It seemed inevitable, and now it is official; the Commissioning Week events and the Graduation for the United States Naval Academy Class of 2020 will not be happening as originally planned.
The United States Naval Academy is in the process of notifying the Brigade of Midshipmen, Faculty and Staff, and Parents of Midshipmen now.
“This was a very difficult decision to come to,” said 63rd Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck, “but due to the national impact of the coronavirus, I have canceled our traditional Commissioning Week public events in order to safeguard the health and welfare of the entire Naval Academy family and local community, which has been my number one strategic priority since the onset of this pandemic.”
In the Naval Academy’s storied 175-year history, there have been 26 early graduation and commissioning ceremonies in order to support several war efforts (Civil, Spanish-American, and World Wars I and II). At the end of the Civil War, half the class of 1865 graduated early, in November 1864 in Newport, Rhode Island, and the other half graduated late, in September 1865, when the school was moved back to Annapolis. In 1907, three separate ceremonies were held – two early, one on time. In 1917, Congress authorized the Naval Academy to reduce its four-year program to three; the Class of 1917 was graduated early on March 29, and three months later, the Class of 1918 was graduated on June 28, 1917.
If you want to relive some of the memories from the past, here are a few links:
