In honor of Ship Selection and the Class of 2026 Surface Warfare Officer-selects, today’s Firstie Friday highlights the very first to choose his ship, MIDN 1/C Jackson Smits! MIDN Smits, an Operations Research major from Shawano, Wisconsin, serves as the Brigade Resilience Officer (BRO) and a Co-Captain for the Co-ed Navy Spirit team. In his leadership role as BRO, Jackson is dedicated to promoting the well-being of the Brigade, focusing on building the grit and resiliency necessary for future officers to lead in high-stakes environments. He views his service as a way to “pay it forward”, honoring the sacrifices made by previous generations of service members and the personal investment of his parents, teachers, and mentors. Some of Jackson’s most defining training experiences that have motivated him to pursue SWO include: standing watch on the bridge of an LCS during the night and visiting the nuclear reactors aboard the USS Harry S. Truman and USS Gerald R. Ford. These moments solid...