Thirteen cadets from MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology recently returned from the two-week NJROTC Northeast Leadership Academy/Sail Training onboard Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. They had been selected from more than 7700 cadets from nine states in the northeastern United States who applied in March and underwent rigorous tests and physical requirements before being chosen.
“Being accepted for this program is difficult from the start,” said Commander Tracie Smith Yeoman, USN (ret), Senior Naval Science Instructor at MAST. “In order to be selected to attend N2LAST, a cadet must secure the recommendation of their Senior Naval Science Instructor who certifies the cadet will be capable of upholding the standards and requirements of the two-week program. They then must pass a physical fitness test and a medical screening, and must complete a lengthy application. Schools can impose additional requirements. At MAST our cadets are also required to write an essay answering questions about their leadership experience, how both they and their unit at MAST would benefit from the program and how they plan on using their leadership abilities in high school, college and later in life in their chosen career field.”
Of the 144 cadets in this year’s program, 128 were cadets-in-training, their first time attending, and 16 were cadet aides, students who had attended last year and were handpicked to come back this year to support staff because of their own outstanding past performance.
For the two weeks of training at N2LAST, cadets live in Ripley Hall, the barracks that houses the US Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) students throughout the school year. They eat all meals in the Ney Hall Galley, alongside active duty Sailors attending the Officer Candidate and Officer Development Schools.
Cadets in training are divided into four platoons of 32 cadets each, males and females together. The platoons are named Gold, Black, Blue and Green and cadets are issued tee shirts the platoon color as a daily uniform. Staff and cadet aides wear red tee shirts.
Each platoon is headed by a retired Navy or Marine Corps senior enlisted who works as a Naval Science Instructor at one of the NJROTC programs in the northeast. For the past nine years, MAST instructor Senior Chief Mike Vaccarella has been the Gold Platoon leader.
Each platoon also has two cadet aides whose job is to ensure the cadets-in-training are where they need to be for each evolution, prepared and motivated.
“The daily routine is not easy for teenagers,” Smith-Yeoman continued. “Each day starts with reveille at 0500 and formal physical training that includes stretching, calisthenics, and a formation run before breakfast. All meals are eaten in silence and the cadets must sit at a modified position of attention while eating. Cadets then return to the barracks for showering and a fresh PT uniform, platoon tee shirts and Navy running shorts. They then march to either Perry Hall for academic classes or the marina onboard the base for sailing training. “They are expected to have their rooms squared away as well, since they are also inspected and graded daily,” Smith-Yeoman said.
The academics course includes classes on self-discipline, integrity, setting goals, issuing orders, decision making, delegation, and teamwork, among other topics. The cadets also get the chance to operate small drones and learn about the FAA licensing process.
At the marina, cadets learn to sail 19-foot Rhodes sailboats, which emphasizes teamwork and patience, and possibly overcoming fear as some cadets have never been on a boat before. Breaking into crews of four with one instructor, they learn from the ground up — safety, terminology, weather, and how to rig a sailboat. After some landside training, they take the boats out. “Even a cadet who has never been on a boat before learns to sail,” the MAST instructor said, “All of this normally culminates in a regatta at the end of the course. This year the weather just wouldn’t cooperate,” she said, “so we’ll never know which platoon had the fastest boat.”
Sprinkled between the academics and the sailing, the cadets practice marching skills and take turns commanding their platoons in close order drill. They also undergo two personnel inspections while wearing their Naval Service Uniform and take one official physical training test consisting of two minutes of pushups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a one-mile run.
Lights out is at 9 pm, “but at that point, the cadets are ready for sleep!” Smith-Yeoman continued. “Still, as at any military installation in the world, cadets take turns standing fire watch, one hour each in which each must patrol the barracks to ensure its security.”
Midway through the course, the cadets are given one day of liberty. That includes a tour of historic Fort Adams, an Army post established in 1799 similar to Fort Hancock. They visit the Cliff Walk with the ocean on one side and the historic Newport “cottages” on the other. They can then spend several hours in downtown Newport and have a quick visit to Easton Beach.
“To MAST cadets,” Smith-Yeoman noted, “a visit to a beach isn’t that big of a deal. But some cadets have never seen the ocean or been to a beach before, so it’s very exciting for them. But what all of the cadets like most about this day is that for those precious hours, they get their phones back!”
The MAST rising seniors who attended this year include Cadet Thomas Clark of Little Silver, Gold Platoon Cadet Aide and Battalion Commander of MAST for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Carter Braun of Middletown, Black Platoon Cadet Aide and Deputy Battalion Commander of MAST for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Charlotte McKeon of Manasquan, Admin Cadet Aide and Command Master Chief of MAST for the 2024-2025 school year; and Cadet Nathan Olmeda of Red Bank, Bravo Company Commander for the 2024-2025 school year. Rising juniors who attended are Cadet Nicholas Billows of Oakhurst, Blue Color Guard Commander of MAST for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Jacob Booth of Tinton Falls, Delta 1 Platoon Guide for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Jack Cohen of Middletown, Battalion Ordnance Petty Officer for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Nico Cordova of Middletown, Assistant Athletics Officer for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Samantha Foret of Middletown, Alpha 2 Platoon Commander for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Argie Loucopoulos of Middletown, Gold Color Guard Commander of MAST for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Kevin Madeira of Howell, Battalion Ordnance Chief Petty Officer for the 2024-2025 school year; Cadet Donovan Post of Oceanport, Charlie 2 Platoon Commander for the 2024-2025 school year; and Cadet Zijie Ye of Highlands, Assistant Operations Officer for the 2024-2025 school year.
Many of the MAST students came home with additional honors besides the graduation honors all received. Cadet Billows was cited as the Distinguished Graduate for his highest overall grade average out of the 128 cadets-in-training based on personnel inspections, room inspections, academic exams, sailing and rules of the road tests, and physical fitness test score. He was presented with a wooden ship’s wheel as a trophy. He also received the Black Platoon top Male Physical Fitness award and the Black Platoon Sailing Excellence award. Cadet Cordova received the Green Platoon Top Male Physical Fitness award; Cadet Foret received the Black Platoon Academics Excellence award and the Black Platoon Top Female Physical Fitness Award. Cadet Madeira received the Black Platoon Most Motivated Cadet award and Cadet Post received the same award for the Blue Platoon.
Smith-Yeoman, who participates in the program each year and serves as the Admin Officer for the course, said, “These young men and women work so hard for two weeks — away from home, without their phones and the things they are so used to, marching everywhere they go — and to see how proud they are of themselves when they complete this course and earn the coveted silver aiguillette to wear on their uniforms — words just can’t express how it feels.” For herself, she said, “It is humbling, and it truly gives you hope for the future of our Nation. These cadets are learning to be good citizens of both the US and the world. They are demonstrating respect for each other, they are setting goals and accomplishing them; they inspire everyone around them.”
As the officer responsible for the intake and review of all applications and all the administrative requirements and finances for the program, “I am honored I get to be part of this program.”
With MAST participating in the program for more than 20 years, dozens of local cadets have benefited from the program and each year several of them receive the top awards for their platoons. Smith-Yeoman has been an administrator for the program for the more than four years. She has been an instructor at MAST for twelve years following her retirement as a commander from the Navy.
