LEXINGTON, Va. Dec. 6, 2023 — Joseph Addison Hagan V ’24 always admired the men in his family who attended Virginia Military Institute. It was a part of his family history he wanted to claim.  

“VMI is the hardest small military college and there is no better school to prepare me for service in the United States Marine Corps,” he said.

The civil engineering major applied for a four-year Marine Option Naval ROTC scholarship when he was a senior in high school. Those selected applicants for the NROTC scholarship program are awarded scholarships through a highly competitive national selection process. If awarded, they receive full tuition, a book stipend, educational fees, and other financial benefits. Once they graduate, the midshipmen are commissioned as officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps. 

Hagan was lucky enough to be awarded the scholarship, which allowed him to contract to be a Marine Corps officer upon his graduation from VMI.  

The Naval ROTC program provides two programs in which cadets can enroll in — U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps. 

The mission is to develop midshipmen mentally, morally, and physically, and to instill the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty to commission them as Navy or Marine officers. The NROTC program fosters high-level responsibilities of command, citizenship, and government.  

Hagan has participated in a few summer assignments. His first was Marine Month West at Camp Pendleton, California, staying at Camp Talega. His next summer assignment was Marine Month East at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Both assignments focused on training like land navigation, endurance courses, obstacle courses, hikes, physical fitness, academics, and small unit leadership. 

“Both of these experiences were filled with really great training and a lot of fun times,” he said. 

This past summer, he attended Officer Candidates School (OSC) at Marine Corps Base in Quantico. OSC is to educate and train officer candidates in Marine Corps knowledge and skills within a controlled and challenging environment. The school evaluates and screens individuals for the leadership, moral, mental, and physical qualities required for commissioning as a Marine Corps officer. 

Some trainings and activities included: combat conditioning, obstacle course, close order drill, academic classes and discussions, fire team assault course, leadership reaction course, stamina and endurance course, small unit leadership evaluation, and daily platoon staff evaluation.

“OCS was the toughest thing I’ve done so far, and it was an extremely rewarding experience,” he said. 

Currently, he is the midshipmen company commander for the Marine Company. This means, he ensures that every cadet who is a Marine option midshipman has what they need to prepare for their future as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.  

“I get to help decide what we do for our training, and I have the opportunity to work closely with the NROTC Staff,” he said. “I would say that I get to lead others and give back to an organization that prepared me well for OCS. I am now in a position where I can put the principles and information I have learned over the past three years to work training the next few classes of midshipmen.” 

Laura Peters Shapiro
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE