(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Derrick Gilbert from Dixfield, Maine, participated in the 2018 winter Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) ship selection draft as a future member of the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) community.
More than 40 midshipmen from NROTC units around the country chose to serve as surface warfare officers. Each selecting midshipmen are ranked according to their grade point average, aptitude scores and physical fitness.“NROTC has given me an opportunity to prepare for my transition from an enlisted Sailor to an officer,” said Gilbert. “The greatest benefit I obtained was through the required courses and interactions with midshipmen as a peer. Additionally, working alongside midshipmen in day to day unit functions provided me an opportunity to not only mentor others, but see those that are ten to fifteen years younger than me as peers.”
According to their rankings, each midshipman provided a preference of ship or homeport to the junior officer detailer at the Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee. If these preferences were available, they were assigned as requested.
“I am excited to be going back to Norfolk, Virginia for the first time in five years,” said Gilbert. “I really enjoyed my time onboard USS Mason from 2010 to 2014 and can’t wait to be back on a destroyer! I am most looking forward to interacting with my division and leading those men and women in whatever mission we are assigned.”
Gilbert, a 2002 Dirigo High School graduate, has selected to serve aboard USS Truxtun. Gilbert is majoring in electrical engineering while attending Arizona State University. Upon graduation, Gilbert will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Truxtun as a surface warfare officer.
Commissioned in 2009, Truxtun is home ported at Naval Station Norfolk. Truxtun is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer that provides multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, expeditionary strike groups, and missile defense action groups.
“The lessons and information that I learned as an enlisted sailor will be one of my biggest strengths when I first arrive on board,” Gilbert said. “Having the ability to know how sailors are feeling during day-to-day life will help me to realize how to motivate them and get the most out of my division.”
The midshipmen’s ship selection is not only a major personal milestone but also an important day for the ships in the fleet. Not only do the midshipmen choose where they are going to start their Navy career, but the ship they choose will also gain a motivated, eager, young officer to help lead and improve an already great team, according to Navy officials.
"NROTC units across the country instill essential warfighting fundamentals, professional core competencies, and ethics required in a Navy or Marine Corps officer," said Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, Commander, Naval Service Training Command, which includes the NROTC Program. "I am enormously proud of our graduating midshipman for completing this demanding program, and look forward to them joining the fleet."
"Having previously been assigned to the Naval Academy and going through the enlisted order process, it was amazing to have the opportunity to know immediately where I would be assigned,” said Gilbert. “Being able to pick the specific ship I wanted has taken away a lot of the stress of picking orders for both me and my family.”