Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit Rutgers University Spring 2019 Ship Selection Concludes with Princeton University Midshipman Olivia Rhodes’ Surface Warfare Pick

Photo: (February 22, 2019) Midshipman Olivia Rhodes, pictured above during her summer cruise, selected the USS Stout (DDG-55) Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during the final day of the spring 2019 ship selection event.

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit Rutgers University Spring 2019 Ship Selection Concludes with Princeton University Midshipman Olivia Rhodes’ Surface Warfare Pick

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Release Date: 2/22/2019 12:00 p.m.

Public Affairs Section, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit Rutgers University

PRINCETON, N.J. – On Feb. 22, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Unit Rutgers University saw its last midshipman participate in the final day of the spring 2019 NROTC ship selections.

Midshipman first-class Olivia Rhodes selected the USS Stout (DDG-55) – homeported in Norfolk, Va. – during a telephone conference with Navy Personnel Command – Surface Warfare Officer Assignments (PERS-41) on Friday.

Rhodes, a Princeton University senior, joined NROTC Rutgers in 2015 as a civil engineering major. A Keller, Texas native, she has served with distinction at NROTC Rutgers as the special projects planning midshipman and also as a platoon commander at the 2018 NROTC New Student Orientation at Naval Station Great Lakes, which she called her “most valuable NROTC leadership experience.”

She will be reporting to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer as a Surface Warfare Officer following her graduation and commissioning this June. Prior to embarking on her first assignment aboard the USS Stout, Rhodes will be attending the Basic Division Officer Course in Norfolk, Va.

“I look forward to joining the crew on board the USS Stout and engaging in the many leadership and life opportunities ahead,” said Rhodes on eventually joining her first ship.

NROTC Unit Rutgers University was established in 2012 and recognized Princeton University as a cross-town affiliate in 2014.

For more information about the NROTC program, please visit the official NROTC portal at https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/.

For more information about NROTC Unit Rutgers University, please visit the unit website at https://nrotc.rutgers.edu.

Media seeking additional information should email NROTC Unit Rutgers University Public Affairs at kevin.p.stapleton@usmc.mil.

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