Service assignment, summer training, commissioning, and disenrollment. Sourced from ROD Chapters 3, 4, and 6.
The pipeline
How communities are assigned, what happens each summer, commissioning, and how people leave.
How it works: from freshman year you log a first-choice designator in an annual survey; in your final year you rank preferences on the OPMIS Service Assignment Form — designator choices, ASTB scores (aviation), physical qualification, GPA, and aptitude. The PNS must have the "where the Navy needs you" conversation with you before your sophomore-year obligation point.
Navy-option communities: Surface Warfare, Submarines (1170), Naval Aviation — Pilot (1390) / Naval Flight Officer (1370), SEAL (1180) / EOD (1190), plus restricted-line and staff corps designators (Intelligence, Information Warfare, Cyber, Medical, Dental) as backup paths.
Marine option: no MOS choice at NROTC — everyone is assigned their specialty at The Basic School after commissioning, except those on a Guaranteed Aviation contract. Note: a small number of Navy-option graduates commission into the Individual Ready Reserve before starting active duty.
Source: ROD §§ 4-22, 4-44, 4-45, 4-46, 4-47, 4-48, 4-49
Scholarship midshipmen train every summer. What you do depends on your option:
| Summer | Navy option | Marine option | Nurse option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before freshman year | New Student Indoctrination (NSI) — Great Lakes; required before the scholarship activates | ||
| After freshman year | CORTRAMID — four one-week exposures: surface, submarine, aviation, Marine | CORTRAMID — same four weeks | At-sea training in a ship's medical department (no CORTRAMID) |
| After sophomore year | At-sea cruise — surface ships and submarines | Fleet Marine Force cruise | At-sea training |
| After junior year | First-class cruise — wardroom/officer exposure; aviation, submarine, or enlisted-cruise options | Officer Candidate School (OCS), Quantico — 265 PFT minimum, no waiver | Naval hospital cruise |
The first-class cruise can't be waived — you don't commission until it's done. Missing NSI means completing it the next year or facing disenrollment.
Source: ROD § 3-14; DVIDS / Yale NROTC (CORTRAMID structure)
To commission you need: the degree, all naval science and NROTC-specified courses, lab and leadership training, summer training (or OCS), a pre-commissioning physical, and a Secret security clearance (started within 30 days of joining the unit — no clearance, no commission). Your appointment requires a commissioning scroll approved by the Secretary of Defense, and the oath is administered by a commissioned officer on the day itself.
Source: ROD §§ 4-22, 4-51, 4-52
The ROD lists 12 types of disenrollment: Academic, Inaptitude, Disciplinary, Physical Readiness, Drop on Request, Special Reasons (hardship, conscientious objection, immunization refusal, Corps of Cadets membership), Medical disqualification, Death, Dropped by the Institution, Failure to Enroll, MCRC Directed, and Not Selected for Advanced Standing.
What you owe depends on whether you're obligated, not on the type: obligated midshipmen face enlisted service or reimbursement (see The contract above). In exceptional cases — medical or extraordinary circumstances — the obligation can be waived.
Source: ROD §§ 6-15, 6-16