Welcome Aboard Officer Candidate
Congratulations on your selection to the Seaman to Admiral-21 Program and orders to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Washington in Seattle. The “Husky” Battalion is located on campus in Condon Hall’s eighth floor.
You will be assigned a sponsor while you are at NSI. Your sponsor will be an OC at the UW NROTC unit. He or she will contact you while you are at NSI and answer any questions you may have. You are encouraged to communicate with your sponsor early and often, it is their job to make sure your check in process goes smoothly.
If you are nearing your NSI graduation date and you have not heard from your sponsor, please contact the Sponsor Coordinator.
You can check in off leave at the battalion admin office located on the eighth floor of Condon Hall room 810. They are open Monday through Friday 0700 to 1600 while school is in session. It is a good idea to call ahead before you check in to ensure someone will be there. The office can be contacted at 206-543-0170.
When you check in, bring your orders, service record, medical and dental records, and military ID.
Housing
After you report in, you will be given the opportunity to take house-hunting leave. This is up to five working days of special liberty to help you find a place to live. This can be strung together with one or two weekends; only working days count. You may take house-hunting leave once and only when you first report in.
While many Officer Candidates live within walking distance of the UW, you may elect to reside closer to Naval Station Everett (20 miles north) or Naval Station Bremerton (60 miles west). Students not living in military housing will receive Seattle BAH.
Commuting
Many students walk or ride their bikes to campus for free. The UW will send you a U-pass every quarter which allows you to take any Seattle area bus for free. Bus routes and schedules can be found on the Metro homepage. Your U-pass will also give you a parking discount. If you drive to campus alone or in a carpool of two, you should park in the Montlake E1 lot, just east of campus. If you drive to campus in a carpool of three or more, you can park on campus. You must put money into your husky card account in order to use your U-pass for parking. More information about parking can be found on the UW parking homepage.
Uniforms
All of your uniforms will be worn in the same manner as you wore them at NSI with a few exceptions. Officer candidates do NOT wear the large gold anchors on the SDB jacket. Simply remove them; nothing goes there. Also we do NOT wear the small gold anchors on the collars of the CNT Khaki or the working Khaki uniforms. You will be issued “OC Pins” on your first day which are worn on the collar in the exact same fashion. Continue to wear the anchor on your garrison caps.
We also wear a unit polo shirt on some days. You will be issued one shirt but you can purchase more. The unit polo is worn with a normal pair of khaki slacks or a nice pair of khaki cargo pants. You must wear a belt and keep the shirt tucked in. You must wear proper shoes – no athletic shoes. They do not need to be dress shoes either, a nice pair of black or brown walking shoes will do.
For PT you will wear a unit T-shirt and navy blue shorts. You will be issued a T-shirt also, but it is recommended that you purchase at least one more since we will often PT twice a week. All or half of your navy blue sweats can be worn if desired. Wear good running shoes.
Once you start school you will be allowed to wear civilian clothes on non-uniform days. Proper civilian attire must be worn in the wardroom at all times. Always wear a belt if wearing pants with belt loops. Shirts that have a tail, or are longer in the front and the rear, need to be tucked in. Shirts, including T-shirts, that are even length around the bottom do not need to be tucked in. Sandals are allowed if they are in good condition. No cheap looking flip-flops or shower shoes are allowed to be worn. You should always have a smart haircut and be clean shaven when on campus.
Tuition and Identification
You will also need to pick up a UW ID card and establish active duty residency for tuition purposes. Information on how to do so can be found on the new student informational page. Be sure to bring your orders and your military ID when applying for residency tuition.
Email
You should have a UWNet ID and email address that ends in @u.washington.edu. If you do not, go to this UWNet ID creation page. Here at the unit we communicate by email extensively. You should subscribe to the uwnavy mailing list; a link may be found on the "Husky Battalion" page. NROTC information is sent out to this list daily. When asked if you’d like to receive the list mail batched in a daily digest, select no.
