Introduction
Every NROTC unit across the country will have a dedicated day of the week (also known as (Lab Days for university lingo) that usually runs for two hours.
All NROTC members enlisted and regular midshipman meet to partake in some form of Officer Training to further hone military knowledge. It’s also a good opportunity for the chain of command to meet with their unit to do weekly check-ins and show face to everyone at once.
Below are the top training events I did during these Lab Days. For my unit it was everything Thursday from 3-5pm.
1. Leadership Reaction Course
The leadership reaction course (LRC) is an event where a fireteam sized element must accomplish a simple objective in a creative way with seemingly impossible first impressions of how to actually accomplish it.
In other words, “each obstacle is designed to test participants mentally and physically, stretching them beyond their comfort zones”
— CMICH.EDU Military Science Article
This is a great way for NROTC instructors to mentor and evaluate a midshipman’s ability to communicate, receive feedback from their teammates, and to demonstrate initiative in decision making.
This was my favorite event because it challenged me to think outside the box and come up with novel solutions.
2. Fire Emergency Training
Once a year, our unit would drive out to the fire department in our university city to participate in some of the same training firefighters go through.
We got to suit up in full gear with oxygen tanks, run up and down stairs, conduct burpees and buddy drags. It was stress inducing, but it was also really fun.
Other events included having to navigate out of a complex building setup with blackout goggles on with 3-4 teammates. This was a great drill to practice communication and other senses besides sight.
We even got to watch a fire destroy a contained area of a building to see what happens to a burning room from start to finish.
3. Medical Emergencies Training
This was a lab event I actually put together since I was already taking classes to become an EMT (emergencies medical technician).
The instructors from my university class came down to our reserve unit building to teach tourniquet application, abdominal evisceration immediate actions, and several more topics.
We even got to see videos of real life injuries and treatment in action. Overall, it was a good turn out and several more iterations of this event were conducted each year.
4. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Fundamentals
A midshipman in my class knew an BJJ instructor from a gym he went to off campus. He came out to run our NROTC unit through a traditional BJJ workout, period of instruction, and free-roll session.
This was my first real introduction to taking a formal martial arts class and sparked my interest in pursuing this martial art in my free time ever since. I’m pretty sure then even came down to do this free of charge.
After the main period of instruction, we got to take turns rolling with one another to see if we could put these newly introduced skills to the test
5. Nutritionist Guest Speaker
Our executive officer identified that most of the new incoming freshmen midshipman usually don’t have a good meal plan for maximum health and fitness. He reached out to a professional cross-fit athlete who’s also a certified nutritionist to come down to talk to us about improving that aspect.
She helped simplify the complicated lingo of calculating macros and helped all of us further identify how we can modify our approach to using the food hall on campus to better serve diet needs.
6. Close Quarters Battle Drills
My unit was fortunate enough to have prior enlisted / qualified instructors of room clearing and urban combat. These guys decided to go through NROTC to become officers (NROTC program is also open to active duty enlisted members as well explained in this article)
We set up a simple layout of different types of rooms using tape and defined boundaries. Using red rubber rifles, we practiced the basics of clearing a room of threats and how to respond to different enemy positions.
We were not pros by the end of this training (not even close). This really just exposed us to how complicated a room clearing situation gets.
7. Paintballing
I’ve always loved paintball, and it’s a weird coincidence my NROTC command took interest in this as a training event for the entire unit.
It’s a great way to teach a fireteam how to generate tempo in a firefight, utilize cover and movement, and suppressing an objective. Paintball’s also a fast paced and extremely fun activity even if you have no intention of becoming an infantry officer or anything to do with the Marine Corps (if you’re a Navy Option).
8. Weapons Familiarization
I didn’t grow up shooting a whole lot but I liked guns. NROTC isn’t the place where you learn tactics and actual fieldcraft so it was always refreshing to be able to have some basic weapons classes with hands-on instruction.
We did these trainings a couple times every year. I even ended up teaching some of these classes when I got back from Officer Candidates School.
9. Community Service
Never under-estimate the power of community service. It’s fulfilling with the right type of work that resonates with each individual.
Our unit went to help clean the outside areas of a nearby children’s hospital, around the university stadium, and more.
10. Cadence Runs
You see this in movies but it’s still a real thing in the military. The front two midshipman carry the guidon flag while someone outside the formation “calls cadence” usually a rhythmic song that’s motivating and gets everyone engaged while partaking in physical activity.
I never actually took charge of singing a cadence run because I’m atrocious at anything to do with singing but it’s still motivating to be part of the event.
11. Rocket Jump Morale Event
Sometimes we use lab days as a morale boosting event after a busy week taking university classes. It doesn’t happen that often, but every now and then we’ll go to a place like Rocket Jump to relax and unwind. Other morale events include a unit potluck, holiday party, or frisbee at a park.
If you really want to know what an average week in NROTC looks like, check out my article here.
Sometimes we also do joint events with Air Force and Army ROTC (dodgeball, capture the flag, and other team events).
12. Guest Speakers
This was the most common lab event we would have because it was easy to schedule and we could do it in the comfort of our own unit building on campus. Guest speakers were usually individuals from different warfare communities in the Navy or Marine Corps. Guest speakers came from Surface Warfare, Submarine, Aviation, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Navy SEALS, and a few other communities.
It really depended on the individual speaking. Not everyone was the most enthusiastic but it really showed me that attitude is more important than the specific job you have that makes it worthwhile. As a Marine Option, I wish we had more Marine Officer guest speakers even though we were the minority population at the unit.
13. 9/11 Memorial Stair Run
On September 11th our unit runs the flight of stairs as the twin tower equivalent at our university’s football stadium. This was a new event my unit recently started doing and it gains a lot of social media attention as well as within the university itself.
It’s a great event to remember the tragic events of what happened as well as an opportunity to collaborate with the other ROTC units on campus.
What other military training do Midshipman do?
As I look back on my experience from this program, I realize there’s actually a lot more cool training events that I did. Most of these took place during CORTRAMID summer training, which you can check out my article on that here.
Conclusion
A lot of these trainings were super cool looking back on it. There is a lot of dry, mundane work in NROTC as well but it also had its moments
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or other comments, you can reach me at theyouculture@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond. Until then come back every now and then for more article posts.