by Cmdr. Andrew Jarrett
The
Best Fit
Selecting Future Submariners at the Naval Academy
The
Naval Academy has completed its service assignment process for the Class of 2010, culminating with the accession of 127 submarine officers into the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP). Recent press reports have suggested that insufficient numbers of both Naval Academy and ROTC Midshipmen initially indicated submarines as their first choice and that the Navy’s leaders had initiated a “draft.” What these reports failed to acknowledge was that the fight for talent among our Navy communities is always fierce, with many officers and influencers providing mentoring and sea stories about the excitement of flying airplanes off a flight deck or launching tomahawks from under the sea. This year was no different. So how did we achieve our mission to meet the Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP)’s accession goals for 2010? We did it with hard work, sharing the story of our nuclear submarine Navy with one midshipman at a time. This article is a discussion of that hard work and how the Naval Academy selected 127 midshipmen who are ready to lead and serve in our nuclear submarine Navy when they receive their commissions this May. The Naval Academy’s professional devel 8 S P R I N G 2 0 1 0 U N D E R S E A WA R F A R E
opment program begins educating midshipmen on career opportunities during their first summer in Annapolis. Some of our midshipmen have aspired to join certain communities since they were small children. Others are not familiar with the Navy and Marine Corps team outside of a few films they may have seen. Regardless of aspiration, midshipmen arrive at the Naval Academy with a willingness to serve and no guarantee about their community assignment. By attending the Naval Academy, they
have volunteered to earn a diploma and commission and to serve as leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps. Throughout their four years in Annapolis, we work to provide each midshipman with exposure to every community available. Resources and programs include junior officer mentors, summer training cruises with the Fleet, returning alumni, and other midshipmen who have served as enlisted Sailors before arriving in Annapolis. At the beginning of their senior year,
