Midshipmen learn Marine Corps basics

Photo By T. T. Parish | United States Naval Academy midshipmen stack outside the doorway of a building during Military Operations on Urban Terrain training at a range aboard Camp Pendleton, June 17. The midshipmen are immersed in the basics of Marine Corps operations and culture during a weeklong evolution known as Marine Week. The events are designed to open doors for possible future Marines as midshipmen prepare to decide their career paths as naval officers. Marine Week is part of the larger program known as PROTRAMID, Professional Training for midshipmen, conducted by the Naval Academy during the summer prior to their third year at the Annapolis, Md., based service academy.  

06.17.2009

Story by Sgt. T. T. Parish 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

MARINE CORPS BASE, CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The four-year proving ground of the United States Naval Academy separates the weak from the strong, culling the cream of the crop of America's finest young men and women for service as United States Naval officers.

Part of that process involves choosing a career path best suited to the individual midshipman. There is Naval Aviation, Navy SEALS, Surface Warfare, Submarine Warfare, and then there are the Few and The Proud.

Following the second year of schooling at Annapolis, Md., each midshipman spends the summer doing on-the-job training at a variety of naval installations through a program called PROTRAMID, professional training for midshipmen.

Potential future United States Marines at the Academy are introduced to the Marine Corps during a weeklong training evolution designed to open doors to a possible career in the Corps, according to Maj. Mike E. Rodgers, PROTRAMID Marine Week officer in charge.

"[The midshipmen] are going to be professional naval officers. If they're in the Navy, they have to understand what we do in the Marine Corps," said Rodgers. "If they want to go Marine Corps, this week helps them say, 'Yeah, I really want to do that. I liked what we did out here, that's what I want to do,' then great, we help them make that decision."

The PROTRAMID Marine Week is also important for the Marine Corps, according to Rodgers, because it gives Midshipmen a broader view of their options and motivates those who truly have what it takes to be a Marine Corps officer.

"For the Marine Corps, it's important because we have a mission for accessions into the Marine Corps, so we have to attract interest in the right number of people, more than that because some of them may not be appropriate for the Marine Corps," Rodgers said. "So we need to get more who say I want to be a Marine than we're actually going to accept."

For the midshipman, the challenge of Marine Week builds confidence and resolve for those who want to be Marines. For others, it solidifies their path to a career in the Navy, according to Petty Officer 2nd Class Robyn L. Wegele, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla.

"There are a lot of things we're learning about and things we haven't really been able to do at the Academy," said Wegele. "People who don't get exposed to this might think differently of the Marines or have some different idea of it, and they get into it and they think, 'Well maybe I don't want to do this.' I guess it shows them whether they really want to do this or not."

For Wegele, who hopes to be a Marine Corps helicopter pilot, Marine week has strengthened her desire to join the Corps and clarified the challenge that lies ahead as a future Marine.

"I've wanted to go Marines since I was in high school, so I've had the perception that they're [hard core] and it's going to be difficult and tough, and sweating and going through hard stuff," Wegele said.

In addition to an introduction to day-to-day operations, Marine Week immersed them in the culture of the Corps. Seeing the camaraderie between Marines highlighted the importance of solid training coupled with esprit de corps, according to 20-year-old Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert A. Macedo.

"In the Marine Corps, both the culture and the operations work hand-in-hand, and I don't think one supersedes the other," said Macedo, a native of Washington D.C. "Together the combination works and allows the mission to be accomplished."

Because mission accomplishment is the goal of all Marines, it is important to keep the Marine Corps officer ranks stocked with the best Naval Academy graduates possible, and it begins with PROTRAMID Marine Week, Macedo said.

"I think the Marine Corps is only benefiting itself. They're showing [the midshipmen] what the Marine Corps is about and they'll be able to take the best from the Naval Academy to come and lead Marines in combat."

• Date Taken: 06.17.2009
• Date Posted: 06.30.2009 17:37
• Story ID: 35814