Auburn has Navy/Marine, Air Force, and Army ROTC branches for students to join. We interviewed four Naval ROTC students to learn more about their experiences.
Zachary Mutty
The life of an Auburn University Midshipman starts at New Student Orientation (NSO). Yourself and all other newly appointed MIDN show up to Nichols Center donning their best khakis pants and white polo to kick off your training to become a Navy or Marine Corp Officer. I viewed my time in Naval ROTC as a part time job. In a part time job, you show up to work, get the job done and go about your day. The same can be said about Naval ROTC. You attend morning PT sessions, afternoon leadership labs, and drill practice. However, at the conclusion of each event you maintain your status as a normal Auburn college student. You have the ability to join clubs, participate in IM sports, and be a member of a Greek life chapter.
Auburn Naval ROTC has given me countless opportunities from exploring naval aircraft to being at the controls of multimillion dollar warships during summer cruise and Naval ROTC club trips. These training and club trips have afforded me the opportunity to travel all around the country as part of Auburn Naval ROTC. There are a variety of clubs in the Auburn Naval ROTC program that help you advance your knowledge about the respective warfare areas you will someday enter. They include the Naval Aviation Society of Auburn (NASA), Arleigh Burke Honorary Fraternity (ABHF), Semper Fi Society, and the Drill Team. I was a member of NASA and the Drill Team with created fond memories from trips to Pensacola, FL to tour Naval Aviation Squadrons, and New Orleans, LA for the Tulane Drill Competition. Here at Auburn, we have a semester long sports competition against the Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC where the winner earns the coveted Commanders Cup. We compete against each other in various sports such as football, soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee and more. At the end of the year, the branch with the most overall points wins the Commander’s Cup.
Every summer you will attend a different summer cruise. Your first summer you will go on CORTRAMID where you will spend a week with each potential warfare community you might someday join after commissioning at the end of your Naval ROTC career. Your second summer you will go on Second Class Cruise where you will be assigned an enlisted running mate and learn about life in the navy as an enlisted sailor. Your third and final cruise will be a First Class Cruise where you will be assigned an officer running mate and learn about life as a naval officer. All of these cruises build upon each other to give you a strong base to start your Naval career.
As a student at Auburn University, you will quickly learn everyone loves Auburn sports. If you have been to a sporting event you have probably noticed the service members carrying the national ensign and rifles known as the color guard. Auburn NROTC performs color guards for Auburn football games, Auburn basketball games, Auburn soccer games, and Auburn baseball games. As a member of the color guard, you have the ability to stay after your performance to enjoy the event. If you have been to an Auburn football game you may have noticed the field being covered in all 50 state flags. We call this freshman flags where every freshman has the opportunity to carry one of the 50 flags onto the field and then stay after and enjoy front row seats at an Auburn football game. I was blessed to perform freshman flags during the 2017 Iron Bowl and was one of the first students to be able to rush the field after Auburn’s dominating win.
Auburn NROTC has afforded me opportunities I never thought possible in college. I have now commissioned into the Navy and will attend flight school in Pensacola, FL all thanks to the Auburn Naval ROTC program.
ENS Rosinko
When thinking about the military and Naval ROTC the first things that comes to mind are discipline, physical fitness, rigidity, and getting yelled at by an angry Gunnery Sergeant. All things that seem to be quite the opposite of what you associate with college. While some of those things hold true to Naval ROTC, the reality of it is that life as a Naval ROTC student is not all that different from the average Auburn college student. There are certainly a few sacrifices that you’ll have to make, but the benefits far outweigh those tradeoffs.
The price you pay for Naval ROTC is assumed to be much more than it actually is. If you’re on a Naval ROTC scholarship, you will serve in the military for a few years after graduation. If you do not meet the standards for the Physical Fitness Test (PRT) then you’ll have to wake up early to work out four days a week. Men will need a short haircut and fresh shave to stay within grooming standards. Occasionally, you will have to wake up early for a fun field day with our consortium unit at Tuskegee. You will need to maintain a minimum of fifteen credit hours each semester and take certain classes for the program that will not be part of your degree.
