Summers remain a busy and challenging time of year for midshipmen. Their initial tenure at the Naval Academy begins around July 1 prior to the start of the freshman year at the school with "Plebe Summer." Instead of taking academic classes, plebes receive military indoctrination and learn basic seamanship and sailing.

The summer following plebe year is spent aboard various ships to gain knowledge and experience of the workings of the Navy. Included in this time is a three-week cruise aboard either a 44-foot Naval Academy sailboat or a Yard Patrol craft traveling on the East Coast.

Portions of the summer before the start of a second-class year is spent visiting bases of both the Navy and the Marine Corps. That leads up to the next summer when midshipmen join an operational unit of the Navy or Marine Corps for several weeks. In addition, rising firsties also begin to accept leadership roles at either the Naval Academy for plebe summer, the Naval Academy Prep School (Newport, R.I.) or aboard a yard patrol or sailing cruise.