ROTC Army, Navy Commissioning Ceremonies Graduate Officers
It took two tries, but the U.S. Navy ROTC Commissioning Ceremony was finally held on Wednesday, December 23 at ODU.
Initially scheduled for December 19 at Norfolk State University, and featuring Vice Adm. Melvin G. "Mel" Williams, Jr., Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence as guest speaker, the ceremony had to be postponed because of Saturday's inclement weather.
The rescheduled ceremony featured Capt. Michael J. Barea, Hampton Roads NROTC Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science.
The Army ROTC Fall Commissioning Ceremony was held as scheduled on Friday, December 18, in Old Dominion University's Constant Hall, featuring Major Gen. Daniel E. Long Jr., Commander of Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) at Fort Monroe, Virginia
Long graduated from Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Ga., and has served in a broad range of command and staff assignments. He has commanded at every level, including a Combat Engineer Company, an Engineer Battalion and a Light Infantry Brigade.
A 1991 graduate of Liberty University, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science, Long also graduated from the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., in 1994.
Barea, a 1975 graduate of Florida State University, has extensive major staff experience, both ashore and at sea. He was selected for command in 1996 where he served in Tactical Air Control Squadron Twenty One (TACRON 21). He actively participated and contributed in expeditionary and amphibious operations such as ALLIED FORCE, NOBEL ANVIL, SHINING HOPE and JOINT GUARDIAN during the Kosovo crisis. In September 2005 he also contributed in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in southeastern Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita serving as Regional Rescue Coordination Center Director of Operations embarked in USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7).
The commissioning ceremonies graduate ROTC Army and Navy cadets into the officers' corps. Only a handful of ROTC commissioning candidates graduated this past weekend. A larger ceremony, for a full class of cadets, is held each spring at ODU.