MI honours Canadian Navy graduates Friday, Jan. 14

The Marine Institute will take part in a graduation ceremony for sailors from the Department of National Defence's Naval Combat Systems Technician Training Plan (NCSTTP) on Friday, Jan. 14

The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Drill Hall in Pleasantville.

Students will receive technician diplomas from the Marine Institute in Electronics Engineering and Electro-Mechanical Engineering. Two graduates will receive Marine Institute Bronze Medals for Academic Achievement, while the Detachment Commander’s Award will also be presented. Of the 22 graduates who will be honoured, four are natives of Newfoundland and Labrador. Six other provinces will also be represented by the graduating class, including Ontario, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and British Columbia.

The ceremony includes remarks from Glenn Blackwood, executive director, Marine Institute; Lieutenant Commander Stewart Hughes, Detachment Commander, Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School-St. John’s detachment; and Captain (Navy) Richard Gravel, Commander, Fleet Maintenance Cape Scott, Halifax.

The Naval Combat Systems Technical Training Plan trains technicians in the fields of electronics engineering and electro-mechanical engineering and is a cooperative venture between the Marine Institute and the Canadian Navy. Graduates taking part in the Jan. 14 ceremony began the NCSTTP program at MI’s Ridge Rd. campus in St. John’s in January, 2009. The sailors will now be employed as naval combat systems technicians in the Canadian Navy, and will be stationed in Halifax, N.S. or Esquimalt, B.C. for further training.

The Marine Institute is the only post-secondary institution in Canada to have such a training agreement with the Canadian Navy. This partnership between MI and the Canadian Navy has been in place since 1992.