5th Company Commander: 1/C Shane McQueen

My name is Shane McQueen, and I am from Lynnfield, Massachusetts. This upcoming school year I am privileged to be the Fifth Company Commander. As the Fifth Company Commander, I oversee all cadets in Fifth Company throughout the Orientation Process and throughout the 2026-2027 Academic year. At the Academy, I study Facilities Engineering and am completing a minor in Business. After graduation, I will be pursuing my Master’s Degree in Facilities Management and would like to work in Building Commissioning. At the Academy, I participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters and also work in the Writing Resource Center as a writing tutor. 

I am very excited to be involved in Orientation again this year as I have developed a real passion for leadership throughout my time at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I am so grateful for the opportunities which Massachusetts Maritime Academy has given me and I want to do my part in helping train the next generation of young sailors, leaders and professionals. I am ecstatic to work with the rest of the Fifth Company Senior Leadership team including the Executive Officer Kaylee Davis, Training and Retention Officer Sarah Naar and 03 Platoon Leader Ian Linden. Under the guidance of Senior Chief Jones, and along with the eleven Orientation Squad Leaders, I have full confidence that we will have a great Orientation.

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Orientation Day 1

Fifth Company had a great start to Orientation. After completing Cadre oath and marching the new Cadet Candidates off the field,  the new C/Cs  were marched to lunch and sorted into their respective companies. After eating their first meal together  in the mess deck, it was time to march over to the gym and get some haircuts  and gather all of their uniform items. The Cadet Candidates tried on their uniforms to make sure they fit properly, which is very important, as they will be living in those uniforms for the next four years at the Academy. Acclimating to life at Massachusetts Maritime  Academy is not easy,  but the squad leaders did a great job instructing their first steps in becoming a cadet. During company drill time, Cadet Candidates were broken up into smaller groups and had one-on-one time with their squad leaders in order to learn facing movements,  those movements being left face, right face, and about face. Throughout the day,  Cadet Candidates began learning about Academy staff,  Regimental staff and began to learn some lessons about the Academy. The Cadet Candidates also attended  two very important meetings,  those being a medical briefing  and a fire fighting lecture at which they learned information which will be vital for their orientation experience and will stick with them for the rest of their time at school and will carry over into their professional lives. 

As I reflect on day one,  I think back to my beginning of orientation three years ago, and I feel a very deep sense of excitement for the development that these Cadet Candidates are going to undergo throughout these next two weeks which will set them up for an incredible start at the Academy,  leading them to be great leaders and professionals in the maritime industry and in the world. Today marks the beginning of a great journey for all Cadet Candidates that were sorted into Fifth company,  and I can promise that myself along with my leadership team will do our absolute best to develop these young men and women into all that they can be, always asking for their best effort, and teaching them how essential teamwork is to success. 

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Orientation Day 2

Today marked the first full day of Orientation. The day for the Cadet Candidates began with Meet the Cadre. Meet the Cadre is where the Cadet Candidates have a formal introduction to their Fifth Company Orientation Squad Leaders and Senior Staff. Fifth Company Orientation Squad Leaders Ms. Brook, Ms. Kinnane, Ms. Deveau, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Meal, Mr. Allen, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Sturtevant, Ms. Beal, Ms. Hinds and Mr. Cashman introduced themselves to our Cadet Candidates while also explaining how they would help the Candidates with their training. The Squad Leaders touched on specifics of the Academy. After the Squad Leaders, the Fifth Company Senior Staff introduced themselves and explained how they will be supporting the Cadet Candidates on their journey. After showers and breakfast, the Cadet Candidates went to the gym and tried on their uniform items, making sure that everything fit properly and made exchanges and arranged for alterings as necessary. Today we specifically focused on making sure their Boiler Suits fit well, as that will be very important for their firefighting training later this week. The Candidates learned a lot about the Academy today, through meetings on the Regimental Manual, Academy history and traditions we hold sacred here at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. 

During Company Drill time today, the Candidates further developed the facing movements which they were introduced to yesterday. The Cadet Candidates also worked on Column Left and Column Right commands which are commonly used when marching from location to location. The Candidates experiencing their first full day definitely was not easy, but as C/C Lee said, “Growth happens through doing challenging things”. The Candidates are beginning to understand what Academy life looks like and are developing a new enthusiasm for the commitment to excellence which we all live here in Buzzards Bay.  

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Orientation Day 3

The Fifth Company had an amazing day today. 

We started the day with the physical fitness assessment,  and all the Cadet Candidates were very enthusiastic and got great scores today. C/C Shannon and C/C Maurao achieved scores of 93 and 92 on the push-ups respectively. Fifth Company had winning times for the First Battalion run for both males and females. C/C Fortin won the mile run for the males and C/C McDougall won for the females. 

After PT,  the cadet candidates made their way to firefighting in Bridgewater. They were extremely engaged,  and  had a great time learning from the firefighters. The firefighters were impressed with their manners and how interested they were in different firefighting techniques. They learned how to use Self Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs), how to handle hoses and how to use fire extinguishers. 

Upon returning to school, the Cadet Candidates went straight to intramurals which was Kickball against Third Company. C/C Matzke had a great performance on the mound, leading Fifth to victory and starting our intramurals season on the right foot. 

During Company Time, we worked further on drill and also explained some traditions of the Academy. After instructing the C/Cs on how to wear their belts and make their beds, we announced our first Cadet Candidate Platoon Leader, C/C Christopher. C/C Christopher gave a speech which got all of the Cadet Candidates excited to work and improve tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a beautiful day for 5. 

