Photo courtesy of Villanova NROTC 

 

 

 

For over 50 years Villanova Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps has hosted a Military Excellence Competition each spring. The “MEC,” is a campus-wide event that consists of different categories, including drill, athletics and a basketball tournament.

New this year is a combat skills event in which different teams or individuals from various schools around the country will compete. Schools participating in the event include The United States Naval Academy, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

 According to the NROTC student in charge of the event, Walker Haynes, event planning for the upcoming event began in June of 2015 with meetings and staff assignments. By August, preliminary invitations and campus reservations were made to procure a basic layout, and by Christmas the layout had been filled with specific event plans.

Since December NROTC members have been finalizing event details, sending invitations to vendors and participants, and meeting with the University to provide the legal infrastructure and agreements required to make the event possible.

“This is the biggest combined intercollegiate military competition in the country, and this year we expect record attendance” said Midshipman Haynes, a junior in the college of engineering.

“In response to this year’s expectations, I have formed a staff of nearly 15 fellow Midshipman that have worked tirelessly and diligently. This is no simple task, and they have repeatedly outdone themselves to make this event a complete success.”

The events are not limited to the participating schools and NROTC/ROTC students. There will also be a Breast Cancer Awareness 5K during the MEC, which all are encouraged to sign up for.

A major goal of this event through the years has been to increase involvement among the student body.

“This year we look forward to some new changes in how we operate,” Haynes said. “We are working side by side with the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, as well as the Campus Activities Team.

The design is to promote overall student involvement, and hopefully create an event that encompasses activities all across campus, that can be seen by the student body as a weekend of events that belongs to them, and not just a weekend where NROTC has an intimidating presence.”

Haynes and his team are also excited to announce that the newly crowned Miss Pennsylvania will be in attendance at the MEC. Event prizes will include concert tickets donated by the Zac Brown Band.

This year’s MEC planning team has also increased its social media presence to promote larger student involvement, using the title “2016 Villanova MEC,” on Facebook and Instagram.

This year’s MEC event takes place Saturday, April 23, in the Pavilion.

All Villanova students and members of the local community are welcome to attend. and observe the competition.