Guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) passes Hospital Point as she pulls into Naval Station Pearl Harbor for a scheduled port visit. Antietam hosted 52 Midshipmen for Professional Training of Midshipmen in San Diego. U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Chris Krucke.

PROTRAMID exposes Midshipmen entering their third year at the Naval Academy to the Navy’s surface, submarine and aviation communities as well as the U.S Marine Corps.

Antietam introduced the Midshipmen to typical operations aboard a naval surface ship, and gave them the opportunity to ask junior officers and crewmembers candid questions about life on a surface ship.

Antietam Sailors taught the mids about visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations, damage control and firefighting techniques, bridge and combat functions and the layout of the engineering plant.

''[We had] a lot of hands-on experience,'' said Midn. 2⁄C Reginald Brooks. ''I enjoyed talking to the enlisted [Sailors] and hearing what the junior officers had to say about their experiences.''

During the training, Midshipmen rotated through four different stations while aboard Antietam. VBSS members conducted boarding training in the rigid hull inflatable boat, known as a RHIB, while damage control petty officers demonstrated firefighting techniques and pipe patching skills. The quartermasters taught them about celestial navigation and showed them how to plot the ship’s course on a chart.

The Antietam’s main propulsion officer took all the Midshipmen inside a gas turbine engine module and on a tour of the engineering plant aboard.

The Midshipmen ate lunch with former Naval Academy graduates, including alumni Lt. j.g. Andy Dunfee, Ensign Mariellen Carnes and Ensign Kami Sakamoto.

''It was a great opportunity to spend the day with Midshipmen,'' Dunfee said. ''Answering their questions and sharing my experiences on board Antietam gave them a good idea of what to expect when they step foot on their first ship, if they choose to enter the surface community.''