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Orientation Day 4

Fifth Company had another exciting day. The day began with morning PT where the Cadet Candidates went through different field exercises. After shower time and breakfast, the Cadet Candidates went to the gym for their last session of uniform fittings. After the gym, the Cadet Candidates made their way to the Patriot State 2 for a vessel familiarization tour. During the tour, the C/Cs were very attentive and interested in the ship. 

After lunch, the C/Cs had a meeting with the Academic Planning team, including Academy staff members and Regimental Academic staff members. The C/Cs learned a lot about what it looks like to be a student here. They learned about the tutoring resources that are available to them, and where to go if they need help scheduling their classes. 

This evening’s patio went well, with the C/Cs noticeably improving both their knowledge and their teamwork. Teamwork is essential for success during orientation and during your time at MMA, so it is great to see the C/Cs getting more comfortable working together. 

During Company Commander time, myself and the senior staff were joined by our Battalion Commander and Battalion Executive Officer who aided us with the instruction of drill movements for the C/Cs. 

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Orientation Day 5

Fifth Company had another beautiful day at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. C/Cs are getting adjusted to the way of life at MMA and are working together and completing activities with great enthusiasm. CCPL Christopher passionately led the C/Cs in studying knowledge sharing his study strategies. Their hard work paid off as Fifth Company had good Patio performances today. 

The C/Cs attended mandatory training for Orientation Mini Cruise today, along with a presentation from the Paul Cuffe Center for Global Engagement where they learned about different cultures and how they all work together to create the Maritime world. 

At intramurals, Fifth Company fell short by one goal to Second Company in water polo. C/C Doyne C/C Sweeney and C/C Mauroa stepped up as leaders in the pool, as goalie and attackers respectively. 

After the evening meal, the highlight of  our day happened. The C/Cs have been progressing very well on their drill, and were extremely enthusiastic working on new drill movements. Even after a long day, their excitement showed through their exhaustion while working with myself and the Squad Leaders. 

The C/Cs are working well together and understand they are all vital parts of the team; and that teamwork is the road to success

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Orientation Day 6

Fifth company had a very exciting day today. Our selected CCPL was C/C McDougall. C/C McDougall has been very enthusiastic in learning knowledge and marching movements. Upon being selected as CCPL, she gave a very motivational speech where she asked her shipmates to focus and work harder to achieve their goals. After morning PT and breakfast, we made our way to the  American Bureau of Shipping Information Commons (ABSIC),  and got briefed on water survival methods. Upon completion of the briefing, Fifth Company made their way over to the pool where we began water survival. The Cadet Candidates started water survival by swimming a length of the pool and then treading water for a minute. After this basic swim competency was completed, then they were able to get more into the water survival training aspect.  Cadet Candidates practiced swimming the length of the pool dragging one of their shipmates,  and then forming up into circles interlocking their arms  to practice a technique which not only retains warmth but also makes the group look bigger, brighter and different to passing over planes and rescue helicopters. Cadet Candidates then formed up creating a mat of sorts to protect any people who would survive and are injured or do not have a flotation device. After these exercises, we got life rafts out and practiced boarding them and also making sure the cadet candidates were able to flip them over. After the completion of this, the Cadet Candidates practiced putting on thermal protection suits. Even though we were done with water survival, we still had some more time at the pool where we played water polo against Third company and won. Teamwork and communication is what made us successful at water polo today. Before dinner, we had a good patio, correctly identifying Academy staff, types of shipboard emergencies and the 41 parts of a lifeboat. These Cadet Candidates are motivated to be here and love working together. I am excited to see what tomorrow brings for Fifth Company. 

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Orientation Day 7

Fifth Company had pond day today. The C/Cs learned to sail, and row the crew barge and Monomoy boats. The C/Cs got to socialize a lot today and get to become better friends with one another. The CCPL today was C/C Boyce, who has shown great enthusiasm and respect throughout orientation. He is a leader amongst the C/Cs and gave a great speech at evening inspection on how the platoon can do better tomorrow. The Patio performance was good, as the C/Cs diligently studied types of shipboard emergencies and their respective signals on the bus rides to and from the pond today. Our guidon was officially chosen today, and it is C/C Christopher. The C/Cs went to major specific meetings today with their Academic Operations Officers and rates. Tomorrow will be a big day.

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Orientation Day 8

Today was a very successful day for Fifth Company. The Cadet Candidates had two successful patios,  where they answered every single question correctly;  which is a testament to everyone’s hard work and excellent study habits which they have been developing vigorously through this past week. It is crazy to think that it has already been a week of Orientation. The C/Cs had a lot of time today to work on their marching, and were very enthusiastic to work on more advanced moves with their squad leaders. They have come together as a group and all want to succeed together which is beautiful. There was a lot of time utilized today to study their knowledge. The CCPL today was CCPL Troy, a C/C who has been very impressive with his ability and passion for learning the knowledge which all C/Cs must learn about the school and shipboard life. C/C Troy and C/C McDougall led study sessions for their fellow shipmates. Today we had practice drills for the boat which coincided with their knowledge learning goals of different shipboard emergencies. The cadets stayed calm, cool and collected during this drill and the C/Cs were buzzing with excitement to go on Mini Cruise. Orientation Mini Cruise is a very special pastime and I am looking forward to seeing all of the C/Cs experience being at sea for the first time. Tomorrow will be a very exciting day as we will move onto the ship. All parents with C/Cs in Fifth Company who are reading this blog, I hope that you know your children are developing further into strong cadets every day. 

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