Fifteen midshipmen from Auburn and Tuskegee Navy ROTC mustered themselves up early Saturday, Jan. 16, and traveled to Mobile to serve as ushers for the commissioning of the USS Independence.
The midshipmen said they witnessed the ship "come to life" as Doreen Scott, the ship sponsor, gave the order, "Man this ship and bring her to life."
The two crews of 40 responded, "Aye, Aye, ma'am," and then sprinted onto the ship.
"They turn on all the gizmos," said Midshipman 1st Class Zach George, senior in political science. "The gun moves around, the missile shooter goes back and forth, radars spin and they literally bring it to life."
Once a ship is commissioned it becomes an official warship of the United States Navy.
"It was a big event for the Navy to do this," George said.
Despite the downpour of rain, the service went through as planned.
Midshipman 4th Class Lee Hastings, freshman in mechanical engineering, said he was impressed with how the Navy went through with the service as if the rain wasn't even there.
Hastings also said people were "slopping around" in their for- mal wear, while the midshipmen watched, drenched in their for- mal suits.
"It was supposed to be a really big formal event, and it was still really formal, but it was definitely different with the rain situation," Hastings said.
Attending the service was only one of three reasons for the trip, George said.
George said it's hard for the Navy ROTC to get training, like
other branches of the Auburn ROTC, because there isn't a large body of water for them to train on in Auburn.
"We really want to get as much training as we can," George said. "We do summer training, in the summer time, where we do go out to ships; however, it's only four weeks out of the summer and having a trip like this was really kind of helpful."
Hastings said he was excited about going before-hand.
"We learn a lot about the Navy, but here at Auburn we're not really exposed to anything but textbooks," Hastings said. "So it was really neat to actually go and be immersed in the real thing."
Another reason the midshipmen went to Mobile was to see the ship, to experience the naval fleet and to interact with enlisted sailors, George said.
George said living in Auburn can seem like a bubble for the Navy ROTC, and he said it helps them to go out and see the real world aspect of the Navy.
Along with seeing a naval fleet first hand, the midshipmen said they also had the privilege of speaking with the head of the entire United States Navy, Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations.
"He is the top guy in the whole Navy," George said. "Like the president of the University, he's the president of the Navy. To meet him is a big thing."
Midshipman 4th Class Andrew Hanna, freshman in marine biology, also spoke with a Bahrain officer.
Hanna said he enjoyed speaking with officials, but he especially enjoyed the 19-gun salute to honor Sen. Jeff Sessions who spoke at the service.
Hanna also said even though they had to get up early, it was worth being part of naval history.
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