Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) welcomed more than 175 Area 3 Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) cadets to their annual NJROTC Leadership Academy at Naval Station Great Lakes, June 14-20.

Top cadet sophomores and juniors from more than 50 high schools in nine states throughout the Midwest who are scheduled to be the leaders of their NJROTC units in the upcoming school year, attended the week-long course.

Included were units from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Nebraska. Cadets also came from Kentucky and Georgia to participate in the academy.

This year's academy was run by more than 20 NJROTC Area 3 Navy Science Instructors (NSI). The academy has been held on Naval Station Great Lakes for the past 14 years.

"We hope the cadets were able to process the additional leadership training and get some exposure to fleet training here at Great Lakes and entry level educational programs to be able to make a better decision on what kind of career they want to choose," said retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Crawford, senior Navy Science instructor (NSI) from East Aurora (Ill.) High School and the officer in charge of this year's academy.

"These cadets will be in leadership positions with their units and in their schools and we want them to take what they learned here and be able to get the ball rolling with their units and lead their units in the upcoming school year."

This year the cadets were presented with leadership traits that they discussed in classes with the other cadets in eight assigned platoons. They also had the opportunity to tour a number of Navy Training Support Center (TSC) schools on the Naval Station and use many of the base facilities. There were also several team building exercises during the week.

"I really liked this week and took away a lot from the leadership skills we learned that I didn't have previously," said Cadet Lt. j.g. Mercedes Wilcox, 16, from Bloomfield (Ind.) High School.

Cadet Cmdr. Miya Patrick, 16, from Zion-Benton (Ill.) High School said the week was very challenging but productive.

"The leadership skills we learned were amazing. The instructors taught us so much and I'm anxious to start the new school year and share those skills with my unit," said Patrick.

The curriculum for the week included classes in plotting contacts or navigating a course on computers at the Operations Specialist/Quartermaster (OS/QM) "A" School. They learned about maneuvering on board a ship and line handling at the Boatswain's Mate "A" School on board USS White Hat, an indoor mockup of a Navy vessel.

The cadets also learned about combat systems and engines on board a ship at the Center for Surface Combat Systems School and Engineering Systems School buildings. They were also given tours and observed how future damage controlmen (DC) and hull maintenance technicians (HT) learn how to "fight the ship", or put out fires and stop flooding, at the DC and HT school building and damage control trainer.

"Our goal is twofold. We want the cadets to gain a small insight on what junior enlisted Sailors experience during their initial accessions level skills training here," said Lt. Cmdr. Preston Marshall, the executive officer of Surface Warfare Officers School Command Unit (SWOSU) Great Lakes. "Just as important, we hope to expose them to fleet Sailors and afford them the opportunity to ask my instructors about their service in the U.S. Navy."

Marshall, a former Army JROTC cadet and Naval ROTC midshipman, said he takes tremendous pride in his JROTC and NROTC experience.

"I credit those experiences with starting me towards a successful Naval career. The principles I learned about leadership and professionalism in these programs have been carried with me to this day. I consider it a great honor to be presented the opportunity to give back to those programs and share my experiences with these young men and women."

NJROTC Area 3 Manager retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Joe Hankins said it is experiences like the cadets receive meeting officers like Marshall and the enlisted instructors at Great Lakes that makes the leadership academy a better experience.

"Here at Great Lakes we have gotten great support up and down the chain of command. The cadets come here and they get to experience what it's like on a Navy instillation," said Hankins.

Hankins said being able to use facilities on Naval Stations like Great Lakes are vital and important for the cadets.

"I really believe it's priceless to be able to conduct the leadership academy on a Navy base," said Hankins. "The base really came through by providing us with access to so many facilities here (at Naval Station Great Lakes) and we were also able to stay and berth on the base which really made life a lot easier for both the cadets and instructors. The Navy schools, the facilitators and instructors were fantastic."

Of those facilities the cadets used, one was the Naval Station Great Lakes Marina where they were taught proper handling of rubber rafts and given sailing lessons. They also received more hands-on seamanship training and line handling while sailing on Lake Michigan. Each of the eight platoons of cadets also visited Sailors from the Naval Operational Support Center (NOSC) and they were able to take a mini-cruise of Lake Michigan in a U.S. Coast Guard vessel.

"It has been a really a challenging but fun experience," said Cadet Petty Officer 1st Class Cher Vang, 15, an incoming junior from Harding High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the top honor cadet. "I hope to take what I've learned here back to my school to expand my unit and get more cadets involved in special units."

The goal of the leadership academy is to produce better leaders through training in platoon inspections, room inspections and drill throughout the week. The cadets also received drill training this year from Competitive Outcomes, based out of San Antonio, Texas.

"I loved the drill training and hope to share some of the styles we learned with my unit," said Wilcox.

The cadets ended the week with a graduation ceremony during which they received a certificate from Crawford, Hankins and Command Master Chief Leon Walker from Naval Service Training Command (NSTC). The cadets will also receive a silver shoulder cord to wear on their uniforms, signifying the completion of this year's leadership academy.

"For you all to join the (NJROTC) program and stick with it, even if it's just for a year, you can still get a lot out of it," said Walker at the academy graduation ceremony in the Bluejacket Chapel on the base. "You get a lot of training, a lot of mentorship and a lot of guidance. You learn how to be leader. This program can last you for a lifetime and congratulations on graduating from this academy and use what you learned here with your unit and make it a part of your everyday life."

NJROTC is a citizenship development program that instills in high school students, in U.S. secondary educational institutions, the value of citizenship and service to the United States.

The program is currently overseen by Rear Adm. Rich A. Brown and his NSTC staff, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. NSTC oversees 98 percent initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This training includes the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program at more than 150 colleges and universities that either host NROTC units or have cross-town enrollment agreements with a host university. NSTC also oversees Officer Training Command (OTC) in Newport, R.I., Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, as well as NJROTC.

NSTC's NJROTC program is divided into 11 areas across the United States that also includes units in Italy, Spain, Japan and Guam. There are more than 86,000 student cadets in the more than 580 units. Area 13 covers the most ground starting in Papillion, Neb., and stretching across the Pacific Ocean to Yokosuka, Japan. There are 13 Northwest states in Area 13 including Hawaii, Guam and Japan, totaling 6,086.9 miles. Texas and Florida are their own areas with 68 units in Florida (Area 4) and 55 units in Texas (Area 10). Area 6 in North Carolina and South Carolina host 67 units while Area 11 in Southern California and Arizona have more than 50 units. Other areas encompass the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains States and Southwest.

For more information on NJROTC visit www.njrotc.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 from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.