By The Navy Office Of Community Outreach
MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Navy Midshipman Jessica Morales from Chicago, participated in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps ship selection draft as a future member of the U.S. Navy’s Surface Warfare Officer community.
More than 280 midshipmen at 70 Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) units around the country have selected to serve in the Navy as surface warfare officers. Each selecting midshipman is ranked according to his or her grade point average, aptitude scores, and physical fitness.
“My NROTC unit is based on the Ann Arbor University of Michigan campus that trains young men and women to become naval officers in the Navy and Marine Corps,” said Morales.
According to their rankings, each midshipman provided their preference of ship or homeport to the junior officer detailer at the Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee. If these preferences were available, they were assigned as requested.
“The selection process is a nerve-racking yet exciting time where I get to explore the options of the surface Navy and have a say in where I will begin my Naval career,” said Morales.
Morales, a 2012 Whitney Young Magnet High School graduate [See page 19], has selected to serve aboard the USS Essex (LHD 2). Morales is majoring in political science while attending the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, she will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Essex as a surface warfare officer.
Homeported in San Diego, Essex is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship and it is the fifth ship named for Essex County, Massachusetts.
The midshipmen’s selection of their ship is not only a milestone for them but also an important day for the ships in the fleet. Not only do the midshipmen choose where they are going to start their Naval career, but the ship they choose will also gain a motivated, eager, young officer to help lead and improve an already great team.
“This is an exciting day,” said Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command, which oversees the NROTC program. “We have some of the finest talent in our nation and we have the opportunity to marry them up with some of our finest teams in our fleet.”
Evans also told the midshipmen that should be excited, because they have a great future ahead of them on some of the Navy’s best platforms around the world.
While NROTC units are spread out across the country and vary in size, they all teach midshipmen the values, standards, abilities and responsibility that it takes to become a Navy officers and lead this nation’s sons and daughters in protecting freedom on the seven seas.
“My four years in NROTC have brought many achievements and failures, all which have helped me assess myself as a leader, a learner, and a young professional,” said Morales. “I have been put under pressure that has helped me grow, but through that stress I have also found friendships that I’m confident will last a lifetime.”
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“Why Being There Matters”
On our planet, more than 70 percent of which is covered by water, being there means having the ability to act from the sea. The Navy is uniquely positioned to be there; the world’s oceans give the Navy the power to protect America’s interests anywhere, and at any time. Your Navy protects and defends America on the world’s oceans. Navy ships, submarines, aircraft and, most importantly, tens of thousands of America’s finest young men and women are deployed around the world doing just that. They are there now. They will be there when we are sleeping tonight. They will be there every Saturday, Sunday and holiday this year. They are there around the clock, far from our shores, defending America at all times.
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Note: Links added by Beachwood.
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Previously:
* Chicago Navy Commander’s Continuing Promise.
* Meet Chicago Sailor Joshua Johnson.
* Meet Chicago Quartermaster Seaman Maribel Torres.
* Meet Chicago Navy Commander Chad Hennings.
* Meet Chicago Navy Seaman Desmond Cooke.
* Meet Chicago Airman Dominique Williams.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on March 16, 2016