Call to Service

NROTC Executive Officer’s Corner

It has been an honor and labor of love to develop, foster, and train tomorrow’s future. Not just Maine Maritime Academy’s, but the United States Navy’s. President John F. Kennedy, on Jan. 20, 1961, during his inaugural address to the nation uttered these historic words: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Mariners have been answering the call to serve our great nation since the first graduating class in 1943 when 300 officers answered the call to serve at sea during World War II. Three gave their lives in service to the nation, and many others were wounded in action.

The NROTC unit at Maine Maritime Academy was established in 1972 and has been commissioning some of the finest active and reservist officers since. Today, the MMA NROTC Company is 71 Midshipmen strong.

Strategic Sealift Midshipmen cover the bulk of the Unit with 40. Student Incentive Pay (SIP) has recently increased and that has piqued interest in the program. Most may remember this being the Merchant Marine Reserve Program. The Strategic Sealift Officer Program supports national defense sealift requirements and capabilities, which are executed by Military Sealift Command (MSC). The program provides the Navy with officers that possess sealift, maritime operations, and logistics subject matter expertise, and further hold U.S. Coast Guard credentials as merchant marine officers. The Unit is tasked with administrative support and providing the mentorship and coursework needed to commission these Officers in the Naval Reserve. We have been lucky to have a Strategic Sealift Officer (SSO) on staff as a Liaison between the Navy and MMA. Our SSO supports TSSOM during the training cruises and is our only staff officer, on shore duty, that sets sail.

MMA has 19 NROTC scholarship students: 4-year national Navy scholarships, 4-year national Marine Corps Scholarships, and a handful of Sideload Navy and Marine scholarships. All NROTC scholarship students that reside on campus receive a room and board waiver applied after all of scholarships and financial aid is allocated.

Six Midshipmen are College Programmers, hoping to compete for a Sideload scholarship and one Advanced Standing Midshipman. Depending on manpower management we have been able to award Sideloads on 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, and 2-year increments. On the Spot Scholarship Nominations (OTSSN) allows the Professor of Naval Science (PNS) the ability to award a controlled number of scholarships to College Program Midshipmen that have excelled in the Unit.

Five Midshipmen round out the rest of our MMA Unit. These five are part of a new program at MMA. They are the first cohort of the NROTC Preparatory Program (NPP). NPP Midshipmen apply to the program through the MMA website and are vetted and chosen by MMA to receive a preparatory year at MMA. This year is funded by MMA and in turn the Navy reserves a 4-year national NROTC scholarship for them at MMA.

During their prep year they take part in all the unit events and take a class load that builds the foundation for future success in calculus and calculus-based physics. NPP students need to maintain a 2.8 GPA, pass a Navy Physical Readiness Test with Good Low in all categories, pass a Department of Defense Medical evaluation (DoDMERB) and receive the recommendation of the PNS, CAPT Gary Chase. If an NPP student fails to meet the above they will not be awarded the 4-year national Navy scholarship and MMA may bill them for the prep year.

“The strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” As our Unit grows we are amazed at the grit and resiliency our Midshipmen bring to the fight.

We are training the future of tomorrow’s Navy and Strategic Sealift Officer Force. Please visit our page (mainemaritime.edu/nrotc) on the Maine Maritime Academy’s website if you want more information.

By CDR Michael Short, USN

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