Seamen Sail onto Campus: U.S. Navy admirals, special teams hold immersive military expo at MSU during weekend’s gameday activities
Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two highly decorated U.S. Navy admirals are joining Mississippi State University’s gameday experience on Friday and Saturday [Oct. 18 and 19] and bringing with them a Riverine patrol craft, submarine Virtual Reality simulator and more to celebrate the first Navy Day Expo on campus.
Vice Adm. Robert “Rob” Gaucher and Rear Adm. Melvin Smith’s visit is part of the university’s effort to engage students, student veterans, military campus organizations and others in careers in national defense. The event’s sponsors are MSU’s Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans, the Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering and the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidacy program, or NUPOC. MSU boasts 401 graduate and undergraduate students with veteran status and 369 of these are active service members.
At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the two admirals will hold a discussion and meet-and-greet, providing information on the NUPOC program in Old Main Academic Center’s auditorium. On Saturday, interactive Navy displays will be set up close to Davis Wade Stadium along Old College View Drive between McArthur and Giles halls.
In the exhibition will be a special operations boat team with a river patrol boat, or Riverine, used by this branch of the armed forces on inland waterways. Fans also can experience realistic submarine simulations through VR, and the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, better known as Seabees, will showcase pieces of military heavy equipment. Seabees support Naval Construction Force units, including Amphibious Construction Fleet units.
Gaucher’s impressive career includes his current service as commander of submarine forces, leading all Atlantic-based U.S. submarines and supporting NATO strategic commanders. With extensive work in both fast-attack and ballistic missile submersible craft, he holds a U.S. Naval Academy bachelor’s degree in systems engineering and a master’s in engineering management from the University of Central Florida.
Smith’s experience involves his assignment this year as deputy director of nuclear operations, U.S. Strategic Command. Previously executive assistant to the commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Dating back to 1922, Navy Day is usually celebrated in the U.S. on Oct. 27, a date coinciding with the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, who avidly supported this branch’s safeguarding of national security. Today, the U.S. Navy includes a fleet of more than 470 ships, including aircraft carriers, submarines and destroyers. It’s popularly known for its aviator-training Fighter Weapon School, also known as “Top Gun.”
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