  {"id":197582,"date":"2024-05-14T13:30:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T23:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=197582"},"modified":"2024-05-14T13:30:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T23:30:22","slug":"nrotc-commissions-3-naval-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/14\/nrotc-commissions-3-naval-officers\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <abbr>NROTC<\/abbr> commissions 3 new naval officers"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_197595\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-197595\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-simmons-hug.jpg\" alt=\"simmons gets a hug from a loved one at ceremony\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-197595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-simmons-hug.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-simmons-hug-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-simmons-hug-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-197595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Newly commissioned, Jacob Simmons hugs a loved one following the ceremony (Photo credit: Kate Moxley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Five months after the <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/undergrad\/navalscience\/\">Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps<\/a> (<abbr>NROTC<\/abbr>) at the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/18\/nrotc-1st-commissioned-officer\/\">commissioned their first sailor<\/a>, they celebrated another milestone on May 13, as three naval officers earned a commission from its program.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_197594\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-197594\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-commissioning-sp2024-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"officer&#039;s taking the oath\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-197594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-commissioning-sp2024-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-commissioning-sp2024-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/manoa-nrotc-commissioning-sp2024.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-197594\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bandini renders the Officer&#8217;s Oath of Office to Barto and Simmons (Photo credit: Kate Moxley).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Donning their caps and gowns and proudly displaying their diplomas, Zachary Barto, Chase Roche and Jacob Simmons achieved the rank of ensign in the U.S. Navy during a ceremony held aboard the Battleship Missouri. Their commissioning ceremony served as a culmination of rigorous training and preparation as well as a testament to their commitment to serve their country.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Another spectacular moment for the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> <abbr>NROTC<\/abbr> as we commission our three newest ensigns in the United States Navy. We are excited for your journey that awaits!&rdquo; said Commanding Officer Paul &ldquo;Veg&rdquo; Bandini.<\/p>\n<p>On May 11, prior to their commissioning, Barto, Roche and Simmons graduated with their respective bachelor&#8217;s degrees. Their achievements are not only sources of pride for themselves, but also for their families and the Koa O Ke Kai Battalion.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on their journey, each newly commissioned officer expressed honor at being among the first to graduate from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/08\/25\/navy-establishes-rotc-program\/\">university&#8217;s pioneering <abbr>NROTC<\/abbr> program<\/a>. Barto will serve as a naval submarine officer upon completing nuclear power school in Charleston, South Carolina. Roche will serve as a naval pilot and Simmons will serve as a naval flight officer after both completing their naval aviation training in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The commissioning of Barto, Roche and Simmons underscores the success and commitment of the <abbr>NROTC<\/abbr> program at the Âé¶¹´«Ã½M\u0101noa in preparing future leaders for service in the <abbr>U.S.<\/abbr> Navy. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Their exemplary dedication and leadership serve as inspirations to their peers and reflect the program&#8217;s unwavering dedication to excellence in training and education,&rdquo; added Bandini.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zachary Barto, Chase Roche and Jacob Simmons achieved the rank of ensign in the U.S. Navy during a ceremonial event on May 13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[234,1466,422,1611,9],"class_list":["post-197582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-commencement","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-nrotc","tag-rotc","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197582"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197605,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197582\/revisions\/197605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}