In addition to academic year requirements, midshipmen must also devote approximately one month of their summers to hands-on training with the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Midshipmen consider this the highlight of the year, as they travel to various locales, both national and international, and become fully integrated into the Navy and Marine Corps team. For more information about Midshipman Summer Cruises, see below or visit the Official Navy ROTC Summer Cruise Website.
Career Orientation Training for Midshipmen (CORTRAMID)
In the summer after your freshman year, you will attend your first summer cruise. CORTRAMID is conducted at shore training sites on the East and West Coasts of the U.S. The training is intended to familiarize midshipmen with the missions, tasks, and equipment of the various warfare areas: Surface, Submarine, Aviation, and Marine Corps. Midshipmen spend one week learning about each of the warfare areas.
Second Class Cruise
Second Class Cruise occurs the summer after your sophomore year. During Second Class Cruise, Navy Option Midshipmen are fully integrated into the shipboard organization and are assigned the duties of middle level enlisted personnel regularly assigned to Navy commands.
First Class Cruise
First Class Cruise occurs in the summer after your junior year. Like the summer before, you will become of a part of the ship’s crew, this time assigned duties similar to those you will receive upon commissioning as a junior officer.
Nurse Option Cruises
For those students in the Navy Nurse program, summer cruises differ slightly. The summer after freshman year will be spent aboard a Navy surface ship, integrated into the Medical Department. In the summer after junior year, Nurse options receive training at one of a number of shore-based hospitals and Naval Medical Centers.
Marine Option Cruises
As a Marine Option midshipman, your summer training differs from that of your Navy Option counterparts. Marine Option midshipmen are required to complete Officer Candidate School (OCS) training program “BULLDOG,” generally in the summer after their junior year.
Specialty Cruises
In addition to the summer training described above, qualified midshipmen can apply for limited spots in a number of unique specialty cruises such as: EOD, SEAL, and FOREX (foreign exchange).