Naval Science Courses
You will be required to complete the following three courses:
NSCI 201 Naval Leadership and Management (offered Autumn quarter)
NSCI 402 Leadership and Ethics (offered Winter quarter)
NSCI 433 Naval Organization and Management (offered Spring quarter)
See Course Links on the Husky Battalion homepage.
Daily Routine
While at times the schedule at the unit can be demanding, for the most part the below routine describes a typical week:
Monday Attend classes (civilian attire)
Tuesday Attend classes following GMT (General Military Training) from 0630 to 0730 in Service Khaki uniform
Wednesday Attend classes (civilian attire) following PT from 0630 to 0730 in PT gear
(blue unit t-shirt and blue shorts, Navy sweats optional)
Thursday Attend classes (civilian attire)
Friday Attend classes (civilian attire)
You will attend classes full-time year-round and will not participate in summer cruises.
Duty
During the normal school year you will stand two or three duty driver watches each quarter. Make sure to sign up on the watchbill. During the summer you will be required to stand several OOD watches also, and conduct morning and evening colors.
Relevant Phone Numbers and Addresses
UW NROTC
Mailing Address:
Naval Science Box 353840
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Administrative
Office:
Phone: (206) 543-0170
Fax: (206) 543-0163
Wardroom:
Phone: (206) 685-7589
New OC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
You may also wish to view the UW’s official admissions FAQ:
http://admit.washington.edu/FAQ/Admission
Q: When
do I apply to STA-21? What is the
sequence of events?
A: Here is a brief timeline, assuming you are putting in an STA-21 application in the year 2007:
-NLT June 15 2007 - Submit Application. You need to put down your choices for college, but you don't need to be accepted.
-October 2007 - Find out if you are accepted. If you are accepted, then send in your applications to schools without delay. You must get accepted to a school a few weeks before your NSI class date.
-As early as February 2008 - Report to NSI. More likely, it will be even later in the year. After NSI (2 months), report to school.
Q: How
do I apply to the STA-21 Program?
A: First go to www.sta-21.navy.mil/app.html and fill out the "Part 1 initial application data" form, and submit it online.
Your full application is due on July 15. As soon as you can, you should do the following so that your application will be ready:
-Take the SAT or ACT unless you have an exam that is less than 3 years old and you are happy with the score. (min SAT 500/500, min ACT 21 Math 20 English)
-Get a certified transcript of your score
-Make sure you have copies of your last 5 observed emails with non-observed in for continuity
-Gather certified transcripts from all high schools and colleges you attended
Your CCC (Command Career Counselor) should help you assemble the application, arrange the interviews, and have it sent off. Contact your CCC early and let him or her know you plan to apply; you may have to submit a special request chit.
Q: How
do I apply to UW? Am I considered a
"transfer" student? When
should I apply?
A: The best way to apply to UW is online:
http://admit.washington.edu/admission/applynow.html
You are a transfer student if all of the following apply:
-You
wish to enroll at the
-You have left high school (regardless of your age and whether you graduated).
-You have completed-or will complete-college courses at a regionally accredited college or university after leaving high school.
-You have not yet completed-or will not have completed-a bachelor’s degree by the time you wish to enroll at the UW.
Part of the application requires that you send in your Test Scores and High School transcripts to UW, so do that as soon as you can if you haven't already. UW is fairly slow on processing applications, so I recommend getting your application in as soon as you can. Also, apply to a few other schools as well, just in case (OSU is a good backup).
Don’t procrastinate! You should begin the application process at UW concurrently with your STA-21 Application. As soon as you’re accepted, find out what quarter you would be reporting (ask your CCC) and apply. In the meantime, be sure to:
-Send UW your high school and college transcripts
-Send UW your SAT/ACT scores
Q: Can
the NROTC help get my application through faster?
A: We don't have a lot of "pull" like some of the units at smaller schools do. What you can do is contacted the Admission Office directly, and they should be able to rush your application if you explain to them that you have a deadline. Try this number for the admissions office: 206.543.9686.
