Wareham resident Zachary Travis is no stranger to the water. The 18-year-old high school senior captains the Old Rochester Regional High School swim team and has recently Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Sea Cadet Corps, the highest title the corps gives out.

Travis, a Wareham resident, was honored for his accomplishment Saturday, March 22 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The Navy Sea Cadet Corps is a youth military program for people age 10 to the end of high school where kids learn basic military instruction and team building.

In order to get the promotion, Travis said he had to dedicate a lot of time to the program, hit physical training benchmarks and complete required coursework.

Travis has been a part of the corps for five years which he said he joined out of respect for veterans.

"I wanted to get involved because of the military banner the sea cadets uphold and to wear the unform with pride," Travis said.

Over the course of his five years, Travis said he has been able to learn a lot, especially from his  mentors.

"The biggest thing you get from the program is leadership and integrity," Travis said. "I've learned a lot from previous officers I worked with."

Travis said one of his biggest inspirations has been his commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Jim McLoughlin, who Travis said always pushed him to be his best.

"He always encouraged me to keep trying throughout the five years I've been there," Travis said.

Within the sea cadet corps, kids are broken up into two groups by age. The younger group is for kids age 10 to 13 and the second group is kids age 13 and up. As Chief Petty Officer, Travis will lead this group and said he hopes to inspire the younger kids the same way his mentors inspired him.

Now that Travis is nearing the end of his time as a sea cadet, he plans to begin working on becoming a Massachusetts state trooper.