Yale Midshipmen to Open NROTC Unit

By Michael F. Miller, Naval Service Training Command Public Affairs

GREAT LAKES, Ill. (NNS) -- The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) unit at Yale University will participate in its first freshmen orientation since 1972 at Officer Training Command (OTC) Newport, R.I. Aug. 11.

OTC will host 12 new midshipmen and staff from Yale and Holy Cross Universities.

The Yale NROTC unit will be part of a consortium with the NROTC unit at The College of the Holy Cross. An NROTC consortium is formed when two or more host units are located geographically close to one another. NROTC courses and professional instruction will be held on both campuses, however the units may share resources, as the Navy and Marine Corps deem appropriate, in order to maximize available funds and promote program consistency.

"The staff has worked diligently since the signing (May 26, 2011) and established a solid foundation and partnership with Yale," said Cmdr. James Godwin, commanding officer of the Yale/Holy Cross consortium. "We are looking forward to putting the first Yale NROTC officers into the fleet in 2016."

 Yale's NROTC unit was one of the six original units established when the NROTC program started in 1926.

"The new Navy ROTC unit at Yale continues the University's proud tradition of educating students who serve our country's Armed Forces," said Yale University President Richard C. Levin. "From Lexington to Afghanistan, our students and graduates have contributed to the nation's defense, and the return of NROTC will make it easier for the most talented young men and women who aspire to leadership in our military to gain a Yale education."

The curriculum for the week at OTC and Naval Station Newport will include physical training, uniform and room inspections, close order drill, basic seamanship, and damage control training.

Yale will also join other NROTC units across the country with a new high-tech computer-based Mariner Skills Simulator (MSS) installed Aug. 9.

MSS provides future Navy officers navigational skills, even before stepping onto their first ship.

"Yale has been strongly supportive of facilitating the establishment of the NROTC unit along with numerous programs for the military and veterans," said Godwin.

The NROTC program was established to educate and train qualified young men and women for service as commissioned officers in the Navy and Marine Corps. The NROTC scholarship program fills a vital need in preparing mature young men and women for leadership and management positions in an increasingly technical Navy and Marine Corps.

For more information about NROTC, visit www.nrotc.navy.mil/.