(MILLINGTON, Tenn.) – Navy Midshipman Isaac Hoyohoy, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, participated in the 2019 spring 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.
“Personally, the NROTC program gave me a sense of community and family in such a big world,” said Hoyohoy. “My fellow shipmates wanted me to succeed and motivated me to become the best version of myself. Professionally, it gave me an opportunity to serve my country and represent something bigger than myself. I’ve always felt a calling toward the military service and toward seeking self-improvement and this program was a perfect fit for me. It’s allowed me to stand out amongst my peers, to go to college and to positively elevate my family.”
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.
“This presents years of hard work and self-improvement,” said Hoyohoy. “I’ve struggled and persevered through a lot and just having the opportunity to go through this process is a blessing that I could never have imagined. More importantly, this represents the hard work and sacrifice that my parents, and the rest of my family, have put into me just so I can have this opportunity. Being the first of my family to reach these new heights, it’s a blessing and an amazing opportunity for all of us.”
Hoyohoy, a 2015 James Campbell High School graduate, has selected to serve aboard USS Ronald Reagan. He is majoring in applied and computational mathematics at University of Southern California. Upon graduation, he will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Reagan as a surface warfare officer.
Commissioned in 2003, Reagan is a Nimitz-class, nuclear powered aircraft carrier homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of America's Naval forces. On any given day, aircraft carriers exercise the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Navigation Directions of Warfighting First, Being Ready and Operating Forward.
“I’m very excited to learn about the Navy through first-hand experience and to have the opportunity to travel around the world,”
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."
“Personally, the NROTC program gave me a sense of community and family in such a big world,” said Hoyohoy. “My fellow shipmates wanted me to succeed and motivated me to become the best version of myself. Professionally, it gave me an opportunity to serve my country and represent something bigger than myself. I’ve always felt a calling toward the military service and toward seeking self-improvement and this program was a perfect fit for me. It’s allowed me to stand out amongst my peers, to go to college and to positively elevate my family.”
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.
“This presents years of hard work and self-improvement,” said Hoyohoy. “I’ve struggled and persevered through a lot and just having the opportunity to go through this process is a blessing that I could never have imagined. More importantly, this represents the hard work and sacrifice that my parents, and the rest of my family, have put into me just so I can have this opportunity. Being the first of my family to reach these new heights, it’s a blessing and an amazing opportunity for all of us.”
Hoyohoy, a 2015 James Campbell High School graduate, has selected to serve aboard USS Ronald Reagan. He is majoring in applied and computational mathematics at University of Southern California. Upon graduation, he will receive a commission as a Navy Ensign and report aboard Reagan as a surface warfare officer.
Commissioned in 2003, Reagan is a Nimitz-class, nuclear powered aircraft carrier homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of America's Naval forces. On any given day, aircraft carriers exercise the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Navigation Directions of Warfighting First, Being Ready and Operating Forward.
“I’m very excited to learn about the Navy through first-hand experience and to have the opportunity to travel around the world,”
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."
“I honestly believe that humility and self-sacrifice are some of the most important hallmarks to becoming a successful naval officer and a good person. We all represent something much bigger than us and we are fighting for an idea or a purpose that is much greater than us,” added Hoyohoy. “How I portray this is through my eagerness to lead with the welfare and safety of my people in mind. In and out of the Navy, I will fight for my people, I will honorably represent them and that I will never forget that I wouldn’t be able to succeed without them.”