More than 25 University of Arizona Naval ROTC freshman midshipmen candidates completed their New Student Orientation (NSO) training at the UA campus and at Camp Navajo, Arizona, Aug. 12-19.

Most college freshmen arrive for their first week of school, move into their new residences, say goodbye to parents, and get settled in for their first foray into independence. UA NROTC candidates do all this and get their worlds turned upside down during a weeklong journey which transforms them from high school graduates into basically-trained midshipmen.

"We certainly succeeded in instilling a strong sense of professionalism in them -- especially our 28 new freshman midshipmen -- as well as reinforcing professionalism with our four active-duty Marines and Sailors who are new [to] the unit and joined the platoon for the second half of NSO here in Tucson," said Navy Officer Candidate Aaron Clayton, the active-duty NROTC student appointed to plan and lead this year's NSO.

"The main goals of the NSO were to instruct candidates in the basics of military customs, courtesies, traditions, and organizations, as well as conduct physical fitness training, promote teamwork, and orient students to the University of Arizona campus," said Marine Col. Patrick Wall, commanding officer of the NROTC unit.

"This year's NSO was unlike ones we've done before," Wall said to the NROTC battalion during his closing remarks. "We took our midshipman candidates up to Camp Navajo. We combined our training with two other regional schools. We came back to the university and trained for long days down here. Eighty to 90 percent of the work was done by our upperclass students, and I'm proud of all of their hard work on this."

When they arrived Aug. 12 to South Hall, the ROTC building, many candidates had their families in tow and were busy just trying to check in. They quickly found themselves under the charge of their three respective squad leaders -- more seasoned midshipmen whose task was to train, mentor, and lead these candidates through NSO until their graduation day Aug. 19.

On Aug. 13, the candidates and NSO staff members left the familiarity of Tucson behind and loaded their bus for a four-hour ride to Camp Navajo, an Army National Guard installation near Flagstaff, Arizona, to begin their training.

"We were able to take our candidates from wherever they were and ship them up to Camp Navajo for 3 1/2 days away from any environment they know and created a controlled training environment where we told them when to wake up, what to wear, how to make their beds," said Clayton. "That environment in itself was invaluable, because it broke them down enough to where our 28 individual candidates left there functioning as a platoon and as a team."

As soon as candidates stepped off their bus at Camp Navajo, the level of intensity ramped up. Candidates met their platoon's assistant Marine officer instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Jason Dow from the UA NROTC unit staff. Candidates quickly learned they had to move fast, respond loudly, learn a new way of life, and work together to complete tasks.

"There was a lot of stress from the start, from not being sure what to wear, not sure where to go, that sort of thing," said Midshipman 4th Class Morgan Wheeler, 18, a UA freshman who completed the NSO training.

The UA candidates were joined at Camp Navajo by candidates from both Arizona State University and University of New Mexico NROTC units to form the first regional, joint NSO training of its kind. Over their three days together, the nearly 90 freshmen learned how to conduct unit physical training and completed their initial physical fitness tests, conducted basic swim qualifications, learned to march during close-order drill, and lived in close quarters in their military squad bays.

"Getting to know the other schools up at Camp Navajo was good," said Wheeler. "I enjoyed meeting them all, but we didn't really get to know them very personally because we came together to work and were busy, then split back up to our own [UA] platoon. But it was fun getting to know everyone up there. At first there wasn't much talking going on, it was very strict, and we didn't know a lot about each other."

During their third day of NSO training Aug. 15, the three schools traveled to Northern Arizona University to take on their Challenge Course. After completing a group team-building exercise on the ground, candidates stepped into climbing harnesses and ropes to ascend three, 50-foot-tall obstacles under the direction and safety supervision of the NAU Challenge Course staff. The first was climbing a sort of supersized rope ladder, requiring climbing vertically up the swinging rungs which are as tall apart as a person. The next obstacle required candidates to climb a rope to reach a high platform, then swing between another platform high above the other candidates watching and cheering 50 feet below. The third and most daring obstacle required candidates to climb a wooden post the size and height of a telephone pole, then balance at the top before leaping 10 feet forward to grab a hanging trapeze bar. Those who succeeded owed pull-ups, those who missed took a short swing until their rope team lowered them back to the ground. Some bold candidates went back for seconds and leapt to the trapeze blindfolded to test their mettle.

Before their last full day ended Aug. 15, the NSO platoons split into six teams at Camp Navajo for an intense two-hour physical competition of flipping tires, performing push-ups and sit-ups as a team, completing various Crossfit-style callisthenic workout stations, or just holding abdominal planks for as long as they could manage during the 15 minutes per station intervals.

As a sort of farewell, the candidates enjoyed a pizza social during their last night at Camp Navajo to bid their comrades from other schools farewell before heading back to Tucson Aug. 16 to begin the second half of their rigorous training.

"In the past two years I've been here, the NSO was not much more than three days of presentations," said Clayton. "Some members from the unit would give briefs for a few hours a day and then it's done. When I was appointed to lead this year's NSO, I didn't think that was an effective enough method. There are a lot of things about the military that you can't learn through a PowerPoint, you have to experience them firsthand. You need that high level of stress and learn to be cool under pressure. There is also the important aspect of learning how your actions have repercussions and affect others. I think Camp Navajo really helped us teach that."

After the journey busing back to Tucson, candidates got back into training immediately for the three days of their local training crammed with more than 12 hours of events each day. They received and learned to care for their new Navy uniforms, learned the layout of the campus by running around it, learned first aid, conducted close-order drill, sprinted up Tumamaoc Hill before sunrise, and competed against each other in a physical competition featuring a cardboard boat race at the Campus Recreation Center Aug. 18.

"My favorite thing of this whole NSO week was the brotherhood," said Wheeler. "When we came here we were all individuals, and when we came out we all knew one another and worked together. It's been fun to learn how we can help each other."

When graduation day finally arrived Aug. 19, parents and family members of the candidates returned to campus that morning to see photos and videos showcasing what their candidates had endured the past week, as well as hear from Wall and other senior NROTC leaders.

The NSO platoon then formed for the last time and marched toward the nearly 100 midshipmen of the NROTC battalion already in formation near the Student Union Memorial Center, which houses the ship's bell of the storied USS Arizona.

"I was glad to be finishing NSO, and I really was surprised when I saw our whole unit for the first time, because I didn't know how big the unit actually was," said Wheeler.

Then, in front of the naval bell, Old Main, their families, and their new unit, the candidates were officially sworn in as midshipmen by Wall and then they dispersed to join the NROTC battalion which will be their home and family for the next four years.

"It was a complete transformation for those 32 individuals," said Clayton. "I was happy to see them in front of the entire NROTC battalion and then swear in under Arizona's bell was significant and a great moment for us all.

"Watching the graduation ceremony where we disbanded the NSO platoon and then integrated them into the unit, I think everyone was really proud, especially having seen them come all the way from day one to day seven," said Clayton.

The NROTC battalion, then complete with its 28 new freshman midshipmen and four active-duty new students, finished out the day with fun physical competitions on the campus mall, including some oversized waterslides, followed by a luncheon at Bear Down Kitchen.

"Although my staff and I wore ourselves out executing this, in the end I feel very accomplished in what we've done," said Clayton. "I feel that we've produced an excellent product in terms of training our new freshman midshipmen."

Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans and his Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) staff, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, oversee the NROTC program. NROTC 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.

The officers will 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.

NSTC also oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy's Citizenship Development program. NSTC includes Recruit Training Command (RTC), NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior ROTC and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

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

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

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.