Marquette University (MU) Air Force, Army, and Navy ROTC units held their annual Joint ROTC Tri-Service Awards ceremony in the Weasler Auditorium of the Milwaukee school, Feb. 18, to celebrate the specific achievements of individual midshipmen and cadets.

Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), served as the guest speaker for the event.

More than 70 individual awards were presented, along with various gifts, plaques, medals, and scholarships. Cadets and midshipmen were recognized by their commands, as well as retired military members, military family members, and Wisconsin civic organizations -- many from around Milwaukee.

Evans spoke to the crowd about the importance of service, the military's continually increasing technology, and the variety of missions and geography in everyday military operations.

"What I get out of attending these events is the excitement of being around our midshipmen as they continue with their growth and development to become leaders in our Navy and Marine Corps," Evans said. "We ask them to work hard. We ask them to work even harder than their college peers in order to lead young men and women upon their commissioning. For me, to come here and celebrate the excellence that they have achieved is personally rewarding to me to see this growth and development take place."

Following the speech, Evans assisted in handing out awards with civic and veteran organization leaders, as well as Navy Capt. Daniel Olson, Army Lt. Col. Ioannis Kiriazis, and Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Van Hoof -- the commanding officers of their services' respective ROTC units.

Air Force ROTC Cadet Alexander Williamson, Army ROTC Cadet Nichael Wegrzyn, and Naval ROTC Midshipman Katherine McCrossen received the Military Order of the Purple Heart for demonstrating military aptitude and qualities of loyalty and good character.

"I think it's great to see the support from the admiral who has such vast responsibilities to come to one of his units and have contact time with the midshipmen," said Olson, who is also a professor of naval science. "The rare opportunities the midshipmen have to interact and talk with senior leadership is great for their development."

The battalion commander of the Navy unit called all the awards and the entire event a high achievement for his unit.

"What's really important about these events is we don't have a lot of joint ROTC events," said Midshipman 1st Class Brooks Furleigh, from Edmond, Oklahoma. "It's really good to be able to bring us together to recognize the midshipmen and cadets, and it strengthens the military bond we have here at Marquette. It's also huge to have Rear Admiral Evans here, because it shows our midshipmen that their hard work is being personally recognized. The admiral is someone the midshipmen can look up to and know that this is actually a big deal."

Marine-option Midshipman 2nd Class Michael Wick, from Mundelein, Illinois, received a Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans, Chapter 1 award.

"It was pretty special to be recognized at this event," Wick said. "We have a really great battalion, and to be singled out really means something to me. Hopefully I can help others be recognized for their hard work."

Midshipman 2nd Class Rosie Rains, from Orange County, California, received the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association Award.

"This event was awesome," Rains said. "I think everything ran really well. The people in charge did a great job planning it, [and] it was also really cool that we got to have lunch with Rear Admiral Evans. He's one of my role models, and his job is kind of the job I'd like to have 20 years down the road."

Following the ceremony, Evans shared lunch with the midshipmen in their wardroom. Olson said it was a chance for the midshipmen to ask the admiral about officer leadership and what they might expect once they join the fleet.

Marquette University is one of more than 160 colleges and universities across the country affiliated with NROTC.

The NROTC 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.

Evans and his NSTC staff, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, oversee 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) at Naval Station Great Lakes, NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior ROTC and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

For more information about Marquette University NROTC, visit http://www.marquette.edu/rotc/navy/.

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ or http://www.facebook.com/navalservicetraining/.

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