Family and friends accompanied the cadets as Naval ROTC commander Capt. Thomas Rubenstein delivered a brief address before each cadet was sworn in. Families then pinned on their new Ensign's insignia.
"Today marks a great achievement for the individuals we're about to commission," Maj. Christopher Westhoff said. "They did not accomplish this feat on their own."
Each midshipman chose the officer who would administer their oath of office and their family attached the marks of their new rank, according to military tradition.
Rubenstein said he was proud of all his new officers and that his fall graduates were no exception, though they didn't receive as much recognition.
"Cadets tell me, 'My grades are good,' when I ask them," Rubenstein said. "To me 4.0 is good and everything else is less good."
Rubenstein singled out Midshipman Benjamin Knott for special praise. Knott graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. Rubenstein presented Knott with a commemorative plaque.
"I'm a numbers guy," Rubenstein said. "I'm a nuke, so I like when things can be broken down to a number."
Rubenstein then presented the plaque that read: "4.0 is good."
Rubenstein said he felt the new officers he was inducting into the naval service were more than up to the task ahead of them.
"The standard I've always used is, 'Do I want this young man or this young lady in my wardroom?'" Rubenstein said. "If you question the quality of young men and women in the United States today, I'd tell you that you should have my job pretty much any much any day and that'd clear up."
Rubenstein said his duties filled him with a sense of pride and responsibility.
"When I think about December 19, I get to think, 'mission accomplished'," Rubenstein said. "I get to make six new naval officers."
"I have to admit that I'm always impressed when I get word back from COs of ships an COs of submarines about midshipmen who've been successful," Rubenstein said. "We all have a lot of people to thank today."
"It's not lost on me that we're asking young people to serve in the United States Navy in time of war when the requirements and commitments are only increasing," Rubenstein said. "May you always see fair winds and following seas."
The commissioned were:
Ensign Arthur Bond of Dumfries, VA
B.S. Business Management
Assigned to USS De Wert (FFG 45), Mayport Fl.
Ensign Richard Branick of Manasquan, NJ
B.S. Aerospace Engineering
Assigned to USS O'Kane (DDG 77), Pearl Harbor, HI
Ensign Thomas Gardner of Goochland, VA
B.S. Civil Engineering
Assigned to USS Laboon, (DDG 58), Norfolk, VA
Ensign Benjamin Knott
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Assigned to Nuclear Power School, Charleston, SC
Ensign Christopher Whitley or Middletown, MD
B.S. Aerospace Engineering
Awaiting orders
Ensign Thomas Woldering of Euclid, OH
B.S. Computer Engineering
Assigned to Nuclear Reactors, Washington, DC
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