by Mass
Communication Specialist 2nd Class Amanda L. Owens, Navy Office of Community
Outreach
(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Jasmine R. Arnold from
Lithonia, Georgia, 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 helped me to become a stronger individual
mentally, physically, and emotionally,” said Arnold. “Over the past four years
I have learned an abundance of life lessons and professional skills that can
potentially aid me in the future. I have learned that in order to effectively
lead I must first learn how to follow. I have learned that I must follow the
right example, learning from the action of others, and always be open and
prepared to learn new things. This program has helped to mold me into the
person I am today.”
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.
“SWO ship selection process is another step closer to the
fleet,” said Arnold. “It makes me realize how quickly graduation and commissioning
is approaching and very soon I will be an ensign in the U.S. Navy.”
Arnold, a 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. High School graduate,
has selected to serve aboard USS Halsey. Arnold is majoring in biology while attending
Tuskegee University. Upon graduation, Arnold will receive a commission as a
Navy Ensign and report aboard Halsey as a surface warfare officer.
Halsey is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer home-ported in San Diego.
“At my
first ship, I am looking forward to being able to use what I have learned in this
program to lead enlisted sailors,” said Arnold. “I hope to be able to instill
trust in the sailors I will be leading, to motivate them to perform to their
highest potential.”
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.
“When I arrive to my first ship, I will bring with me a
character of being assiduous, dedicated, responsible, authentic, open-minded,
personable, and accountable,” said Arnold.