NROTC Commissions 34 Navy and Marine Officers

                                 The 34 Navy and Marine Corps Officers commissioned at USD on 22 May 2009

The San Diego Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps commissioned 34 Navy and Marine Corps officers Friday, May 22, 2009, in a ceremony held at the University of San Diego. 
           
The twenty Ensigns and fourteen 2nd Lieutenants have been officer candidates, Marines Corps Commissioning Candidates, or midshipmen for as many as five years, acquiring degrees from San Diego-area schools: University of San Diego, San Diego State University, University of California San Diego, California State University San Marcos and Point Loma Nazarene University.
           
Many of them have accepted the commission as fleet returnees, having served for much of their naval career as enlisted personnel in their respective service.
           
The Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group THREE, Rear Adm. Kendall L. Card, addressed the new officers before their friends and families at the ceremony by touching on the significance behind accepting their commission.
           
Upon receiving their stripes or bars, the Navy and Marine Corps officers received their first salute by a loved one, a close friend, or a shipmate from the fleet. The San Diego NROTC Commanding Officer, Captain Mark Woolley, addressed his newly commissioned officers and extended his appreciation to their families and the role they play in their officers’ lives. CAPT Woolley thanked the host universities and echoed Adm. Card’s speech which noted the importance behind being a military leader as well as the challenges ahead.
           
The San Diego Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Unit was established at the University of San Diego (USD) and San Diego State University (SDSU) in 1982. Since then, cross-town enrollment agreements with Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), Cal State University San Marcos (CSUSM), and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) were also established. The mission of NROTC San Diego is to develop Battalion members morally, mentally and physically while imbuing them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty