Developed by a number of departments at NPS, the Shoemaker Scholarship program affords college students a condensed grasp’s diploma with a wide range of defense-focused science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic (STEM) choices.
“Increasing the Naval Academy’s Shoemaker Scholar program 500 p.c marks a big milestone in our dedication to fostering excellence in Naval Aviation,” mentioned Vice Adm. Dan Cheever, Commander, Naval Air Forces. “Empowering the most recent era of Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers with a strong 12-month graduate training on the Naval Postgraduate College enhances particular person capabilities and strengthens our Navy’s warfighting crew. This initiative demonstrates our dedication to world-class training, decisive fight energy, and producing officers prepared for right this moment’s challenges and empowered to innovate for the longer term.”
In 2018, NPS labored with Vice Adm. Michael Shoemaker, then serving as Commander, Naval Air Forces, on a graduate training alternative for scholar Naval Aviators, benefiting from delays in new begins to the coaching pipeline. Coined the Shoemaker Scholarship, this system was designed to maximise training alternatives for a handful of newly commissioned Naval Aviators en path to Naval Flight College in Pensacola, Fla. It was a convincing success.
“The Shoemaker Scholarship is meant to supply current graduates from the USNA or ROTC a chance to obtain superior training early of their careers,” mentioned U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Amy Roznowski, Deputy Senior Marine Consultant at NPS. “The officers are awaiting the beginning of Naval flight coaching, and we’re benefiting from a niche in timing to reinforce their careers by receiving superior training and incomes a grasp’s diploma.”
Schooling is a key warfighting enabler. The expanded Shoemaker Scholarships, mixed with extra stackable diploma certificates offed by NPS On-line, is a part of a Division of the Navy (DON) effort to implement a continuum of studying as outlined by the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, within the Naval Schooling Technique.
“Naval training is foundational to our means to discourage battle and achieve warfare,” Del Toro mentioned. “We’ll proceed to strengthen our Division’s tradition, insurance policies, processes, expertise administration, and investments to replicate training’s key function in power improvement.”
Sometimes, Navy officers are required to attain a grasp’s diploma to additional advance their profession tracks. Within the aviation neighborhood, nonetheless, asking a pilot to depart the fleet to go to highschool for 2 years may be very tough logistically. The Shoemaker Scholarship program permits the scholars to get their diploma earlier than they get to the fleet, granting them the chance to sharpen their thoughts after which take their new-found experience to their subsequent command and decreasing the necessity for an operational hole.
“Utilizing this program, we have been capable of improve the variety of NPS graduates,” mentioned retired U.S. Navy Capt. Invoice Sherrod, former NPS Chief or Employees and Air Warfare Chair. “We get extra expert college students out into the fleet, however not disrupt their profession timeline. The delays in flight coaching creates the chance on the entrance aspect versus later of their profession. And that was actually the impetus behind the expanded program.”
Not solely does the Shoemaker Scholarship program positively influence college students, however additionally it is an economical approach to strengthen the fleet. Whereas serving as NPS Vice Provost of Educational Affairs, Dr. Joseph Hooper championed the enlargement of the Shoemaker Scholarship program, stating that NPS might make the most of extra curricula for Shoemaker college students with courses which are already being taught on the college, filling empty seats.
Adm. Samuel Paparo, an NPS alumnus and Naval Aviator who commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet and was just lately appointed as commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), acknowledged a backlog at flight faculty and appeared for options throughout the Naval Schooling Enterprise.
“Admiral Paparo has been a champion for NPS, and we have been capable of put ahead choices for graduate training that would assist with the aviation coaching pipeline,” mentioned Hooper. “Extremely certified ensigns coming straight from undergraduate research have been capable of slot into courses already being provided for our resident mid-career officers. It is a profit to the aviation neighborhood, the scholars, and to the college to create flexibility in acquiring superior levels early within the profession.”
This system, which noticed the primary expanded cohort arrive final 12 months, has been a convincing success so far. Not solely do Shoemaker Students have the next commencement price from flight faculty, these junior officers come to NPS recent from their undergraduate research; they be taught in a short time at school, but additionally get recommendation from the numerous mid-career Navy, Division of Protection and worldwide officers with real-world operational expertise who make up the majority of the coed physique.
Certainly, Shoemaker Students have made their mark at NPS and inside the DON. U.S. Navy Lt. Suzelle Thomas, a 2019 Shoemaker Scholar, was the primary girl to qualify within the F-35C Lightning II following her designation as a Naval Aviator. Two June 2023 graduates, Ensign G. Forrest Dawe and Ensign Nate McDonald, noticed their utilized analysis tasks contribute developments to aviation functionality: Dawe researched a technique to foretell vortex circumstances for hypersonic testing within the NPS supersonic wind tunnel, whereas McDonald developed and fabricated a novel engine design for tactical missiles supporting an Workplace of Naval Analysis (ONR) mission.
This June, 21 Shoemaker Students are on monitor to graduate and can head to Pensacola for flight faculty with their grasp’s levels in hand. Amongst them will probably be Ensign Justin Yu, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy final 12 months and can earn his NPS grasp’s diploma in Astronautical Engineering. His utilized analysis focuses on combining programs engineering architectures with physics-based fashions of co-orbital engagements to help mission engineering efforts aimed toward defending pleasant property from aggressor spacecraft.
“Coming straight from the Naval Academy, I discovered the expertise right here at NPS to be an important complement,” mentioned Yu. “My friends and I after all worth the training and hands-on analysis, but additionally the chance to be taught from all the opposite college students who come right here from the fleet or from the opposite companies with totally different operational backgrounds, views and aspirations – that’s invaluable, and we’ll keep in contact.”
Roznowski added, “With each Shoemaker Scholar that comes right here, NPS builds a stronger community of expert determination makers and deeper ties to the fleet. Ensigns within the Shoemaker program depart NPS and take with them not simply the information of their educational program, but additionally the power to teach their fellow Sailors and Marines different service members concerning the alternatives and capabilities provided at NPS.”
