Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) visited the University of California (UC) Berkeley Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) unit, March 21.

While there, Bernacchi toured the UC Berkeley and Stanford campuses, ate lunch with the unit staff, and addressed the midshipmen during their Naval Science Laboratory.

NROTC units report to NSTC, and command visits are an opportunity for professional development for the midshipmen as they interact with a flag officer as well as a chance for them to ask questions about the program and the Navy. The visits also give Bernacchi a chance to hear about any concerns or suggestions from the midshipman and unit staffs who report to him.

Capt. Jerrod Devine, UC Berkeley NROTC commanding officer, said, “It is always great for the midshipmen to have the opportunity to speak directly with Rear Adm. Bernacchi, who is more than willing to have candid discussions with them about the direction of their training, and of the Navy’s training program as a whole. We also appreciate the NSTC team taking the time to visit with our campus leadership to find ways to produce more high-quality officers from these top-tier universities.”  

Bernacchi spoke with the midshipman about leadership, changes to the NROTC program to improve training, and the need for naval warfighters to be ready to lead the Navy and Marine Corps into the future.

Midshipman 1st Class John Schneider, UC Berkeley’s unit commanding officer and a future student Naval Aviator, said the company “enjoyed hearing about all of the improvements Rear Adm. Bernacchi is making to our program. His willingness to explain the process and take questions serves as a great example to us about the positive impact we can all have on our organization as leaders if we earn the investment of our people with teamwork and initiative.”

During his visit, Bernacchi held meetings with Chancellor Carol Christ of UC Berkeley and Provost Persis Drell of Stanford University after taking a midshipmen-provided tour of each campus.

The Navy ROTC program develops midshipmen mentally, morally and physically, to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, loyalty and Navy core values. The program provides college graduates an opportunity to commission as naval officers who possess a basic professional background, are motivated toward careers in the naval service, and have potential for future development in mind and character, so as to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, NSTC commander, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, supports 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy’s Citizenship Development Program.

Bernacchi and his NSTC staff at Great Lakes and at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, also support Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy’s only boot camp, at Great Lakes; NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities across the country; Officer Training Command (OTC) in 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 Navy ROTC, visit https://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 news about NSTC, visit: www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/, the NSTC Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/navalservicetraining/ or visit www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/. 

For more U. S. Navy news and 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/.