United States Merchant Marine Academy
 United States Merchant Marine Academy  (Military academy)    | |
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| Formation | 1943 |
| Headquarters | New York, US |
| Trains cadets to serve as officers in the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, and the transportation industry. | |
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains cadets to serve as officers in the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, and the transportation industry. Midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) are trained in different fields such as marine engineering, navigation, ship's administration, maritime law, personnel management, international law, customs, and many other subjects important to the task of running a large ship.
Post-graduation service obligations
Midshipmen at Kings Point have a wide variety of options upon graduation. Unlike the nation's other federal service academies, graduates of USMMA are required to fulfill their service obligation on their own by providing annual proof of employment in a wide variety of occupations as approved by the United States Maritime Administration for a specified period of time.
Graduates may elect to fulfill their service obligation by working as licensed officers on U.S.-flagged merchant vessels, as civilians in the maritime industry, or as active duty officers in any branch of the military or the uniformed services of the United States, including Public Health Service, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Regardless, graduates are required to maintain their U.S. Coast Guard-issued merchant marine officer's license for a period of at least 6 years.
Those graduates electing to enter the civilian work force in the maritime industry, and those sailing in the Merchant Marine, are also required to maintain their Navy Reserve commission (or another reserve component commission in the Army National Guard or Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force National Guard or Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve) for a period of at least 8 years after their commissioning as officers, and are required to serve in the maritime industry for at least 5 years following graduation.
- On average about 1/3 of each graduating class goes to sea working in the Merchant Marine serving with the Military Sealift Command (part of the U.S. Navy) and the National Defense Reserve Fleet or on various US-Flagged ships in international trade, inland & near-coastal transportation, research vessels, and other types of vessels.
- Another 1/3 generally go to work in the U.S. maritime industry ashore working in commercial shipping, ship broking, ship repair, intermodal logistics, marine engineering, maritime law, maritime insurance, or defense contracting.
- About 1/3 enter the military as active duty commissioned officers in the Uniformed Services. Of those going on active duty, most enter the Navy as naval aviators, naval flight officers, surface warfare officers, submarine officers, or occasionally even as SEALs. Many midshipmen enter the Coast Guard, while others enter the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, United States Space Force, and their Reserve or National Guard components. Midshipmen may also apply for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with the NOAA Commissioned Corps.
- Those graduates who sail in the U.S. Merchant Marine or work ashore in the U.S. Maritime Industry will receive a Navy reserve commission as Strategic Sealift Officers.
Alumni on Wikispooks
| Person | Born | Died | Nationality | Summary | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Card | 10 May 1947 | Politician | |||
| John Diebold | 8 June 1926 | 26 December 2005 | US | Businessperson | US businessman who attended the 1967 Bilderberg |