What are the benefits of Naval ROTC? As a Naval ROTC student, you will get access to classes and training designed to help you learn and hone your leadership abilities. A skill that will be useful to you in any career you choose after the military. You will have the opportunity to participate in freshman flags which will give you free access to football games. Personally, I was able to go to the Georgia and Alabama games my freshman year because of this. There are numerous clubs associated with the unit like our aviation society, submariner society, surface warfare society, color guard (which will get you free access to all kinds of sporting events like football and basketball), drill team (which takes a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras to compete in a competition and experience the festival), and commander’s cup (which is an intramural sports competition between the ROTC branches). There are also field meets where we compete in friendly competitions with the Tuskegee unit. For those who are on scholarship, there are also many financial benefits and opportunities for great experiences. Every summer you will have the opportunity to explore the different components of the Navy and different parts of the US and the world. Places like San Diego, Pensacola, Pearl Harbor, Norfolk, Camp Lejeune, Guam, Spain, etc. You will have the opportunity to fly in jets, sneak through the ocean on a submarine, watch the sunrise from a destroyer, or experience the floating cities known as aircraft carriers. Financially, the benefits are incredible, as your entire tuition is covered by the Navy. You receive a book stipend every semester, you get a monthly stipend that increases every year you are in the program, and you have a guaranteed job immediately after graduation. For me personally, between the Navy and university scholarships, I was able to pay for my entire college experience by myself.
All in all, while there are some sacrifices to being a Naval ROTC student, the benefits far outweigh the costs. You will have opportunities to experience things most people can only dream of while still being able to experience Auburn to its fullest.
Andrew Lewis
Since I was four years old, it has been my dream to be a naval officer and an Auburn graduate. I came to Auburn as a third-generation Auburn student not knowing what to expect. By far, joining Auburn Naval ROTC was the best thing I have ever done. Normal college experiences seem boring in relation to the experience I have had in Auburn Naval ROTC. From the camaraderie created at morning PT events to experiencing Auburn football games in Jordan-Hare front row, my time here at Auburn flew by. In addition to all the good times I have had at Auburn, there was work that had to be done.
The battalion does a great job of ensuring that we are successful both on and off the drill field. From tutoring to study hours, Naval ROTC creates an environment that aids in a student’s studies and academic success. The fun never stopped, continuing right into the summer. The stereotypical motto of “Join the Navy, See the World,” definitely has merit. I spent my first summer in San Diego, CA doing some of the coolest things a 19-year-old can do. We were either underway on nuclear submarines, shooting guns with Marines, zipping around the skies in aircraft, or seeing what it’s like to be a Surface Warfare Officer. It doesn’t stop with the first summer, during the next one I was able to experience New York City during Fleet Week as a midshipman. Finally, if I hadn’t had enough fun yet, I was able to go to the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) and fly with Naval Aviators almost daily on a wide range of aircraft. If someone were to ask me which experience was my favorite, I would not be able to tell them because choosing one just isn’t possible. When we weren’t doing all these cool things, we were building bonds with fellow midshipmen from around the country that will last a lifetime.
Jackson Weyhe
At about six o’clock in the morning, on any given Wednesday, someone could drive along S Donahue Drive, and they would see a group of ROTC students formed up on the lawn in front of the Nichols Center. They are still tired, having only been up thirty minutes or so, and the coffee has not kicked in yet. Following an hour or so of physical training, everyone leaves and goes about their normal class day as a college student. On Wednesdays, however, Naval ROTC students are required to wear a prescribed uniform that day on campus and usually attend an afternoon leadership lab with their fellow midshipmen. Here, they learn about traits necessary to be a successful naval officer and even put these lessons into practice.
While there are many more obligations beyond these when you join NROTC, life is not too different than any other normal college student. Some days may be longer than others, but the general principles are to show up on time, in the right place, with the right uniform on and armed with a good attitude. If you are able to this, you are well on your way to becoming a strong naval officer. Like every other college student, you still go to class, have fun, and enjoy being a student at Auburn University. Some of the benefits include the possibility of a free education, an opportunity to serve your country, and strong friendships. Along with these, being a midshipman offers you the chance to do many fun things including summer cruise, drill team, Commander’s Cup, color guard, and freshman flags. These opportunities give you the chance to have fun, get into Auburn sporting events, and travel the country to places like California, Hawaii, and Guam. While NROTC does require hard work and dedication, people get out of it what they put into it and the rewards definitely make it worth it.
