USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation Evicted

[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;107285]YES, I do like it, in fact I’m one of them although you can’t see me as I wasn’t born yet.[/QUOTE]

This one here will always be my personal favorite of Grant’s…it truly speaks to the old Croatian fisherman in my soul

buy a drink for an old shipmate, friend? btw, got a butt I can bum? howsabout a match?

[QUOTE=c.captain;107287]This one here will always be my personal favorite of Grant’s…it truly speaks to the old Croatian fisherman in my soul [/QUOTE]

I love it - reminds me of those wonderful water front saloons I so enjoyed for so many years, I’m thinking of John Bull’s in Piraeus, but many more play inside my mind.

[QUOTE=c.captain;107287]buy a drink for an old shipmate, friend? [/QUOTE]

Hell yea, have a seat, did I ever tell you about the time I was ~~~~~~~

[QUOTE=c.captain;107287] btw, got a butt I can bum? howsabout a match?[/QUOTE]

Of course, it might be a bit soggy, raining outside you know.

[B]~ Once Upon a Time ~[/B]

The ship would steam right in a port city. A seaman could walk off the ship and be in town.

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/2417/inport.jpg

Merchant Seamen securing for sea ~

http://imageshack.us/a/img10/9468/securing.jpg

Cheers from a Merchant Seaman ~

http://imageshack.us/a/img268/6103/sweatyman.jpg

This statement makes one wonder if people in high up positions know something everyone else doesn’t know.

The Lerner House & Future Alumni Offices & Academy Visitor Center: The Alumni Association and Foundation approached the Superintendent with respect to the Lerner property and offered to donate the land in exchange for a $1/year in perpetuity lease; including a provision that would have the land revert back to the AAF should the Academy cease operations. This solution would have avoided the need to seek variance approvals from the Village of Kings Point as the property would be federal land.

My God, but there must be one unbelievably intense pissing match taking place there on the grounds of that most bizarre compound! Inbreeding for decades has led to this incredibly dysfunctional family and everybody in it is in need of some serious intervention! Trouble is the new kid Sec DoT is not the man to do it so now that LaHood has started this blood feud, how will it end? I hope with everybody dead with limbs lopped off and guts all over the ground but I know that is only a dream…

pity tho

Alternate Space: Despite MARAD’s statement to Congress, no alternative space was ever offered to the Alumni Association and Foundation by Admiral Helis. The question of why Congress was told by MARAD that alternate space had been offered, and refused, remains unanswered.

We, however, remain open to remaining in Babson Center or moving to alternate space on the Academy grounds.

What wasn’t said: Rather than focus on recent inaccurate representations by the Superintendent and DOT Secretary LaHood, it is more telling to focus on what was not said by Admiral Helis or the Secretary regarding the Academy and the Alumni Association and Foundation. We bring this up because the intent suggested below would be the intent of any of the past eleven superintendents, as it would be of any alumnus in Admiral Helis’ position:

Not said: “I worked with the AAF to find a solution and we have developed several good alternatives we all agree will work. It shows what a strong partnership we have.” (In fact, as we know, the Superintendent did not offer any alternatives to the Alumni Association and Foundation.)

Not said: “I need the AAF to continue its mission on board the Academy. Their good work provides valuable resources to the Academy and the Regiment. I value their charitable service to both the Academy and the Midshipmen.”

Not said: “I am doing all that can be done to help the AAF in their mission and to work with them to find proper alternate space.”

Not said: “Both Secretary LaHood and I are excited about the new Lerner Alumni Offices and Visitors Center. We are doing all we can to make it a reality.”

Not said: “To date, our attempts to attract a for-profit company to manage Melville on a contract basis ended in failure. We now understand that such a low revenue break-even operation is not viable for a for-profit contract operation without government subsidies or guarantees. Accordingly, we are turning to the AAF to provide a solution."

