Recent content by KPEngineer

The sugar run, also for Matson. It was one of my cadet ships and if not for other life choices I would have just camped out doing that for a sailing career and been very happy.

If travel is important to you than a shoreside job right out of school likely won't support that. Service Obligation: If you are IRR than it's only two weeks a year and most employers have a separate leave category for that so its a non issue. If you are SELRES it is your weekends so that...

Thank you for aging me, I guess I am no longer a graduate of "recent times". Oh well ... the grey in the beard was already telling me that but I had so far refused to listen. For the record ... I was recognized in mid-February.

My point was about the opportunity to go, not the probability of completion.

The surest way to get an opportunity to attend BUD/s is to enlist in the Navy under an NSW contract. NavySEALS.com

They are afraid if you knew the truth you wouldn't go.

Most alumni references include only four letters so be prepared for a lot of that too. As was said to me when I was home for Christmas plebe year ... "it's not so much that you said it that bothers me, but the ease with which it came out of your mouth.".

An internship can't be used as sea days if you are working in the office. If the Academy allows you to count time on an ATB in excess of your 330 than yes your internship can count for sea days. If you have that many days than it would likely be the just a matter of the logistics of getting...

Deck or Engine? You can but it may be limiting to your ability to sit for license exams. For deck, ATBs count as 1 for 2 time towards an unlimited tonnage license. 1 day of sea service for 2 days on board so 90 days on board only gets you 45 days towards your 360. 46 CFR 11.211(d) Service...

Engine is the harder curriculum, Deck has harder license exams. Most important is to pick what you like to study. It is an extremely tough road if you don’t like your classes. You can have a very successful shoreside career in the maritime no matter which you choose, however it is true that...

^^^ This To get the Navy Pension you need 50 points a year. Being in the SSO program alone doesn't quite get you there, a couple of correspondence courses a year is all it takes to make the 50 and get the pension. Never let your license fully expire. If you don't plan to renew it, at least...

You only need the waiver if you want to go full time in lieu of sailing. If you go part time while you sail then no waiver is needed. USMMA does not have a specific grad school program like the other service academies because the Merchant Marine is not a full time service like the services the...

Auditing in the maritime industry is related to the International Safety Management code. The ISM Code is essentially the maritime equivalent of ISO 9001. It came out of an accident on board a RO/RO ferry in Europe where the incident and its 193 deaths were traced to an individual not...

Or when you meet a fellow alumni for the first time and it's immediately like you have been best friends for decades.

Add academy burnout to the list of pull factors.