Naval Sea Cadet Corps gives teens opportunity to experience military life
 
by Kat San Nicolas
October 7, 2004

There are several opportunities for teens interested in getting into the United States armed forces, or for looking for other ways to have fun. One such program is the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps. I talked to Lieutenant Ciscillio Gonzales, the commanding officer of the Marianas Division of the Corps, to ask what the program was all about.

He said, "It's an official Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps youth program, which is commanded and community sponsored on base. Kids come from middle schools and high schools throughout the island and it gives the kids of Guam an opportunity to see first hand what the sea services have to offer."

In the U.S. Coast guard, executive officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Galveston Island Lieutenant J.J. Collin Macinnes, says the cadets get hands-on experience with certain sea services. "During the summer, they have a summer program that a lot of times we help them bring them on board and train them in things that the Coast Guard, like line handling," he explained. "We've also taken them underway in the harbor to do drills and show them around the waters of Guam."

For cadets like Samika Brooks, of Guam High, being in the program helps keep her active physically. She told The Beat, "I think I have to like the PT, we do sports, especially soccer, and then another thing that isn't so bad is the D and C, which is drill and ceremony, which where we march and do facing movements, and that isn't so bad."

Another Guam High student and cadet, Quintin Hathaway, says the program involves other military branches and doesn't take a student away from their studies. "With one of the things that's good about the cadets is that it goes on during the weekends," he said. "Awhile back we did rifle training and it's when we worked with the National Army Guard and they helped us to shoot with guns and we learned how to do that."

For those interested in the program, there are requirements they should be meet before they join. A student should be fully enrolled in school, basically passing grades, must take a navy or sports physical, between the ages of 11 and 18, male or female, and can actually participate in our program and be able to do physical training (PT), sports and the marching and the closed ordered drills that are expected of them.

The Naval Sea Cadets Corps is an excellent program for teens interested in a future in with the armed forces or looking for ways to have fun and participate in once in a lifetime opportunities.