NStar Articles

There’s nothing that brings people together like breaking bread and sharing a meal. When you’re bringing more than 4,400 midshipmen together, that’s a lot of bread and a lot of meals. In the Naval Academy dining hall, King Hall, this feat is performed three times a day. It’s run like a ship because they’re preparing the future Navy for the rhythm of mealtimes aboard a ship. Also, how else can you feed that volume of people so efficiently?

UPDATED FOR 2023

If you’re visiting the Yard in the fall or the spring, you are in for a treat. Every weekday (minus Wednesdays) just before noon (weather permitting), the entire Brigade of Midshipmen (that is 4,400+ women and men in uniform) assembles at Tamanend Court, right in front of their massive dormitory, Bancroft Hall. This is Noon Meal Formation , and it is one of the USNA traditions that has been occurring here for over one hundred years. It is a must-see for any Naval Academy visit.