Commissioning of the 45th Naval Cadet Class
Friday 07 September 2007
The Minister for Defence, Mr. Willie O’Dea T.D. accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lt General Dermot Earley and the Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service Commodore Frank Lynch, presented Commissions to five Naval Cadets at a ceremony on the Naval Base, Haulbowline on Thursday the 6th of September 2007.
On arrival at the Naval Base, the Minister inspected a Guard of Honour drawn up from the ranks of the Naval Service. The Guard assembled close to the water by the newly renovated Combined Headquarters Building.
The five Cadets representing 3 counties, Cork, Kerry and Dublin had completed the first two years of their intensive training programme. Four were commissioned as Ensigns and one who had been inducted under the graduate system was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant. Their training so far included periods at the Military College in the Curragh Camp, the Naval College in Haulbowline and academic study at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) in Ringaskiddy in Cork. All of the new officers were commissioned as operations branch officers in the Naval Service.
After some well earned leave, the new Officers joined Naval Vessels to commence year two of their professional training at sea. They are due to complete their academic education with a B.Sc Degree in Nautical Studies in the autumn of 2009 when they will take up their first posting as a fully qualified seagoing officer.
The Association of Retired Commissioned Officers (ARCO) made the annual best Cadet presentation to the Ensign Aisling O’ Flynn
