NROTC San Diego Commissions 41 Officers During May Ceremony

Second Lieutenant Kenel Ewhondens is used to hard work. He has been in the Marine Corps for 10 years, enlisting as a Private First Class (PFC). On May 25, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during a ceremony on the USS Midway.

“My brother and I went to bootcamp together,” says Ewhondens. “It was the first time we saw a Black Captain, he was our Commanding Officer, and he inspired us to take this route and commission as an officer. Now, I plan to motivate and inspire other kids to do what I’m doing.”

Second Lieutenant Ewhondens attended the University of San Diego, majoring in Computer Science and will report to The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia upon graduation. He is among the 41 newly commissioned officers, which includes 22 Ensigns (Navy) and 19 Second Lieutenants (Marine Corps). 

This was one of the largest class of commissioning Second Lieutenants in the history of Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) San Diego. Lieutenant General George W. Smith Jr., Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force addressed the commissionees. He recalled his own commissioning ceremony 38 years ago at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and how his father, a retired Marine of 35 years, was overcome with emotion.

“He administered the Oath of Office hundreds of times. On that day, with the pride and accompanying emotions running high, this battle-hardened Marine stood up ramrod straight in his dress white uniform, raised his right hand, looked me right in the eye and recited something that sounded like an amalgam of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the 23rd Song. He was so overcome with emotion that he forgot the words,”  Lt. Gen. Smith recalls. “To me that highlights the emotions and pride of this special day in an officer’s life.”

But family and friends weren’t the only ones overcome by emotion. The newly commissioned Ensigns and Second Lieutenants also recognized this ceremony as a moment to celebrate the last four years of their lives.

“This moment means everything,” said Ensign Chase Scherschel, who is graduating from USD and will be reporting to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training in Coronado, Calif. “This is something we’ve all been working towards for a long time to serve our country and to do it with this great group of people really means a lot.”

NROTC San Diego was established at the University of San Diego and San Diego State University in 1982. Since then, enrollment agreements with Point Loma Nazarene University, Cal State University San Marcos and the University of California San Diego were also established.

The Battalion includes Midshipmen, active-duty Marines participating in the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP) and active-duty sailors who were selected for the Seaman to Admiral 21 (STA-21) Officer Candidate program.

— Kelsey Grey ’15 (BA)

Photos by Matt Piechalak