For educators: Military Resources
Whichever Service branch you choose, you’ll find a wealth of traditions and customs to help you get into the spirit and bond with your fellow service members. Here are a few of our favorites:
At the end of their first year at the Naval Academy, freshman “plebes” showcase their teamwork and determination by constructing a human pyramid to retrieve a service white hat aka the “Dixie cup” from the top of a famous campus monument. To add an extra challenge, the monument is coated in vegetable shortening. When the cup is successfully removed, the plebes become fourth-class midshipmen.
Every March, the men of the Air Force grow mustaches to honor one of their branch’s most storied members — Brig. Gen. Robin Olds. A certified “triple ace” pilot with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and Vietnam, he was known for his extravagant (and decidedly nonregulation) “bulletproof” handlebar mustache. While Olds finally received a direct order from then Air Force Chief of Staff John P. McConnell to “take it off,” Air Force members continue his legacy each spring as a symbolic, good-natured protest of the branch’s facial hair regulations.
While many Service branches have challenge coins, few have as much of a storied history as the Air Force. Legend has it that in World War I, a certain wealthy lieutenant had bronze medallions made for every man in his unit. When that very lieutenant was shot down and captured by the Germans, the only thing he had to prove his identity upon escaping back to allied lines was that very medallion. To this day, every Airman receives at least one challenge coin for completing Basic Training — and if we started listing all the rest, we’d need a whole new website.
Among Navy Sailors, few milestones have more significance than one’s first time crossing the line: going over the equator from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere. In the early days of the Navy, this crossing involved a series of generally good-humored initiation rites, sort of like joining a fraternity or sorority, but 19th-century style. Today, it’s just an opportunity for celebration and camaraderie.
Did you know that the Marine Corps is technically older than the United States? You do now. The branch was established as the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775. Every year, the Marines celebrate with a formal ball and an even-more-formal cake. The first piece is cut with a ceremonial sword and shared by the oldest and youngest Marines present at the celebration, symbolizing the passing of tradition from generation to generation.
Of all the iconic rivalries in college football, few can compete with the one between West Point and Annapolis. Every year, the West Point Military Academy Black Knights and the Naval Academy Midshipmen take the field for the final game of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series — including the iconic “March On,” where Army cadets and Navy midshipmen parade onto the field in full dress.
The tradition of class rings originated at West Point in 1835 and continues to this day. There aren’t many other schools in the nation where you can celebrate graduation with a cap, gown, ring and your first Army assignment.
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