More than 250 Naval ROTC midshipmen at 70 colleges and universities around the country chose their first ships of their Navy career Feb. 12-14.

Ship selection is one of the most significant events for midshipmen as they take their first step toward joining the U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) community in the Fleet.

"You will never forget your first ship," said Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), which oversees the Naval ROTC program. "You have spent the last four years developing your character and professional competence to become leaders in the naval service, and to strengthen your wardroom and capabilities of the ship. Congratulations, and I am looking forward to serving with you all in the fleet."

Midshipmen are ranked according to their grade point average, aptitude scores, and physical fitness assessments. Many selecting midshipmen made their picks via Google Hangout with staff from the Junior Officers Detailing branch at Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee. The video chat was broadcasted live on the PERS-41 YouTube page.

Officer Candidate Bryson Goforth from Old Dominion University was the top ranked officer candidate or midshipmen and the first to select a ship. He selected the USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and will be homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. An officer candidate is an active duty enlisted Sailor that has gone through the Navy's Seaman To Admiral (STA-21) program to attend a university and join a Naval ROTC unit.

"I just felt really humbled," said the Chief Electronics Technician who has been in the Navy for more than nine years. "It's a very competitive program with a lot of talent. I felt really humbled to be placed at the top."

Goforth, who has served on two frigates, said he selected Dunham, after asking if any frigates were available, because he already knows some of the officers and Sailors on Dunham and he and his wife and three children live in Norfolk.

"I felt really excited to find something local in Norfolk and feel really comfortable knowing some of the crew already and felt it was the right fit for me," he said.

The other midshipmen and officer candidates selecting ships and ranked in the top five included: Midshipman 1st Class Brandy Kinnunen from Marquette University selecting the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) homeported in Rota, Spain. Officer Candidate Corey Jokerst from the University of South Carolina selected third and will be joining the crew of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) stationed in Mayport, Fla. The fourth pick went to Midshipman 1st Class Isaiah Nix from Prairie View A&M University. Nix also selected USS Ross out of Rota, Spain.

Midshipman 1st Class Paul Johnson from Penn State University selected the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Cook (DDG 75) also homeported in Rota, Spain as the fifth pick.

"It was daunting to see the huge list but you narrow it down based on homeport and ship making it fun," said Kinnunen, from Chassell, Michigan. "Both of my parents are retired Navy and my mom was EDO (Engineering Duty Officer) and I always wanted to be a SWO as a kid."

Another midshipman selected sixth was Midshipman 1st Class Sarah Crews a senior at Miami (Ohio) University and from Montgomery Village, Maryland. Crews selected the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) home ported in Yokosuka, Japan.

"My dad, grandfather, an uncle and cousin were SWOs in the Navy giving me a good idea," said Crews. "What really firmed up my desire to be a SWO was my first class summer cruise."

This year 11 midshipmen earned the opportunity to select their ships early, with a direct offer from the wardroom. During summer cruises, midshipmen embark upon Navy ships to get more experience as junior officers. Commanding officers of those ships can offer "blue chips" to midshipmen who especially impress them, which give them an automatic spot in that wardroom if they choose to take it. Midshipman 1st Class Christopher Taylor, a senior at Miami (Ohio) University and from Hilliard, Ohio, was selected for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77) home ported in Pearl Harbor.

"I had the advantage of being on a ship that selected a "blue chip" last year and the leadership was happy with the previous result," said Taylor. "I have several uncles that were naval officers and one took me on a Tiger Cruise on the USS Nimitz. That experience inspired me to be a SWO."

Following commissioning and graduation, from May to July, all the newly commissioned SWOs will be on their way to their first shipboard assignments as Navy Ensigns.

The NROTC program, overseen by Bernacchi and his NSTC staff, is headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. It 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 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 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 on the 2018 Naval ROTC Ship Selections Naval Personnel Command at http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/surfacewarfare/midshipmen/Pages/default.asp

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

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/

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

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