It’s an ice arena, tennis center and fitness center. When the new class of plebes are inducted at the beginning of plebe summer, it also becomes one of the biggest distribution centers around, storing the 360,000 personal, school, and toiletry items that the plebes will need for the first year of their Naval Academy career and beyond. The Thornton D. and Elizabeth S. Hooper Brigade Sports Complex is a lot of things to a lot of people.
After four long years of hustle, heart and hard work, the women and men who entered the Naval Academy as plebes graduate as commissioned junior officers. The change is astonishing — anyone comparing the “before” on I-Day to the “after” on graduation day can see a complete transformation. Gone are the rhythms of civilian life. Instead, young naval leaders take command with confidence and pride.
Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale was an extraordinary man. He not only weathered over seven brutal years as a prisoner of war (POW) at the infamous Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam, but recently declassified information reveals that this brave and unflagging war hero also led the POWs there and even ran a successful espionage operation together with the CIA and his wife, Sybil Stockdale.
