JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 75 midshipmen from around the country spent the morning at Naval Station Mayport to get some hands-on training with naval trainers here in Jacksonville.
These midshipmen are being tested on their leadership and their resilience.
On Monday, we watched how they would stop a flood and save the ship or — if the situation gets too dangerous — to escape the space.
Rafina Cebak is a Jacksonville native and newly commissioned naval officer aiding in the 2021 Jacksonville Sea Trials.
For ten days, she is helping 75 navy midshipmen from around the country get through their training.
“A lot of life advice on things they’re going to be doing in the next two years which is really helpful,” Rafina Cebak, an ensign at the U.S. Navy, said.
Capt. Dan Gillen is the CO of Jacksonville University’s Navy ROTC unit and officer in charge of this year’s Sea Trials.
From vigorous firefighting training, crisis control, obstacle courses to simulated naval warfare, these midshipmen are demonstrating everything they’ve learned so they can become stronger leaders.
Capt. Gillen says there’s a lot of pressure on a naval officer to understand the equipment and learn what to do when there’s a crisis aboard a ship.
“We have to sit there and say first of all do you know some of the basics, do you know how to operate a 9mm, can you go out and handle damage control on a ship, we have cyber-attacks, it’s very complex you got to know how to do anti-submarine warfare, air warfare, surface warfare,” Capt. Gillen said.
For Cebak, joining the navy only seemed like a natural fit.
“Go Navy beat Army,” Cebak said.
“Both my parents were in the Navy and my dad went to the Naval Academy and my mom was enlisted for 23 years and just retired a years ago,” Cebak said.
She’ll be using the skills she learned during her training to help these midshipmen every step of the way.
The midshipmen are set to graduate on Monday during a special ceremony. On Tuesday they’ll return home to their respective cities after demonstrating all the skills they learned.
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