The 58th Cardinal Division from Navy Recruiting District St. Louis was officially sworn into the Navy during a ceremony at Busch Stadium July 21.

Forty-eight future Sailors from Kansas, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky were given the oath of enlistment in front of family, friends and baseball fans by Commander, Navy Recruiting Command Rear Adm. Jeff Hughes.

"I can't be more proud of having you join our team and make us better," said Hughes.

Hughes also thanked family members and the city of St. Louis for their support of America's newest Sailors.

"Thank you for providing the most critical asset that we have in the United States Navy," Hughes said. "As they go off into all parts of our Navy, they will continue to do great things for us as a nation."

The day began with a pre-event picnic at City Hall and Poelker Park. After watching the St. Louis Cardinals take on the San Diego Padres, the recruits boarded a bus and headed to Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes to start their military training.

Unlike other divisions at RTC, the young men in Cardinal Division will go through basic training together, rather than being mixed with other recruits from around the country.

Recruit Division Commander Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Eddis Ramirez explained this gives the division a unique opportunity many recruits at RTC do not receive.

"They already know each other so they are going to have a head start in comparison to other divisions, so the transition between civilian and recruit is going to become easy for them," said Ramirez.

Ramirez added the division should be extremely proud to have the chance to represent the St. Louis area and be part of the Navy.

Cardinal Division is the longest-running sponsored recruit division in all of the military services. The division is named for the St. Louis Cardinals, which has sponsored such groups annually since 1959.

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