Thanks to a presidential executive order signed on March 4, 2019, it may become easier to transition from a military career to a career in the United States merchant marine.
The US Coast Guard, which is responsible for credentialing merchant mariners, already oversees a program called Military to Mariner, which is designed to assist military veterans in submitting their military sea service to obtain merchant mariner credentials. The latest program goes a step further with the goal of requiring the USCG to waive all fees associated with obtaining these credentials and cutting credentialing time down to one month, allowing transitioning veterans to enter maritime jobs in the civilian marine sector as quickly as possible.
This EO was brought to our attention by Captain Jen Ellinger, who attended the Women In Maritime Leadership conference at California Maritime academy last weekend, and who gave a stirring speech at the conference dinner Friday night.
As Captain Ellinger recounted in her presentation, the opportunities available to women in the U.S. Navy have grown exponentially in her lifetime, and the opportunities open to all who serve their country are now expanding even more. This is an exciting development for anyone looking to pursue a rewarding career in the maritime industry! For more information, follow this link: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/03/04/executive-order-aims-attract-transitioning-troops-merchant-marine.html