Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) cadets from three "Area 4" high schools completed a three-day Leadership Challenge Weekend at the Maine Maritime Academy, March 31-April 2.

More than 140 cadets from the Dover (New Hampshire) High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps, Manchester West (New Hampshire) NJROTC, and Massibessic NJROTC from Waterboro (Maine) High Schools learned, sweated and competed with each other with the help of over 40 NROTC midshipman instructors from the Maine Maritime Academy and University of Maine.

Activities included ocean survival conducted in a pool, a state of the art ship bridge simulator, time aboard a small training vessel the Clark, academic and drill competition, a tour of the Training Ship State of Maine and basic defensive skills.

Retired Navy Cmdr. Tom Gamble, senior naval science instructor at Dover High School, was impressed with the itinerary the maritime academy had prepared for the weekend.

"I can't thank Capt. (Tim) Cooper (commanding officer MMA NROTC unit) and his staff enough for the outstanding dedication and support they provided these young men and women during the Leadership Challenge Weekend," Gamble said.

"From the time we arrived and when the cadets were introduced to Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Dean Begaye all of us were engaged and locked on for the upcoming events." The Dover unit earned first place in the close-order drill competition and Cadet Rebecca Hughes was awarded the Unit Leader Award.

Hughes, the company cadet commanding officer and a senior at Dover, said she was able to get a small taste of what life will be like when she heads to Marine Corps boot camp July 10.

"This was a tremendous opportunity for me and my fellow cadets to learn what a person can accomplish when we work as a team," Hughes said. "This was one of the best experiences I've had during my four years of NJROTC. This weekend allowed me to put into action all the various leadership tools I have learned over the years and meeting Gunnery Sargent Begaye was my personal highlight."

Cadet Seaman Apprentice Lily Santos, a freshman at Dover High School and new to NJROTC said she never experienced anything like this in her life.

"This was just an awesome experience. I was expecting a college tour and some leadership lectures, but I'm very proud of myself for making it through a tough weekend and I know I'm a better person for completing all the events."

Capt. Cooper, professor of Naval Science with MMA NROTC unit, said his unit revamped the Leadership Challenge Weekend to include his midshipman to be leaders and mentors to the cadets and expose prospective new students to the career possibilities of Maine Maritime Academy. Cooper said every participating midshipman was graded on his or her performance and how they handled leading high school students through a rigorous weekend of events. He added plans are even bigger for the future by developing a set of four distinct weekend itineraries so that returning cadets will have new and exciting experiences each returning year.

Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) is a citizenship program of nearly 84,000 NJROTC cadets representing 633 schools in 45 states and territories and overseas locations including Japan and Guam. It was established in 1964 to instill service to the United States, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment in students at secondary educational institutions. The NJROTC and NNDCC programs strive to build a strong foundation of citizenship within America's future leaders.

In addition to regular classroom instruction, NJROTC and NNDCC cadets participate in a number of extra-curricular activities throughout the school year and during the summer months that are designed to stimulate learning by hands-on experiences and to reinforce the program's curriculum. Cadet extra-curricular activities include community service projects, drill competitions, academic competitions, visits to naval installations, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) training.

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 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.

Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) and his staff oversee 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This includes NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command Newport (OTCN) on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy's only boot camp, at Great Lakes, Illinois, as well as NJROTC/NNDCC.

For more information about NJROTC, visit www.njrotc.navy.mil/.

For more information about NROTC, visit 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.

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