(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Brian Wisbauer from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 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.“The NROTC program has prepared me for military leadership, by providing guidance, instruction and leadership opportunity in order to give me the experience to begin my career on the right foot,” said Wisbauer.
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.
“For the past four years, I have been learning how to be an effective leader of sailors,” said Wisbauer. “I am immensely excited to finally have that opportunity aboard my ship.”
Wisbauer, a 2015 Stroudsburg High School graduate, has selected to serve aboard USS John P. Murtha. Wisbauer is majoring in economics while attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Upon graduation, Wisbauer will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard John P. Murtha as a surface warfare officer.
Commissioned in 2016, John P. Murtha is home ported at Naval Base San Diego. John P. Murtha is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship named after Portland, Oregon. Amphibious transport dock ships are warships that embark, transport and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions.
“I feel as though I have developed the foresight, enthusiasm and ability to learn new things to further develop into a naval officer,” said Wisbauer.
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."
“The ship selection process has allowed me to choose a ship that aligns with my goals and interests for my first naval tour,” added Wisbauer.