This Board of Directors is your Board of Directors. We are volunteers - 26 Kings Pointers deeply committed to the vitality and success of the Academy, the midshipmen, and our alumni. We are your classmates, section mates, sea partners, and your friends. We directly reflect the diversity of all graduates: we are captains, chief engineers, admiralty lawyers, senior active duty military officers, government servants and corporate executives. Our common bond is love of the Academy.

Once again, you will find this as difficult to read as it was to write.

The events of the past week are the culmination of many months of hard work by the AAF to work a solution to remain on board the Academy doing our work for the midshipmen and the Institution as we have for over sixty years. However, all this effort has led to the same original result from the Superintendent – he wants our Alumni Association & Foundation off the campus.

When every answer leads to “I want you off the Academy,” things like lease rates, which buildings are being renovated when, why Melville is suddenly going under renovations, etc., become moot and have become an easy excuse for what the end result is – the Superintendent wants the AAF off the campus.

To put this in perspective – ask yourself “What would I do?” Every Kings Pointer and Academy stakeholder we know would be working diligently to help this Foundation.

You would not be removing a charitable organization from where it does its good work.

Like you, we believe in the Academy and the Academy’s Alumni Association and Foundation. The Alumni Association and Foundation looks only to complete its mission to support the Academy and the Midshipmen in the most effective manner possible. To that end, one of the primary reasons for your Alumni Association and Foundation (AAF) Offices to be on the campus is to assist with the mentoring of Midshipmen; connect them with industry contacts both for internships and jobs; supporting Division III athletic activities, and being able to help fund budgetary emergencies, such as paying for the band to march in a parade or covering transportation for a club to an event.

Like you, until recent events involving the new Superintendent, we have always felt that the Foundation enjoyed a special relationship with the Academy leadership.

Like you, we respect the Superintendent’s Office and look to its occupant to represent the highest standards of honorable behavior, setting an example for all around him.

The most difficult issue we as a Board face today is not knowing why the new Superintendent has behaved in this manner towards the Alumni Association and Foundation. We are a charitable organization comprised of accomplished Kings Pointers who have the willingness and the ability to assist him in the steep learning curve transitioning from a retired Army Colonel in taking charge of our Nation’s Merchant Marine Academy.

The Alumni Association and Foundation has always had a close relationship with all of the Academy’s eleven previous Superintendents.

The question of why the new Superintendent has not engaged himself in the same relationship shared by our Alumni Association and Foundation and his predecessors remains unanswered

USMMA-AAF is an Academy Affiliate: The Alumni Association and Foundation’s presence on board the Academy in space provided by the government is validated in a 1980 MARAD legal opinion. Further, we are recognized as the sole Alumni organization and the principal Academy fundraising organization in a 2004 agreement with the Academy.

The Government Accountability Office, in its 2009/2012 landmark and definitive analysis of the financial dealings, contracts and agreements of the Academy (whose recommendations are being closely monitored and enforced by Congress), unequivocally defined the AAF as an “affiliate” of the Academy; and found nothing improper with respect to the Foundation being provided space on board the Academy without cost, the so-called “preferential treatment” Admiral Helis refers to. We are, in fact, included on the Academy’s organizational chart drawn up by the GAO in its report. In addition, the GAO particularly recognizes the significant financial contribution of the AAF to the Academy.

Where this situation began: Our previous high expectations of a positive, mutually beneficial relationship with the new Superintendent were shattered as a result of a meeting and letter initiated by Admiral Helis on November 30, 2012 with our Board Chairman and our AAF President.

In response to a request prior to the meeting for an agenda and the reason for the planned participation of the Academy’s attorney, since the AAF had not planned on having legal representation, Admiral Helis wrote “We would like to discuss improving the relationship between the Academy and the USMMAAAF to ensure that we are working together to support the continued success of the Academy”.

Instead, Admiral Helis, accompanied by his attorney, presented a letter containing numerous provisions, all of which required that the AAF surrender legal rights existing under several agreements.

