by Kayla Good,
Navy Office of Community Outreach
(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Megan Bodart from De
Pere, Wisconsin, participated in the 2017 spring Navy Reserve Officer Training
Corps (NROTC) ship selection draft as a future member of the U.S. Navy’s
Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) community.
More than 280 midshipmen at Navy Reserve Officer Training
Corps (NROTC) units around the country have selected to serve in the Navy as
surface warfare officers. Each selecting midshipman is ranked according to his
or her grade point average, aptitude scores, and physical fitness.
“NROTC has given me the opportunity to develop valuable
leadership skills and step out of my comfort zone,” said Bodart. “It has given
me the chance to lead groups of people and develop my skills such as public
speaking and decision making.”
According to their
rankings, each midshipman provided their 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.
“To me the SWO
selection process is what the past three years have been leading up to, it
means I will finding out which ship I will be reporting to and calling my new
home,” said Bodart.
Bodart, a 2013 De Pere High School graduate, has selected to
serve aboard USS Milwaukee. She is majoring in criminal justice and minoring in Arabic
while attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Upon graduation, Bodart will
receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Milwaukee as a surface
warfare officer.
Milwaukee is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship home-ported in Mayport, Florida.
“At my first ship I am looking forward to experiencing more
of what life is like in the fleet, and getting a chance to apply the knowledge
and skills I have learned through NROTC in a real work environment,” said
Bodart. “The chance to work with, learn from, and lead sailors out in the fleet
is something I am very excited for.”
The midshipmen’s selection of their ship is not only a
milestone for them but also an important day for the ships in the fleet. Not
only do the midshipmen choose where they are going to start their Naval career,
but the ship they choose will also gain a motivated, eager, young officer to
help lead and improve an already great team.
While NROTC units are spread out
across the country and vary in size, they all teach midshipmen the values,
standards, abilities and responsibility that it takes to become a Navy officers
and lead this nations sons and daughters in protecting freedom on the seven
seas.
“The leadership
traits I will bring to the ship include tact, initiative, and enthusiasm. One
of the traits I poses is being able to work well with people in any
environment, adapting to their different leadership styles and personalities,”
added Bodart. “I will also bring initiative. I am enthusiastic when it comes to the completion
of tasks because I strive to do the best work possible and motivate those
around me to do the same.”