PROTRAMID is a four-week program that exposes Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy to surface, sub-surface, aviation communities, and the Marine Corps, which helps these Midshipmen decide which community they would like to join after graduation.

‘‘PROTRAMID is a worthwhile experience,” said Lt j.g Daniel Ronick, PROTRAMID coordinator for Higgins. ‘‘It gives the Midshipmen the opportunity to experience first hand what a day in the life of a Sailor is like.”

During their time on board, the Midshipmen were given information on and shown Higgins’ weapon systems, sensors, damage control systems and deck equipment. They were also able to learn about the Central Control Station, where the engineering command and control center is located, and the Combat Information Center, where they were able to participate in a simulated war scenario using the AEGIS Combat Training System (ACTS).

‘‘It was neat learning about the combat system stuff,” Midn. 2⁄C Coleman Gonzales said. ‘‘You learn much more by seeing stuff than you do from reading about it or seeing a power point presentation on it.”

The Higgins leadership also made it a priority to give the Midshipmen the opportunity to interact with enlisted Sailors to learn more about the people they could be leading.

The final event of the day was a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) ride through San Diego Bay to better understand daily basic security operations and how Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team operations are conducted.

‘‘What a fabulous experience to learn first hand from seasoned surface warriors with nearly a year of back-to-back deployment expe-rience,” said Cmdr. Winton Smith, Higgins’ commanding officer. ‘‘I am very pleased that ‘Higgins Heroes’ were called upon to contribute, through PROTRAMID, to the development of our future naval leaders and assist in making their first major career decision.”