That the new Superintendent would take such an unprecedented step, misrepresenting the purpose of the meeting, allowing an attorney by his side, indicating no AAF attorney need be present, and presenting a document which by its very nature was attempting to negate existing legal agreements negotiated by previous leadership in good faith was very telling of the actions we have since seen that meeting from the Superintendent’s office.

Since that time, we have been working quietly and cautiously to avert the present situation.

Attempt to Rescind the 2004 Academy-AAF Agreement and an unsigned attachment: In his November 30th letter, Admiral Helis stated that he was rescinding the 2004 agreement (noted previously) which defines the role of the Foundation as the principal fundraising agency for the Academy and the sole alumni organization representing its graduates. The agreement also binds the Academy and the Foundation “to cooperate fully with one another for the benefit of the USMMA and its Midshipmen, and to assist each other in fulfilling their respective charitable purposes.”

As part of this rescission, Admiral Helis produced what appeared to be an earlier 2008 rescission letter from the then Superintendent, addressed to the then Foundation COO. However, this document was not only unsigned, it was dated before either of them became employed by the Academy and the AAF respectively.

The “Non-Lease”: The lease proffered by Admiral Helis was never signed and is becoming a moot point as eviction appears imminent. However, the context around its content is worth repeating. As fiduciaries for our donor’s money, we could not sign an agreement that gave Admiral Helis the right to terminate the lease unilaterally, without cause, giving only 10 days notice of eviction, at a rate of $140,000/mo. Based on Admiral Helis’ other actions described above, we are unfortunately left to conclude that, like the current April 30th eviction date, this usury rental rate was not an error. Because he would not negotiate off that position, the $140,000 rent/month did not change.

Further, Admiral Helis’ statement that “The Academy will not agree to a lease with the AAF that removes federal property from its control” adds confusion to this issue, as that is the exact nature of a lease, the transfer of control from owner to tenant. We are not a concessionaire or other organization of inconsequence to the school, we are an affiliate of the Academy and have been for over sixty years.

While the rent issue has less significance than the eviction issue, it is relevant in the context of what has transpired over the past several months and how the AAF has been treated by the Superintendent. The AAF asked for, and the Superintendent refused to provide, the rents charged other entities on the campus, for example, the Ships Store, etc. How can we evaluate the rent for Babson without knowing what rent other entities pay? While refusing to provide that information, what we do know is that the contract offered for Melville Hall (a larger, much nicer space than Babson) provided for an annual payment in lieu of rent of only approx. $16,000. We were being asked to pay, per the lease, $1.7 million and per the Superintendent’s then updated response, $140,000 per year. Either amount is so far above what is being asked for Melville Hall to be shocking and apparently meant to be punitive to the AAF.

Had the Superintendent negotiated in good faith, all of this could have been avoided.

I just love watching these verbal fisticuffs from the sidelines as each side lubes a huge wooden fid and rams it right up the anus of its opponent! And that they used to be best of butt buddies only a few mere months ago doing the same “service” for pleasure rather than pain!

HA FUCKING HA!

.

My Father, who to put it mildly never cared for Kings Point, always pointed out that their Alumni Association was second to none when it came to banging the KP Drum. One has to wonder what might happen if all of a sudden the Alumni Association came to an end? We can only hope!!!

The Alumni Association was very good at taking care of any and all Graduates that worked with them. I am sure that we have this Association to thank for all of The Kings Pointer that are in Upper Management. In my years of sailing and or working around the Maritime Industry, it seems that Kings Pointer move up the Shoreside food chain at a pretty good pace. Now would a time where the State Alumni Associations should band together and do what KP has always done and that is to take care of their own.

As has been said (quite a lot lately) KP has long out lived it’s usefulness and should close it’s doors. As powerful as a lot of these Alumni are in the Industry, I have to wonder just how much weight they will pull (in D.C.) now that the fight is on. Hopefully they all can be knocked down a couple of rungs and both, the School and Alumni Association will end up with one hell of a Black Eye!

and throughout, the UniBlab remains silent! WHY? Knowing his side is already lost? Too stoopid to frame a coherent defense? Simple cowardice to face the onslaught?

