Cottage Grove resident and Cretin—Durham Hall graduate Jeremiah Thom was inducted into the Naval Academy Class of 2029 at Annapolis Maryland on Thursday, June 26. Thom will now undertake six challenging weeks of basic midshipman training as part of Plebe Summer, the term “plebe” referring to freshmen.

Included in Plebe Summer are basic skills in seamanship, navigation, damage control, sailing, and handling yard patrol craft, along with infantry drill and firearms training with the 9 mm pistol and M-16 rifle.

Activities in Plebe Summer include swimming, martial arts, and basic rock climbing, as well as obstacle, endurance, and confidence courses. A press release from the Naval Academy shared more:

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Jeremiah Thom, a graduate of Cretin-Derham Hall in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was inducted into the Naval Academy Class of 2029 Thursday, June 26th, and will begin six challenging weeks of basic midshipman training as part of Plebe Summer.

Approximately 1,200 candidates are selected each year for the Academy’s “plebe” (freshman) class, and each student is required to participate in Plebe Summer. During this time, plebes have no access to television, movies, the internet, or music and restricted access to cell phones. They are only permitted to make three calls during the six weeks of Plebe Summer.

The pressure and rigor of Plebe Summer are carefully designed to help plebes, prepare for their first academic year at the Naval Academy and the four years of challenges that await them. As the summer progresses, the new midshipmen rapidly assimilate basic skills in seamanship, navigation, damage control, sailing, and handling yard patrol craft. Plebes also learn infantry drill and how to shoot 9 mm pistols and M-16 rifles.

Other daily training sessions involve moral, mental, physical, and professional development and team-building skills. Activities include swimming, martial arts, basic rock climbing, and obstacle, endurance and confidence courses designed to develop physical, mental, and team-building skills. Forty hours are devoted to the instruction of infantry drill and five formal parades.

Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a prestigious four-year service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally, and physically to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. In 2023, U.S. New and World Report rated the Naval Academy as the #1 public school, #3 national liberal arts college, and #5 undergraduate engineering school. Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular actives. They also study subjects such as leadership, ethics, small arms, drill, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, and military law. Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree in a choice of 26 different subject majors and go on to serve at least five years of exciting and rewarding service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.

The Brigade of Midshipmen is comprised of approximately 4,400 students from every state in the union, US territories, and a handful of international students. Each year, approximately 1,200 young men and women are admitted to the Naval Academy’s incoming class. Last year the Naval Academy received approximately 14,000 applications for the Class of 2028.