Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR

The GOLDEN BEAR serves as the primary training platform on which cadets apply technological skills introduced in the classroom and leadership skills acquired from their work assignments and responsibilities with the Corps of Cadets. Each summer, cadets in their first and third years depart with licensed faculty officers for two months during the Annual Training Cruise. During these periods at sea, intellectual learning, applied technology, and leadership development blend daily as cadets apply what they have learned in the classroom, in the lab, in the Corps, and on the waterfront.

Those working toward a license can feel the responsibility of command, demonstrate their effectiveness as leaders, and refine their technical skills and leadership styles. All students, whether in the license programs or not, can interact with other cultures and learn about the peoples who are their hosts. They can also experience connections to the larger world and develop an understanding of how their selected vocations will function in the context of an international setting. In this way the cruises enhance the global awareness of students as they apply the intellectual and practical training they have received during the school year.