Officer Training Programs And Maritime Academies

Sea Power, Jan 2005

U.S. Naval Academy

The U.S. Naval Academy, founded in 1845, is the undergraduate college of the Navy. Its beautiful, modern buildings and facilities along the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., are designed to meet the academic, athletic and extracurricular needs of the future officers of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Approximately 1,200 men and women enter the Naval Academy each year. More than three-quarters of all midshipmen complete the academically demanding curriculum and upon graduation are commissioned as officers in the Navy or Marine Corps. Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt currently serves as the academy's superintendent.

Degrees and majors: Midshipmen may major in any of 19 principal fields of study: eight in engineering, seven in science and mathematics, and four in the humanities, all leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. All midshipmen must complete a core curriculum designed to give future naval officers a solid foundation in leadership and character development, naval science and the humanities.

Costs: Tuition, room and board expenses are borne by the government. Graduates assume an obligation of five years of active service when they are commissioned. Midshipmen are paid a stipend of $792.60 per month to cover the cost of uniforms, books, equipment and personal needs.

Admission criteria: Candidates must be U.S. citizens, single (without children and not pregnant) and at least 17, and cannot have reached the age of 23 on July 1 of their year of admission. They also must be officially nominated, meet the academy's academic, medical and physical requirements, and be found to be of good moral character.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Candidate Guidance Office

U.S. Naval Academy

117 Decatur Road

Annapolis, MD 21402-5018

PHONE: (410) 293-4361

WEBSITE: www.usna.edu

Navy Officer Candidate School

Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) based at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. - is operated by the Navy's Officer Training Command, which is responsible for preparing civilians, prior-enlisted and newly commissioned personnel for service in the fleet as naval officers. OCS is a 12-week course of instruction in academics, physical fitness and military culture.

After completion, Navy ensigns may remain at Pensacola for further instruction as naval aviators or naval flight officers. Others, based on their professions, relocate to training centers for surface warfare officers, submarine warfare officers, special warfare officers or other specialties.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Officer Training Command - Pensacola

150 Chambers Ave.

Pensacola, FL 32508-5267

PHONE: (850) 452-3f 41/2680/2131

WEBSITE: www.nsgreatlakes.navy. mil/otcp

Marine Corps Officer Candidate School

Marine Corps OCS at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., has the mission of training, evaluating and screening officer candidates for commission as company-grade officers in the fleet's operating forces.

Marine Corps OCS comprises paths to a commission, including the officer candidates' class, the platoon leaders' course and Marine Corps-option NROTC. Commissioned lieutenants then must complete the Basic School course at Quanlico prior to being assigned specific specializations.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Marine Corps OCS

Marine Corps Base Quantico

2189 Elrod Ave.

Quantico, VA 22134-5033

PHONE: (800) 627-4637

WEBSITE: www.marines.com/officer_ programs

Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps

The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) was established in 1926 as an alternate pathway to the U.S. Naval Academy toward earning a Navy commission. The NROTC scholarship program, located at more than 100 colleges, universities and maritime academies nationwide, is the largest provider of new Navy and Marine Corps officers.

Navy midshipmen coming through NROTC may select specialties such as surface warfare officers, naval aviators and flight officers, and submarine warfare. Officers commissioned through NROTC also may apply for careers with Naval Special Warfare Command, provided they are accepted to (and complete) the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training program.

The NROTC program was expanded in the 1990s to include a commissioning program for students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

PHONE: (800) 628-7682

WEBSITE: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/

Marine Corps-option NROTC

The Marine Corps-option NROTC program began in 1932, offering qualified NROTC graduates commissions in the U.S. Marine Corps. Successful Marine Corps-option midshipmen may be commissioned as second lieutenants, based on the decision of two annual selection boards.

The Marine Corps' training philosophy requires that every Marine be trained in basic infantry fighting tactics, techniques and procedures at the Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico prior to moving on to other specializations.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

PHONE: (800) 628-7682

WEBSlTE: https://web.mere.usmc.mil/ mere.him

U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Located in New London, Conn., approximately halfway between New York City and Boston, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 850 men and women. Selection to the Coast Guard Academy is based on an annual nationwide competition, a process unique among the service academies. There are no congressional appointments to the academy, and geographical quotas do not play a part in admissions decisions. The superintendent is Rear Adm. Robert C. Olsen Jr.