U.S. Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen enhance innovation partnership between U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Navy Information Warfare Command-Pacific.

The second year of the ROTC Cadet Training Success Program’s expansion into the Indo-Pacific recently kicked off with three ROTC midshipmen from universities and colleges across the country, gaining real-world experience and building technical skills under the mentorship of INDOPACOM and NIWC-Pacific engineers.

“Our goal was to expose the midshipmen to the research, development, testing, and integration of technologies that may be used within an operational environment,” said Marc Manalac, intelligence & space systems project engineer at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific Hawaii. “Not only did we want them to refine their technical skills they learned in school, but also expose them to the "why" and “how” the projects they worked on have a direct impact on our fleet and allies. Giving our future leaders an opportunity to work side-by-side with engineers and scientists and allowing them to have a direct hand in building various systems that equip midshipmen and cadets with a new perspective on how future technologies make it to the front line.”

The program was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research through Clarkson Aerospace Corp and facilitated by NIWCPAC.

“This program provides the next generation of naval military leaders with a unique perspective of how combatant commands partner with the services to out-innovate our adversaries; a key component of integrated deterrence,” said Dr. Martin Lindsey, USINDOPACOM science and technology advisor. “In return, we get to tap into the unmatched creativity and enthusiasm of our midshipmen and cadets and instill in them that from the very beginning of their careers, their contributions make a real difference.”

"I joined this program to gain a background understanding in the research and development that is used to support our Navy; something I would not otherwise be exposed to before becoming an active member of the Navy,” said Midshipmen 2nd Class Isabel Wellman, Texas A&M University NROTC. “Throughout this experience, I learned how to apply both general and specific topics to large and complex projects and recognize how to get to an answer when there is no answer key. The most rewarding experience I had was to witness the result of the team's work when we produced a working deliverable of our project.”

This program represents one component of a network of USINDOPACOM mentorship and development opportunities. The command works with industry and partners across the Department of Defense to ensure innovation at the highest level.

USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression, and, when necessary, fighting to win.