216 Midshipmen from 67 colleges and universities across Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) selected their first warship assignments, Feb. 25-26, during a video call hosted by The Navy Personnel Command PERS-41 Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) Assignments.

This spring, Midshipmen will report to their selected ships upon graduating from their universities and commissioning as Naval Officers. Aboard their ships, they will train and qualify as SWOs.

Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill, a career SWO and NROTC alumni who graduated from the University of Maine, a cross-town affiliate of Maine Maritime Academy, was a guest speaker.

“We are so incredibly proud to welcome the next generation of surface warfare officers to the fleet,” said Cahill. “Aboard their first warship, they will join a combat-ready team, where they’ll learn what it means to stand the watch and build the teamwork required to fight and win.” Order of selection is determined by merit. Midshipmen rankings are based on academic performance, physical fitness, and leadership skills.

Midshipman 1st Class Nicole Samella, 21, from Virginia Beach, VA, and a senior at Virginia Military Institute, was the first to pick and selected USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) home ported in Mayport, Florida. She will commission in May and graduate with a degree in electrical and computer engineering.

“I chose USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) because I wanted to be on the east coast and close to my family while still being somewhere tropical,” said Samella. “One day, I hope to attend the Navy Postgraduate School, and earn my master's degree in engineering, but for now I’m just very excited report to my first warship, qualify, and contribute to a mission bigger than myself!”

NROTC is under the charge of Commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), Rear Adm. Matthew Pottenburgh.

“NROTC transformed them into officers, and the fleet will temper them as warfighters,” Pottenburgh said. “Whether they serve on carriers, destroyers or amphibs, stateside or forward-deployed, they will lead our battle-ready Sailors and ensure that our Navy combat team remains agile, lethal, combat credible, and globally present.”

For 100 years, NROTC has been one of our Nation’s proven Foundries of Navy and Marine Corps Officers – forging leaders who are united in purpose, resilient in spirit, and committed to ensuring that our Navy and Marine Corps Combat Team remains ready to fight and win tonight, tomorrow, and well into the future.

NSTC, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, transforms America’s sons and daughters into service professionals through Recruit Training Command, Officer Training Command Newport, and NROTC.

To learn more about how NROTC develops the next generation of Navy and Marine Corps Officers, or explore available scholarship opportunities, please visit: https://www.netc.navy.mil/NSTC/NROTC/

COMNAVSURFLANT mans, trains and equips assigned surface forces and shore activities, ensuring a capable force for conducting prompt and sustained operations in support of United States national interests. The SURFLANT force is composed of 77 ships and 31 shore commands.

For more SURFLANT news and photos, visit https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/.