Two University of Wisconsin-Madison Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) midshipmen and an officer candidate took another step toward becoming U.S. Navy junior surface warfare officers when they selected their first ships Feb. 25.

More than 300 NROTC midshipmen at 70 colleges and universities around the country chose their first ships of their Navy career February 23-25. Ship selection is one of the most significant events for midshipmen as they look toward becoming junior officers and joining the fleet.

Officer Candidate Jackson Moore, from Bloomington, Illinois, selected USS Decatur (DDG 73), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer home ported in San Diego.

"I have never lived on the west coast, so I wanted a ship out of San Diego to experience that area of the country," said Moore. "The missions that destroyers go on sound very appealing and exciting to me, so I was ecstatic when a destroyer out of San Diego was available when it was my turn to pick."

Midshipman 1st Class Benjamin Fritz, from Lakeville, Minnesota, selected USS Green Bay (LPD 20), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock homeported in Sasebo, Japan.

"The primary reason that I wanted to join the Navy was to give back to my country. When I heard about forward deployed ships and their amount of operational time, I knew that joining one of those ships aligned with my priorities," said Fritz. "I am honored to join the USS Green Bay and look forward to my time in Sasebo, Japan. A bonus is that the ship is named after a city in the great state of Wisconsin, where I attend college. I have heard that the ship has a close relation with its namesake and the Packers. Too bad I am a Vikings fan."

Midshipman 1st Class Sofia Postiglione, from Mendota Heights, Minnesota, selected USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.

"When making my dream sheet to prepare for ship selection I immediately knew I wanted a destroyer because of their multiple mission capabilities," said Postiglione. "As for specifically selecting the USS Bulkeley, I recently learned where they were in their workup cycle knowing that they would soon deploy helped seal the deal as who I would select."

All three midshipmen have just over two months left of their final semester prior to graduation and commissioning on May 14. Following graduation, these three officers will join the fleet as newly commissioned ensigns.

NROTC midshipmen are ranked according to their grade point average, aptitude scores, and physical fitness assessments. The midshipmen then pick in seniority going one by one, each taking about five minutes to decide. Commander Jonathan Schmitz, branch head for Junior Officers Detailing at Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee, individually called each midshipman to ask them their choice. If the ship was still available, it was theirs.

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. Commission college graduates will then possess a basic professional background and be motivated toward careers in the naval service. With their potential for future development in mind the will be ready 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), the Navy's only boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes, NROTC at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, 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 www.nrotc.navy.mil.
For more information about NSTC, visit www.netc.navy.mil/nstc.
For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.