I am grateful to have witnessed the benefits of being in a diverse Navy unit. My current Naval ROTC (NROTC) class has two times more women than men and about half of us identify as minorities. The unique composition of my cohort has taught me to be more conscious of implicit bias and to analyze situations through external lenses. My special setting has enhanced my respect for diversity, but my peers should not be the sole source reminding me of the impact and importance of sailors with different backgrounds. As an essential segment of the Navy’s trinity of commissioning sources, NROTC must train its future officers to be prepared for and cognizant of situations that involve racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Performative PowerPoint presentations and sporadic reminders regarding inclusivity cannot qualify as substantive education for midshipmen. Naval Service Training Command (NTSC) must institute curriculum changes to Career Orientation Training for Midshipmen (CORTRAMID) and NROTC’s course requirements that incorporate more opportunities to celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity. In addition, NROTC can signal a greater commitment to diversity by institutionalizing name changes that honor the Navy’s history of having diverse leaders.
Unlike the U.S. Naval Academy, NROTC is fairly decentralized and units are privy to specific operating procedures written by universities that often differ from one another. In addition, many NROTC units will have different staff compositions and sizes overall. For these reasons, introducing a framework on diversity and inclusion initiatives that produce similar learning outcomes for midshipmen around the country can be limited. However, midshipmen are expected to complete summer training evolutions, and NSTC can use these events to exercise uniform exposure to the Navy’s diversity. I was fortunate to attend CORTRAMID West in 2019 and to spend a month learning more about the Navy’s different warfare communities. I see no reason stopping COTRAMID from serving as an opportunity for midshipmen to explore the Navy’s diversity. During my COTRAMID experience, I was surprised by my inability to exclusively engage with sailors of Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage. Organizing small events devoted to various affinity groups will educate and allow midshipmen to ask intimate questions towards active-duty sailors with mirroring identities. Classroom education on diversity should also supplement CORTRAMID and new student indoctrination (INDOC). While the Navy executes systematic training for midshipmen on sexual assault and harassment at CORTAMID, it also would be beneficial for diversity and racial bias training to be taught with similar vigor at these locations. Online certification on racial bias training and diversity have long been unaccountable and easily relegated in priorities. Stressing the importance of diversity must take form through human-to-human interactions when possible as there are many advantages to having midshipmen discuss and solve sensitive scenarios.
Using CORTRAMID or INDOC as a training evolution on diversity is paramount as midshipmen are in the early stages of the NROTC pipeline. Many ensigns and second lieutenants commissioned from NROTC state how their boot camp and CORTRAMID experiences were extremely formative in their conception of the Navy. In some cases, contracted midshipmen will leave the program by foregoing their scholarship in the beginning of sophomore year. Therefore, these events are extremely influential on midshipmen undecided about being naval officers. By exposing midshipmen to more individuals with diverse backgrounds, the Navy will likely decrease the number of midshipmen who potentially leave NROTC because of insecurity surrounding their representation and value. CORTRAMID’s purpose is to reinforce leadership through practical application and learn the missions, tasks along with the equipment of different warfare communities. However, midshipmen should not forget that an officer’s emotional quotient (EQ) and social awareness is just as vital when managing a team’s readiness. Therefore, CORTRAMID should expand its mission and provide more substantial opportunities on diversity education for its participants.
Promoting diversity and inclusion at CORTRAMID is an important first step for the education of future officers. However, this one-time training evolution must be followed by continual instruction. Outside of their naval science requirements, NROTC requires its Navy option midshipmen to study physics, calculus, english, national security, and a subject in international relations. Whether they be a Navy-option or Marine-option, midshipmen are not required to study topics that center a majority of its curriculum around ethnicity and gender studies. For example, midshipmen may complete a course in U.S. history to fulfill a class on national security policy, but midshipmen are not asked to study a topic on race. It should be encouraged or mandated that midshipmen attend at least one university course that academically delves into race relations or the study of underrepresented groups in the United States. Some universities may not have departments that explore such studies, but lectures can be substituted with an active effort by the midshipmen to orient some nature of a seminar’s coursework around studies on diversity. This past semester, I was given the opportunity to conduct mixed methods research about the history and present state of Asian-American participation in the armed forces. While this class was explicitly devoted to the science of research design, I found great fulfillment in choosing my topic around this subject because I learned more about the significance of the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) inclusivity on the rate of enlistment.
Lastly, names have significance and DoD recognizes this, as demonstrated by its new commission that supports efforts in renaming bases that honor Confederate leaders. NROTC should take the initiative in celebrate the Navy’s diverse heritage by recommending some of its establishments honor leaders who trailblazed paths for their ethnic group and contributed enormously despite confronting discrimination. These approaches can include units naming the battalion after one of its alumni, providing new awards for midshipmen under the name of a motivating individual, and by starting new traditions that honor the legacy of pioneering sailors. Like how sailors rally around the name of their ship, midshipmen should also find inspiration in those who represent the best of the service. I remember entering my university because of its rich relationship with the Navy that also includes the likes of educating Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, along with celebrating her legacy by renaming a residential college after her. I was ecstatic to hear that the Naval Academy named its new center for cybersecurity after Hopper. I am hopeful that NROTC can adopt a similar initiative to recognize and honor past figures with diverse backgrounds for the near future.
Many of the Navy’s future flag officers in the 21st century will have commissioned from NROTC. It is vital that this new generation understands that a diverse and welcoming Navy is what will continue to solidify its place as the world’s leading maritime force. NROTC can instill more awareness of diversity and inclusion by expanding the opportunities provided in CORTRAMID beyond platform awareness and exposure to warfare communities. Individuals like Dr. Jonny Kim and Rear Admiral Hopper should have their stories amplified by NROTC as they have inspired midshipmen like me to enter the fleet. If the Navy seeks to improve the quality of its officer corps, then examining the merits of such recommended initiatives for NROTC are warranted.