The AAF has been granted a temporary stay of eviction and will not be leaving the campus today. The stay was granted by a federal judge and a ruling will be made next Monday, May 6th. Additional updates will be provided.

[QUOTE=leadline;107509]USMMA-AAF is an Academy Affiliate: The Alumni Association and Foundation’s presence on board the Academy in space provided by the government is validated in a 1980 MARAD legal opinion. Further, we are recognized as the sole Alumni organization and the principal Academy fundraising organization in a 2004 agreement with the Academy.

The Government Accountability Office, in its 2009/2012 landmark and definitive analysis of the financial dealings, contracts and agreements of the Academy (whose recommendations are being closely monitored and enforced by Congress), unequivocally defined the AAF as an “affiliate” of the Academy; and found nothing improper with respect to the Foundation being provided space on board the Academy without cost, the so-called “preferential treatment” Admiral Helis refers to. We are, in fact, included on the Academy’s organizational chart drawn up by the GAO in its report. In addition, the GAO particularly recognizes the significant financial contribution of the AAF to the Academy.

Where this situation began: Our previous high expectations of a positive, mutually beneficial relationship with the new Superintendent were shattered as a result of a meeting and letter initiated by Admiral Helis on November 30, 2012 with our Board Chairman and our AAF President.

In response to a request prior to the meeting for an agenda and the reason for the planned participation of the Academy’s attorney, since the AAF had not planned on having legal representation, Admiral Helis wrote “We would like to discuss improving the relationship between the Academy and the USMMAAAF to ensure that we are working together to support the continued success of the Academy”.

Instead, Admiral Helis, accompanied by his attorney, presented a letter containing numerous provisions, all of which required that the AAF surrender legal rights existing under several agreements.

That the new Superintendent would take such an unprecedented step, misrepresenting the purpose of the meeting, allowing an attorney by his side, indicating no AAF attorney need be present, and presenting a document which by its very nature was attempting to negate existing legal agreements negotiated by previous leadership in good faith was very telling of the actions we have since seen that meeting from the Superintendent’s office.

Since that time, we have been working quietly and cautiously to avert the present situation.

Attempt to Rescind the 2004 Academy-AAF Agreement and an unsigned attachment: In his November 30th letter, Admiral Helis stated that he was rescinding the 2004 agreement (noted previously) which defines the role of the Foundation as the principal fundraising agency for the Academy and the sole alumni organization representing its graduates. The agreement also binds the Academy and the Foundation “to cooperate fully with one another for the benefit of the USMMA and its Midshipmen, and to assist each other in fulfilling their respective charitable purposes.”

As part of this rescission, Admiral Helis produced what appeared to be an earlier 2008 rescission letter from the then Superintendent, addressed to the then Foundation COO. However, this document was not only unsigned, it was dated before either of them became employed by the Academy and the AAF respectively.

The “Non-Lease”: The lease proffered by Admiral Helis was never signed and is becoming a moot point as eviction appears imminent. However, the context around its content is worth repeating. As fiduciaries for our donor’s money, we could not sign an agreement that gave Admiral Helis the right to terminate the lease unilaterally, without cause, giving only 10 days notice of eviction, at a rate of $140,000/mo. Based on Admiral Helis’ other actions described above, we are unfortunately left to conclude that, like the current April 30th eviction date, this usury rental rate was not an error. Because he would not negotiate off that position, the $140,000 rent/month did not change.

Further, Admiral Helis’ statement that “The Academy will not agree to a lease with the AAF that removes federal property from its control” adds confusion to this issue, as that is the exact nature of a lease, the transfer of control from owner to tenant. We are not a concessionaire or other organization of inconsequence to the school, we are an affiliate of the Academy and have been for over sixty years.

