Monday, February 20, 2017

Greenwich, N.Y. Native participates in NROTC Ship Selection Draft

by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Amanda L. Owens, Navy Office of Community Outreach

(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Anne E. Grimmke from Greenwich, New York, 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.

“The NROTC at Holy Cross has undoubtedly guided my growth in patience and moral courage,” said Grimmke. “Prior to college, I had a tough time voicing my opinion to others. My experience in the Holy Cross Unit has challenged this trait, by encouraging me to engage in heated case study discussions, and working alongside my peers as battalion leaders.”

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, ship selection is essentially the entirety of our college and NROTC careers condensed into one choice,” said Grimmke. “The SWO ship selection process is a compilation of the last four years of training so that we can start our careers on a fresh slate.”

Grimmke, a 2013 Greenwich Central High School graduate, has selected to serve aboard USS Arleigh Burke. She is majoring in psychology while attending College of the Holy Cross. Upon graduation, Grimmke will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Burke as a surface warfare officer.

Burke, the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, is home-ported in Norfolk, Virginia. Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups and underway replenishment groups.

“I am most looking forward to working with the other officers and sailors on the ship,” said Grimmke. “Both as a Midshipman and a psychology student, I have enjoyed learning from those around me. I am excited to enter a new work environment, be challenged with the new experiences associated with being on ship, and learn both on an individual level as well as on a divisional and ship-wide level. I am looking forward to striving for new academic, personal, and group goals while building camaraderie with the ship.”

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.


“Among the many things that NROTC has taught me, I have learned that I may not know all the answers,” said Grimmke. “Both Holy Cross and NROTC have prepared me well with being able to find reliable information quickly. I have found that I have a hard time letting unsolved problems lie dormant, which reflects my persistence. As a leader, I pride myself on being a good listener, which allows me to learn from those around me, as well as be able to help others by being a point of source of support.”