Nearly a month after the Naval Academy's traditional ship selection night for future surface warfare officers, midshipmen from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps got to make their picks, too, but with a new social media twist, Feb. 23.

Like their Naval Academy shipmates, more than 280 midshipmen from 70 college units were ranked according to their grade-point average, aptitude scores and physical fitness levels.

The top five students were invited from their far-flung locations to a "Google Hangout" chat at 10 a,m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, the top five NROTC mids logged onto their computers from their far flung locations and made their selections in an environment more reminiscent of the National Football League draft than a military duty selection.

For years, NROTC ship selection was a quiet affair happened relatively quietly with each mid contacting the SWO detailers, but starting this year, the surface warfare community worked put to make its selection process on par with what happens in Annapolis.

The other midshipmen made their remaining mids had their selections  spread over the next two days. They were given a time slot to log into the Navy Personnel Command web site, where available ship and homeport selections were being updated in real time. They could then review the information and make their selections. on the Navy Personnel Commmand Web site allowing each to consult it as their time slot came up. 

"It's a very significant day in the career of a surface warfare officer, selecting their first ship," said Capt. Brad Cooper. "It's our goal that every officer coming into surface warfare gets a welcome — we want that opportunity for both the Naval Academy and NROTC to be obvious to them, that we as a community are looking out for their best interests starting with their first ship."

Cooper said that the use of the Google Hangout, and celebrating the top graduates from around the country via a video teleconference, was so successful, that Navy officials they are already are looking at ways to expand it to more of the top graduates next year.

Cooper realizes that appearances could lead people to believe that the Naval Academy got the first picks and the ROTC grads picked from what is left over, but insisted that's not the case. and that’s not the case, he said. 

He cited the fact that the top graduates from both commissioning sources chose are going to the same ship, the guided-missile destroyer Zumwalt.  

"It's a completely balanced distribution of billets and opportunity for both the Naval Academy and ROTC," Cooper said. "The fact the Academy picked in January and ROTC in February, is just a mere reflection of administration and scheduling.

"The actual billet and ships available to pick from are absolutely equally balanced."

Here's a look at the top five graduates, and their comments on their selections:

1. Midshipman William Orsborn[CQ/mf] from Embry Riddell Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, used his top pick to get the guided missile destroyer Zumwalt 

"It's going to be a great opportunity to be part of the history of the USS Zumwalt and this new class of destroyers," he said. "I hope to make the best officer that I can."

2. Midshipman Baylee Smith from the Morehouse College Academic Consortium out of Atlanta selected the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer John Finn.

"I really wanted to be stationed in San Diego," she said. "I hope to gain the most experience out of everything that I do in my SWO career, so I'm trying to be really open minded."

3. Midshipman Abigail Kaiser from Villanova University in Philadelphia selected the forward-deployed destroyer USS Donald Cook, newly home-ported in Rota, Spain.

"I knew that I wanted to either be on a destroyer or a cruiser, and the opportunity to go to Europe was something I wanted to take advantage of," she said. I want to take full advantage of all the opportunities I'm given, travel if I can; just gain the most experience possible."

4. Midshipman Connor Culley from Virginia Military Institute in Lexington selected the amphibious transport dock USS Somerset.

"I grew up in Virginia Beach, and I heard a lot of good things about San Diego, but more importantly, I wanted to get onboard the Somerset," he said "One, because it's a new ship, and two, because it's a unique platform and I can get to know more about our Marine brothers — I plan on staying in for my full 20, for sure."

5. Officer candidate [CQ - Not Midshipman because she is STA-21/mf] Brianna Muth from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, a former enlisted nuclear power sailor before being selected for the Seaman to Admiral program, rounded out the top five by picking another forward-deployed guided-missile destroyer, the Carney, also Rota based. 
(DDG-75).
"As a prior enlisted sailor, I was never afforded the opportunity to go to Spain, so that was definitely a big part of my decision," she said.  

"Additionally, I like the close-knit community of a destroyer, so that's the best pick for me as I would like to benefit from all the knowledge that's out there and learn as much as I can.

"I have five years in, I love what I do and I love being part of the Navy," she said. "From here on out, my husband and I will serve the best way we can and give the Navy everything we have."

About Mark D. Faram

Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.

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