While the rent issue has less significance than the eviction issue, it is relevant in the context of what has transpired over the past several months and how the AAF has been treated by the Superintendent. The AAF asked for, and the Superintendent refused to provide, the rents charged other entities on the campus, for example, the Ships Store, etc. How can we evaluate the rent for Babson without knowing what rent other entities pay? While refusing to provide that information, what we do know is that the contract offered for Melville Hall (a larger, much nicer space than Babson) provided for an annual payment in lieu of rent of only approx. $16,000. We were being asked to pay, per the lease, $1.7 million and per the Superintendent’s then updated response, $140,000 per year. Either amount is so far above what is being asked for Melville Hall to be shocking and apparently meant to be punitive to the AAF.

Had the Superintendent negotiated in good faith, all of this could have been avoided.[/QUOTE]

Why are they focusing on “Admiral” Helis who is an obvious patsy for Matsuda who is an Obvious Patsy for LaHood?

If I was in charge of the alumni association I would marginalize and ignore Helis then aim the full arsenal of my guns at Matsuda!

Probably got pushed overboard

[QUOTE=leadline;107548]The AAF has been granted a temporary stay of eviction and will not be leaving the campus today. The stay was granted by a federal judge and a ruling will be made next Monday, May 6th. Additional updates will be provided.[/QUOTE]

~ and the band played on ~

[QUOTE=domer;107551]Why are they focusing on “Admiral” Helis who is an obvious patsy for Matsuda who is an Obvious Patsy for LaHood?

If I was in charge of the alumni association I would marginalize and ignore Helis then aim the full arsenal of my guns at Matsuda![/QUOTE]

If I was in charge of the alumni association I would tell each and every one of the junta in the compound to GO FUCK THEMSELVES and to FORGET EVER GETTING ANOTHER PLUG NICKEL FROM THE MEMBERS!

I’d then hire a forest fire fighting aerial tanker and load it with the sludge from Ward’s Island and bomb Wiley Hall with it! Wouldn’t it be just the sweetest and most apropos sight to see all that beautiful white marble plastered with BROWN SHIT! Be even sweeter if that miserable little pipsqueak lackey errand boy Helis was standing on the roof when the rain came down!

I think these letters from the Superintendent to the USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation clarify the issues here:

Nov. 30, 2012
http://www.usmma.edu/sites/usmma.edu/files/docs/AAF_Letter_November_2012.pdf

April 8, 2013
http://www.usmma.edu/sites/usmma.edu/files/docs/AAF_%20Letter_April_%202013.pdf

First off, I have been a long-time observer of these forums. And to be honest have always abstained from posting due to how quickly these threads deteriorate into the same posters rallying together to kick a little more dirt on the USMMA. I have to agree with the sentiment that the constant bashing is detrimental to everyone’s best interest and only goes to decrease the support we need. I have had more than a few shoreside people reference some of the pure crap that is said in these forums and applied it as a wholesale verdict on the US Merchant Marine. Note, there is no Academy in that. I reference all of the recent Jones Act articles I have seen popping up on this site as proof that we are devaluing ourselves. So, on this note, I too agree, use a little discretion for everyone’s sake.

Secondly, while there as disagreement as to KP’s mission, usefulness, or viability I think we can all agree that at a time when this world was in crisis and fighting a second world war, the USMMA served a proud mission with midshipmen who did their duty with valor. These were kids, like the midshipmen today, going to sea during war directly assisting in winning the war by getting the bullets to the front lines. I have heard stories of guys standing on the bow in a convoy and seeing a torpedo go past their bow and into the side of the ship next to them. Stories of guys sleeping in life preservers, just in case. Some of these guys are those of whom were never heard from again. That legacy is something I think anyone addressing the academy should bear in mind.

