Activities

Weekly Activities

On a weekly basis, students will attend NROTC classes, Naval Science Laboratory, and physical training. Laboratory is a twice-weekly meeting of the NROTC Battalion, lasting for two hours. At lab, midshipmen receive a variety of training in general military subjects, practice close order drill, conduct uniform inspections, and meet with their student chain of command.

Social Activities

The battalion hosts several functions each semester ranging from company socials to formal ceremonies. These activities allow students to interact outside of the battalion and help build lasting ties.

Among the more formal activities, the midshipmen attend a Navy and Marine Corps Birthday all during the fall semester, as well as a Dining-In during the spring semester. These events honor the long and proud traditions of the naval service, and expose students to professional social events similar to those they will attend as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.

Presidents’ Review and Awards Ceremony

The annual Presidents’ Review and Awards Ceremony is conducted in the spring semester. The
battalion honors the presidents of the four schools with a formal military parade. The ceremony also permits many local and national organizations to present individual Midshipman awards for academic achievement and military aptitude. Parents are invited to attend.

Color Guard, Drill Team, and Military Excellence Competitions

The Battalion Color Guard and Drill Team perform at military and civilian functions, parades, and before university and local sporting events. The Color Guard Team has performed at both Boston Red Sox and New England Revolution games.

In addition, the battalion hosts a Military Excellence Competition in the fall semester, where midshipmen from regional NROTC units compete in drill, color guard, swimming, basketball, and endurance events. This event is a great opportunity for midshipmen to meet students from other units, engage in healthy competition, and have fun. The unit also sends midshipmen to compete at other Military Excellence Competitions throughout the year such as at Villanova, RPI, Boston University and Cornell.

Summer Training

All scholarship students participate in four-week summer cruises following each academic year. Students travel all over the world on cruises, and the Navy or Marine Corps pay for travel expenses to and from the cruise site every summer.

The first summer cruise, known as CORTRAMID (Career Orientation and TRAining for MIDshipmen), occurs after the first-year and gives both Navy and Marine Corps scholarship students the chance to learn about the four basic line officer specialties. Students spend one week each at four locations to receive familiarizations with aviation, submarine, surface ships, and Marine Corps operations.

The second summer cruise, which all scholarship students take after their second year, is aboard either a surface ship or submarine (student’s choice) and is geared toward experiencing the Navy from an enlisted viewpoint. Marine scholarship students participate in Marine Month at Camp Pendleton or Camp Lejeune, which prepares them for Officer Candidate School (OCS).

The summer cruise after the third year provides junior officer training aboard ships, submarines or aviation squadrons for the Navy students. Marine students attend OCS at Quantico, Virginia where they earn the title U.S. Marine.

College Program students take part in only one summer training cruise after their junior year.

Physical Training

All students are required to maintain minimum levels of physical fitness as prescribed by the Navy and Marine Corps. Each week, the battalion schedules physical training sessions to show students different exercises to help meet and exceed those requirements.