The University of Notre Dame Naval ROTC hosted its 22nd annual Naval Leadership Weekend Seminar in the Mendoza College of Business Jordan Auditorium to promote the development of visiting midshipmen, Feb. 23-26.

More than 250 midshipmen from 36 NROTC units around the country attended the three-day conference, which drew its theme "Ready to Lead, Ready to Follow, Never Quit," from one of the SEAL codes. According to organizers of the event, the theme applies to all officer communities of the Navy and Marine Corps, and focuses on leading up, laterally, and down within the chain of command.

"The 22nd annual conference on naval leadership is a premier, one-of-a-kind event hosted at the University of Notre Dame by the Battalion of Midshipmen of the Notre Dame NROTC," said Capt. John P. Carter, the unit's commanding officer and professor of naval science. "The event is organized, planned, and executed by the midshipmen in a manner very similar to our operational planning activities in the fleet. As the commanding officer of the Notre Dame Naval ROTC, I am very proud of the midshipmen's accomplishments in pulling this together. The event continues to draw a large and diverse group of Navy ROTC midshipmen from across the nation and attracts the most senior military leaders."

Throughout the weekend, midshipmen had the opportunity to meet and listen to several high-ranking Navy and Marine Corps officers. The midshipmen were greeted and welcomed to the event by Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) who oversees the NROTC program.

"Being a successful leader is a combination of distinct talents, shaped by experiences, personality traits, core values, and an endless of other factors," Evans told the packed auditorium. "Keep an open mind and think about your leadership styles in an objective way. Be honest with yourself and don't be afraid to ask: 'Am I ready to lead? Am I ready to follow? And make sure, above all, that you never quit!'"

Midshipmen also heard from speakers including the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert B. Neller; Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Vice Adm. Christopher W. Grady, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet; Vice Adm. Thomas S. Rowden, commander, Naval Surface Forces; Dr. Michael C. Desch, director, Notre Dame International Security Center; and retired Fleet Master Chief April Beldo.

"Hopefully the midshipmen understand what their futures hold, and I hope I was able to share with them some of the expectations they should have from and for the Chiefs Mess," Beldo said. "I was very excited to be part of this weekend, and I hope I was able to inspire and give these future officers confidence as they move forward in their naval careers."

Capping off the leadership weekend, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson served as the keynote speaker, addressing the midshipmen at the closing dinner. After offering his remarks on leadership, Richardson spent more than 90 minutes answering questions from the future naval leaders.

Many of the midshipmen found great value participating in the leadership weekend.

"I'm really excited to be here because of all the information that will be passed out," said Midshipman 1st Class Samantha Roberts, from Akron, Ohio, and senior at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. "Every style of leadership can learn and grow from each other, and it's great to have that knowledge passed down from generation to generation."

Midshipman 1st Class Jose Delgado, from Kingsland, Georgia, and senior at The Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston), was able to listen to a panel of junior officers from various communities in the fleet.

"Being able to hear from both junior and senior officers gives us insight in how the younger officers view the Navy and then compare that to the views of the senior officer who have been in for more than 20 years," Delgado said.

Midshipman 2nd Class Madison Karlin, from Aurora, Colorado, a senior at Notre Dame and the coordinator of the seminar, said the panel of junior officers from the various Navy and Marine Corps officer communities is always a highlight of the weekend.

"The junior officer panel is usually one of the most helpful for the midshipmen," Karlin said. "We love to have the midshipmen be able to interface with the junior officer, as well as the senior officers. It's just a really good to have the junior officers reflect on their experiences in the fleet and share with the midshipmen some of their sea stories."

Throughout the weekend, between briefs, midshipmen also had the opportunity to participate in ethical, decision-making games. The exercise gave the midshipmen an opportunity to support and defend their decisions given a scenario, and use the discussion to develop and amend the decision-making skills.

"This year's participation by the chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps, as well as other senior naval leaders, underscores the deep commitment and investment our leadership place in the future of our Navy and Marine Corp team," Carter said.

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.

Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans and his Naval Service Training Command 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 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 NROTC, visit http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/.

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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/.