave special mention to Midn. 1⁄C Casey Two Bears, the overall coordinator of the Plebe Force Exercise; Midn. 1⁄C John Kennedy, the midshipman in charge of Lejeune Hall events; Midn. 1⁄C Ryan Brown, midshipman in charge of Ingram Field events; and Smith.

Two Bears also credited his executive officer, Midn. 1⁄C Christopher Munguia, for putting “a great deal of work into the entire evolution.“

In the meantime, echoes of the cries of other platoons were sounding in the distance. ‘‘Good job, 29! Keep it up!”