Q: How
do I form a degree plan? Do you have an
example I can look at?
A: You should contact your department's advisor; you can find their contact info on this page:
http://www.washington.edu/students/ugrad/advising/advdept.html
They should be able to provide you with a sample degree plan and give advice. You can use the General Catalog to find out the requirements for your degree and to get an idea of which classes are offered what quarters:
http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/degree_programsTOC.html
http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/
You should customize your degree plan using the catalog (the one your advisor gives you will probably be a four-year no summers plan).
Q: Will
I receive credit for the education the Navy has thus far provided me? If so, how much?
A: Yes you can receive up to 35 general credits if you send UW your SMART transcripts. You may or may not want to do this. The pro is that it can bump you up from freshman to sophomore status, giving you a higher priority for registering for classes. The downside, however, is that once you start piling up over 200 credits, the UW will start to demand that you graduate. So if you already have a lot of college credits and you plan on staying here for all three years, I don’t recommend you send in your SMART transcripts. Also, you may be able to receive specific credits on a case by case basis depending on your major and on the discretion of your undergraduate advisor.
Q: Will
I receive credit for the AP exams I took in High School?
You may. Specific details on how the UW accepts AP credit can be found here:
http://www.washington.edu/students/ugrad/advising/aif/ap.html
Other types of college credits may be accepted on a case-by-case basis, you’ll want to contact an advisor at Mary Gates Hall about that:
http://www.washington.edu/students/ugrad/advising/advuac.html
Q: Do
you keep accruing leave during school, and do you ever use them or should I use
them all before getting there?
A: You do earn leave normally and you will only
need to take leave if you plan on leaving the 300 mi radius around
Q: Where should I live?
A: I don’t recommend buying or renting in the
U-district. Prices come down a lot if
you're willing to make a 10-15 minute commute from
Then again, you will probably be commuting to UW every weekday, so living close can save you a lot of time and a lot of miles. One of our OC’s even lives in the dorms on campus. It’s a matter of personal preference, how nice do you want your home to be and how much are you willing to pay?
Lastly, I don’t recommend living across
the water in
Q: How should I get to campus?
A: FYI, parking on campus is ~$2.50 per day if
you drive in yourself, but only $0.70 each if you carpool with one other
person. You should try to find someone
you can carpool with if you plan on driving.
Also, beware that traffic is really bad in
A lot of people at the battalion ride
their bikes into school, and they are all very happy with that
arrangement. The unofficial UWNROTC bike
club goes on rides regularly and they do the
You get a really good deal on a bus pass
(called the U-pass) through the university, so a lot of people take the bus. Northgate is probably the best place to live
if you anticipate taking the bus since there is a Park & Ride there that
can take you anywhere you want to go, but you can find a bus to UW from just
about anywhere in
Q: How
is the PT up at Boost, NSI and NROTC?
A: PT at NSI/Boost and here is taken seriously. Outstanding grades are rewarded and marks below good-low are not tolerated. A typical PT evolution would be a 3-5 mile run at a 9 or 10 minute mile pace followed by calisthenics. At NSI you will run relentlessly, so if you are prone to shin-splints it would be a good idea to get your joints used to 12 miles a week. If you go to NSI in or near the winter it will be extremely cold and windy, and you'll still be expected to make good-low. People who get less than a good-low are frequently dropped from the program! Also, PT scores may be looked at for ship selection depending on your community.
Q: Will
I be sent to OCS?
A: Only if you are or decide to become a Marine. Lateral transfers between the Navy and Marine Corps are possible.
Q: What’s
an OC?
A: The 'OC' designation stands for Officer Candidate and is given to the STA-21 members of the Battalion (beginning at NSI), while non-active duty personnel at the NROTC unit are called Midshipmen (MIDN). Marines in the MECEP program retain their designation.
Q: Will I still receive my my GI Bill?
A: While you cannot use your GI Bill or TA while in STA-21, you will still retain your GI Bill for use once you've completed the program.