Naval ROTC
By Midshipman 2nd Class Ashley Sarno
During the summer of 2024, over 200 midshipmen from Virginia Tech’s Navy ROTC program embarked on a diverse range of training opportunities all around the world known as summer cruise. These training sessions vary in length from the 10-week Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS) to less than one week for some of the submarine cruises. Summer cruise provides midshipmen a unique opportunity to be exposed to different communities within the Navy, visit different naval bases, gain hands-on experience, and interact with active-duty sailors and Marines. This training prepares midshipmen for commissioning by helping them make informed service selections and giving them insight into what life in the fleet entails.
First-year and sophomore midshipmen attended New Student Indoctrination (NSI) at Naval Station Great Lakes with Naval Service Training Command this year. Midshipman candidates learned the basics of Navy ROTC and completed training evolutions such as pistol qualifications, a physical fitness test, and a seamanship exercise. Virginia Tech had 100 midshipmen candidates attend NSI along with junior and senior midshipman instructors who led the candidates throughout their daily routines, training and mentoring them all the way through their graduation ceremony.
The 33 sophomore midshipmen who already completed NSI and activated their scholarships attended Career Orientation and Training for Midshipmen (CORTRAMID). This training took place over four weeks with each week being a different unrestricted line community for the sophomores to experience a brief introduction to the surface warfare, submarine, aviation, and Marine Corps communities. Many Hokies enjoyed meeting midshipmen from around the country and being introduced to other NROTC programs outside of Virginia Tech.
The remaining junior and senior midshipmen traveled all around the country and globe with 37 of them embarking on submarines, 14 on surface ships (including three on surface warfare nuclear (SWO-N) cruises on aircraft carriers), and one midshipman on a foreign exchange (FOREX) cruise. Another midshipman attended an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) cruise at the mudflats on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. Those who went overseas visited Japan, Greece, France, Germany, Italy, and the Bahamas. Twelve junior Marine-Option midshipmen went to Fleet Marine Force (FMF) while the rising seniors completed 6 weeks of OCS and earned the title of Marine.
Amongst our newest midshipmen this fall, 55 arrived with 4-year NROTC Scholarships, 10 of those being Marine-Option midshipmen. Those who did not pick up a scholarship out of high school participate in NROTC as college programmers who are integrated with the rest of the unit. They have the opportunity to reapply to pick up a side-load scholarship to stay in the program.
Virginia Tech has one of the largest Naval ROTC units in the country with a current total of 297 midshipmen, consisting of 25 fifth-year midshipmen (those using a fifth academic year to complete a technical degree), 41 seniors, 57 juniors, 61 sophomores, and 113 first-year midshipmen. Virginia Tech’s NROTC Program has been an extremely influential unit over the past two years, spearheading the NOFFS (Naval Operational Fitness and Fueling System) program, which was adopted this summer by the U.S. Naval Academy, the fleet, and other NROTC units nationwide.
Looking ahead, Virginia Tech NROTC remains committed to developing well-rounded midshipmen and cultivating future leaders. By fostering the Navy's core values of honor, courage, and commitment, the unit aims to ensure that its midshipmen excel academically, physically, and morally. Together with NROTC units across the nation, Virginia Tech strives to commission exemplary officers for the Navy and Marine Corps.