University of Virginia NROTC Midshipmen Commissioned

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., (NNS) -- Ten Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) midshipmen were commissioned as naval officers in a commissioning ceremony held May 18.

The 10 Navy-option NROTC midshipmen were personally recognized by Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr., USN (Ret.) before an audience of more than 200 people before entering military service.

"Commissioning is the culmination of all the hard work and late nights put into college and into the NROTC program," said Ensign Creigh Greensmith, one of the newly-commissioned officers. "When I look back on my time at UVA, I am reminded how thankful I am for the support and encouragement I received from my family, friends, and mentors these past four years. I am thrilled for the opportunity to serve and for the upcoming adventures and challenges that come with being a part of the world's finest Navy."

Greensmith's father, Alan Greensmith, said watching his son be commissioned was an extremely proud moment for him.

"One of the proudest days I have experienced is when my son was commissioned as a US Naval Officer from the University of Virginia. Creigh has become a strong leader in the UVA Naval ROTC program and gained experience he would not have received had he been a normal four year student without ROTC. The desire to serve your country, defend the constitution and protect our freedom is the height of U.S. citizenship and I salute my son for his desire to serve. I am proud of him and honored to be his father," he said.

During his address to the newly commissioned officers, Harvey held up Teresa Sullivan, the president of the University of Virginia, as a positive example of personal conduct. Referring to the controversy over her resignation and subsequent reinstatement, he remarked that the junior officers would do well to follow her example of sticking to one's principles and courage under fire. With a quick word of congratulations, Harvey left the Ensigns to begin the next phase of their life as officers in the U.S. Navy.

The NROTC program, overseen by Rear Adm. Dee L. Mewbourne, Commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., was established to develop midshipmen mentally, morally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, loyalty and Navy core values in order to commission college graduates as Naval officers who possess a basic professional background, are motivated toward careers in the Naval service and have a potential for future development in mind and character so as to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Mewbourne and his NSTC staff oversee 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This includes the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at more than 160 colleges and universities; Officer Training Command (OTC) on Naval Station Newport, R.I.; Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy's only boot camp, at Great Lakes, Ill.; and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

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

For more information about NSTC, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ or visit the NSTC Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/NavalServiceTraining/.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.