The USNA PCCT Welcome Aboard for the Class of 2012 was held on June 8th at the Connecticut State Capitol Building in Hartford, Ct.

Tom Maxwell, Connecticut’s Blue & Gold Officer gave a brief overview of the class of 2012.  For the class of 2012, 18 candidates accepted offers for an appointment to the United States Naval Academy.  One of the members of the class of 2012 is an out of state student from the Pomfret School, 4 members will be graduating from NAPS to become members of the class.  Tom also noted that Ridgefield High School this year will be sending 3 graduates to the academy.  Other high schools sending members of the class of 2012 include: Litchfield High School, Woodstock Academy, Chase Collegiate School, Fairfield Prep, Brunswick School, New Fairfield High School, Brien McMahon High School, Hall High School, Amity Regional High School, Taft School, Frank S. Bunnell High School, Lyman Memorial High School, and Christian Heritage High School.

Captain Mark S. Glinda Presentation

Captain Mark S. Glinda, 48th Commanding Officer of the Naval Submarine Base New London was the guest speaker at the Welcome Aboard presentation and is a 1982 graduate of USNA with a degree in electrical engineering.  He became Commanding Officer in August 2006. He has a master’s degree in National Security,  graduated from the Naval War College, and completed a Senior Executive Fellowship at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

With over 26 years in the fleet, Captain Glinda has sailed ever ocean except the Indian Ocean, has been to every continent except Antarctica, and has enjoyed hitting golf balls at the North Pole.  As he noted to all of the  parents, and to the members of the class of 2012, the Navy offers wonderful opportunities to see the world, and the academy offers a multitude of opportunities to the members of the brigade, whether intramural sports, collegiate sports, clubs, and volunteer activities. 

He exhorted the class to do the absolutely best that they could to preserve the academy’s reputation as the best in the world, and that while they are at the academy to take advantage of the opportunities.  He stressed the need for the upcoming plebes to-be to understand both good and bad leadership, to never give up on someone when that person looks like they don’t really want to serve, but instead to put your best energy into people because they will turn around and commit to the best goals of serving.

The service academies are all about service to our country, not about getting a new job 5 to 20 years down the road.