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The reviewing officer, Rear Adm. Craig T. Mattingly (front), Commander, Naval Service Training Command, and Capt. Kenneth Froberg, commanding officer, Recruit Training Command (RTC), inspect the newest Sailors at RTC’s Pass-in-Review in Great Lakes, Illinois, Feb. 1, 2024. More than 40,000 Recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christopher M. O'Grady)

NNDCC FAQs

 
  1. What does the NNDCC program do?

  2. What are the student enrollment eligibility requirements?

  3. What are the benefits of NNDCC?

  4. What subjects are included in the curriculum?

  5. Who are the NNDCC Instructors?

 

Q. What does the NNDCC program do?

A. The NNDCC program:

  • Promotes Patriotism
  • Develops informed and responsible citizens
  • Develops respect for constructed authority
  • Develops a high degree of personal honor, self-reliance, individual discipline and leadership
  • Promotes an understanding of the basic elements and need for national security
  • Provides information on the military services as a possible career
  • Promotes community service
  • Develops leadership potential
  • Provides an alternative to gangs
  • Promotes high school completion
  • Provides incentive to live healthy and drug free

Q. What are the student enrollment eligibility requirements?

A. Student enrollment eligibility requirements are:

  • Be enrolled in and attending a regular course of instruction in a grade 9 through 12 at the school hosting the unit.
  • Be above 14 years of age.
  • Be physically qualified to participate in the school’s normal physical education program and in all NNDCC activities.
  • Be selected by the NNDCC instructor with the approval of the school principal or his/her representative.
  • Maintain acceptable standards of academic achievement and an academic standing that warrants at least normal progression leading to graduation.
  • Maintain acceptable standards of conduct.
  • Comply with specified personal grooming standards. Common sense and good judgment apply to the attainment of these standards. Standards will not be relaxed so as to reflect disgrace on the naval service.
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Q. What are the benefits of NNDCC?

A. Benefits include:

  • NNDCC provides the opportunity for secondary school students to learn the basic elements and need for national security and their personal obligations as Americans.
  • The program enhances the image of the military in the eyes of the community by providing a chance for success to the nation's youth.
  • While the training is along military lines, it is conducted so as to encourage initiative and individuality to develop natural gifts, to teach self-control, develop personal character, responsibility and qualities of integrity, loyalty, and dedication.
  • Cadets derive self-esteem from belonging to NNDCC.
  • The values, principles, and self-discipline taught in NNDCC romotes positive, productive behaviors and provides a support structure that is critical in helping cadets avoid the use of drugs.
  • The NNDCC program is motivational in encouraging cadets to graduate from high school.
  • Cadets presenting evidence of successful completion of at least 3 years of NNDCC are entitled to advanced promotion to pay grade E-3 upon initial enlistment in an active or reserve component of the Navy, or Air Force, and pay grade E-2 in the Army or the Marine Corps.
  • Cadets accepted for enlistment, who provide evidence of successful completion of 2 years of a NNDCC program are entitled to be enlisted in the Navy in pay grade E-2.
  • Senior Naval Science Instructor is authorized to nominate a maximum of three eligible cadets each year to compete for U.S. Naval Academy appointments.
  • Administrators of host schools that are designated as Distinguished Units with Academic Honors may nominate three eligible NNDCC cadets as candidates for appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and U.S. Air Force Academy in addition to the three nominations above to the U.S. Naval Academy.
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Q. What subjects are included in the curriculum?

A. The wide variety of subjects includes the following:

  • CITIZENSHIP -- Instill values and responsibilities of good citizenship.
  • NAVAL ORIENTATION -- A basic introduction to the Navy -- its customs, traditions, and way of life.
  • NAVAL OPERATIONS/ORGANIZATION -- Familiarizes the student with national strategy and naval forces, daily military operations, training, exercises, drills, and shipboard organization.
  • NAVAL HISTORY -- History of the United States Navy from the colonial period to the present.
  • NAVIGATION -- An introduction to piloting and celestial navigation.
  • SEAMANSHIP -- An introduction to the general subjects of seamanship that include anchoring and mooring, ship handling, small boats, weather, ship construction, and steering and propulsion systems.
  • LEADERSHIP -- An ongoing study of the principles and practical application of leadership with emphasis on providing opportunities for students to exercise and develop their own leadership abilities.
  • NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY -- A study of astronomy and its application to celestial navigation.
  • ELECTRONICS -- An introduction to electronics as the basis for shipboard radar, sonar, communications, and guidance systems.
  • OCEANOGRAPHY -- Provides information on the collection and dissemination of hydrographic and navigational data of the world's ocean systems.
  • DRILLS, COMMANDS, AND CEREMONIES -- Includes individual, squad, platoon, and company close order drill; rotation of command; physical fitness; personnel inspections; and parade in company review.

Q. Who are the NNDCC Instructors?

A. NNDCC instructors are:

  • Personnel hired by the host secondary educational institution who are certified by the Naval Service Training Command to administer the Navy-approved curriculum.
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Naval Service Training Command, NJROTC Program, 320A Dewey Ave Bldg 3 Rm 106, Great Lakes IL 60088-2912 
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