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Senior Submariners Mentor Future Submariners During NROTC Visits
Story Number: NNS130426-16
4/26/2013

By Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, Commander, Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- Senior submariners assigned to four separate commands visited various Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) units in April to inspire the next generation of submariners.

Capt. Vern Parks, commander, Submarine Development Squadron Twelve, spoke with midshipmen attending Pennsylvania State University, April 19.

"The opportunities for this generation of submarine officers are very exciting," said Parks. "Meeting these future naval officers and sharing what the submarine force has been doing, as well as what the future holds for us, was very rewarding!"

Capt. John McGrath, commanding officer, USS Mississippi (SSN 782) also recently spoke with midshipmen attending the University of Mississippi, as the one-year anniversary of the attack submarine's commissioning draws near.

"It is an exciting time for the submarine force," said McGrath. "The things we are doing now will be built upon by our next generation of submariners. Getting an opportunity to share that with students from our namesake state is an added bonus."

Prior to the April NROTC visit in Mississippi, McGrath spoke with NROTC midshipmen attending Villanova and University of Pennsylvania in March.

In addition to Parks and McGrath, Cmdr. Roger Meyer, commanding officer, USS Miami (SSN 755) met with midshipmen attending the University of Colorado NROTC unit April 23.

"Visits to NROTC units provide these future leaders an opportunity to gain an appreciation and better level of understanding of the submarine force," said Meyer, who has an extensive experience teaching ROTC midshipmen. In the late 90s, he served as the associate professor of Naval Science at the Naval Reserve Officer Training Unit, University of Utah.

Last year, Meyer spoke with several other NROTC units to include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, the University of Maine, and Maine Maritime Academy.

Cmdr. Chester Parks, commanding officer, USS Annapolis (SSN 760) was accompanied by Lt. j.g. Eric Macke, assistant operations officer during their visit with midshipmen attending the SUNY Maritime College, April 16.

"Participating in the NROTC mentorship opportunity allows me to interact with the next generation of naval leaders, which is truly inspiring and serves as a motivation for me personally," said Parks, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. "Visiting schools such as SUNY Maritime allows current commanding officers to meet with future officers studying a variety of curriculum to bridge what they are learning in the classroom to what they can expect when they receive their commissions and report to their first assignments."

For more news from Commander Submarine Group 2, visit www.navy.mil/local/Subgru2/.