24 March 2020 Update:

Due to COVID-19, Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation operations and events have been modified through mid-May. Our staff is committed to serving the Naval Academy and the Naval Academy community during this challenging period for us all. We will continue to advance our missions while protecting our staff and those we serve. An update on operations follows:

• Our staff is working remotely and remains connected via phone, email and videoteleconference. We will sustain critical business activity as appropriate during this period. All staff travel has been suspended through May 2020.

• Our offices are closed to the public through mid-May.

• Public alumni and volunteer events through mid-May in Annapolis have been canceled, postponed or shifted to virtual meetings; we will make determinations on future events as we have more information.

• Alumni, volunteer or staff meetings—e.g. board meetings; committee meetings; class, chapter, club and SIG meetings, etc.—will be conducted via conference call or video teleconferencing through mid-May. Staff members will communicate changes, updates and information to members of each group and participants in each meeting directly.

• A decision on the Service Academy Career Conference (SACC) scheduled for 11-12 June in Washington, DC, will be made in early May.

• USNA remains closed to visitors and the Brigade of Midshipmen’s return delayed until further notice. For updated USNA operations and announcements, visit www.usna.edu/COVID-19. A video message from Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck ’83, USN, may be viewed at https://youtu.be/Wf7BE0a0Jc4.

• You can expect to hear from us in the months ahead with further Annapolis updates and an updated operations plan for the summer period after mid-May. We also encourage you to visit www.usna.com/covid-19 or Alumni Association and Foundation social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Our staff support for the Naval Academy and our alumni will continue during this difficult period in the U.S. and the world. You will continue to receive Shipmate. We will meet virtually during this period as schedules permit. We will help with career services. We will mentor our alumni and the Brigade. We will help each other and stay connected. We will be a resource to all of you in our global alumni community. We encourage you to share stories and experiences with us that will help other alumni, parents and friends persevere through these challenging times.

Our alumni community has endured many challenges to our safety and freedoms since 1845. The Naval Academy and our alumni have persevered and have led through the 1918 Spanish flu, multiple wars and conflicts globally, and 9/11. We will do so again with COVID-19.

In 2020, our Long Blue Line of alumni continue to serve our freedoms, with many on the front lines of the COVID-19 challenge. Our Alumni Association and Foundation will persevere through this period as well, connecting our alumni, parents and friends to one another, to the Academy, and to our respective communities.