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Opportunities

Learn about opportunities for leadership and hands-on experience at VT NROTC below

Professional Lab and Mission-Oriented Training (ProLab) is an integral and required adjunct to NROTC at VT. ProLabs introduce midshipmen to a wide range of contemporary and general military subjects in order to increase their professional knowledge, appreciation of military tradition, bearing, and discipline.

prolab
Picture of Midshipmen taking swim qualification

All NROTC midshipmen and Officer Candidates are required to pass the Navy Third Class Swim Test. The required skills are honed and improved during NROTC physical training.

Raider Company is to develop Marine Corps Option Midshipmen for both Officer Candidate School and The Basic School. Raider Company is not the only path to becoming a Marine Officer.

Picture of Raider Company doing tactical training

Summer Cruises

New Student Indoctrination (Before Freshman Year)

All NROTC Scholarship students in any program will attend a New Student Indoctrination (NSI) with students from across the country. This NSI will be held at Naval Station Great Lakes, IL. All travel will be paid for by the Navy, regardless of program. The training will last approximately two weeks and will teach prospective Midshipman the basics in military training, to include drill, physical training, customs and curtsies, and more.

Students must pass NSI in order to enter the NROTC program as a Midshipman in the fall semester. Passing will require students to pass the Physical Fitness Assessment, complete swim qualifications, and demonstrate military bearing and leadership potential throughout the event.

CORTRAMID (After Freshman Year)

Career Orientation Training for Midshipmen, more commonly known as CORTRAMID, is a 4-week long summer training event that exposes rising 3/C and 2/C scholarship students to their career opportunities in both the Navy and Marine Corps. A full week is devoted to each of the Aviation, Surface, and Submarine communities of the Navy as well as a full week of Marine Corps exposure where Midshipmen have the chance to ask questions and experience each field first-hand. CORTRAMID training is conducted in both San Diego, CA, and Norfolk, VA. Midshipmen must ultimately make decisions as to which warfare area they will request to be commissioned into; CORTRAMID is designed to instill awareness of these areas and provide midshipmen with the background necessary to make informed decisions regarding their career choice.

Second Class Cruise and Sea Trials (After Sophmore Year)

All rising second-class Midshipmen on scholarship will be given the opportunity to complete a second-class cruise. Also called the enlisted appreciation cruise, this at-sea training on surface ships and submarines furnishes Midshipmen with basic shipboard orientation and an introduction to enlisted life and the roles of the work center supervisor. Second-class Midshipmen who did not participate in CORTRAMID as third-class Midshipmen may do so in lieu of a second-class cruise if billets are available. Marine Option midshipmen shall attend an amphibious cruise or embed with USMC units.

In addition to a second-class cruise, scholarship Midshipmen are to complete sea trials, a 10-day course during the summer before their Junior year. Throughout the 10 days, midshipmen will be trained in firefighting, damage control, watchstanding, seamanship, navigation, force protection, and swimming along with physical fitness and military inspection by NROTC staff.

First Class Cruise (After Junior Year)

While Marine Option midshipmen are busy at OCS in Quantico, Navy Option midshipmen are busy with a summer program of their own. All Navy Option Midshipmen, regardless of scholarship status, must attend a first-class cruise. The first-class cruise serves to give Navy Midshipmen insight into the life of a junior officer and they are paired with a running mate, usually a junior officer. Midshipmen may complete their first class cruise aboard a ship, aboard a submarine, or with an aviation squadron (either ashore or afloat). Midshipmen who select ships or submarines often make port visits. Those who select aviation cruises often come back with a few flights under their belts.