Thirdly, as far as the academy goes today I hear sentiments of “De- fund MARAD, close KP”. Let kids go to a state school and work their way through college so they know what it is like to actually earn something. First of all, defunding MARAD will hurt the other maritime academies. That is where their training ships and fuel to do their summer cruises come from. Why are we killing the next generation of maritime officers? But, people read that without any education of the industry and take it as gospel because the guy who wrote it from the industry.

Close KP? Well, if Helis thinks the mission of the academy is just to send out “leaders” then we do have a problem. That is not the intent or mission of the academy, and the people making the most important decisions up there have strayed from the intended purpose of the school. If you believe that our country has a national security interest in getting away from foreign oil, or that it is an interest of national security to have ships at the ready to respond to a crisis, then I think you have cases for the purpose of the USMMA. We desperately need a steady flow of officers filling the void that the baby-boomer generation is leaving behind. That combined with the increased regulation and requirements for upgrading it is almost impossible for a “hawse-piper” to make it these days. The offshore industry is moving farther out, with bigger rigs, drill ships, bigger supply boats, and AHTS vessels that are small ships. The bayous don’t have enough guys to fill these jobs or the ability to pay for the courses to upgrade. Not to mention being able to afford to take the time off to take those courses. The companies just aren’t there to help.

“Just go to another academy.” Well, the insanely high and continually soaring tuition costs are not isolated to Harvard, Princeton, MIT and all the other traditional universities. And to imply that just because you worked your way through college scrubbing toilets and pumping gas while some kid got a “golden ticket” is how it works with everyone that goes through the USMMA is using a broad generalization. I came from less than humble beginnings and still had to work off campus to pay for the loans I needed to even afford to be at KP at it’s reduced cost. In case you didn’t know, it isn’t totally free. And I was definitely not the only one in that situation. Not to mention, that once you are at the academy you are still doing 20+ credit hours, regimental activities every day, and a sport. The attrition rate is incredibly high. So, I would say we earned it just as much.

Fourthly, I see this recurring theme that the Alumni association is some mafia or secret society that gives the graduate a golden ticket to excel into an upper-management position is ludicrous. Or even that the alumni are all products of drinking the kool-aid and being ego-maniacs once they come out. Again, broad strokes being painted here. Very broad generalizations. I have experienced no such thing and have been very successful up to this point based solely on the work ethic and determination I had to develop at KP. And of late, any success from somebody “looking out” for me that has helped climbing any ladder or getting a shot to move up has been from well-established alumni from SUNY. Are there tight knit groups of people from KP looking out for each other? Yes, and they were usually roommates, or class mates. Sometimes not. Just fellow alumni. But any school has that. That is the point of an alumni group. You look out for each other. Some associations are better than others. But, that is not singular to USMMA.

Lastly, in this sentiment that I keep seeing I read about the kids going to KP being rejects from the “real” service academies. Well, I would hate for any current midshipmen to read that. That is not doing them any favors putting them down like that with another broad generalization of the USMMA population. While there is a small population of midshipman every year that show up to KP because their first choice service academy (or even 2nd and 3rd choice) did not accept them, that is by far a small percentage. Many of my classmates were sons/daughters of chief engineers, captains, harbor pilots, maritime attorneys, cargo surveyors, etc. I for one was not. I just wanted to go to a maritime academy. And, since I couldn’t afford to go to any state academies (I would have to pay out of state tuition) USMMA was my choice. But, some kids do show up with KP as their last alternative for attending a service academy. Often they are ill informed as to what they are really getting into. But, that is not their fault. In my experience, the attrition rate is high enough as it is, and many of these individuals don’t hold out because going to sea wasn’t something they wanted to do. Some do make it. But, they also go on to do well and fulfill their obligations just like everyone else. Often, they see KP as a better choice in the end.

I would continue, but I have said my piece. And while I am sure there will be fervent responses from supposed hard-core individuals with way too much time on their hands to commit sooooo many responses and still be worth their salt running a ship or standing a watch, I hope that anyone trying to educate themselves on the industry and USMMA sift through all the other garbage and at least glance upon this. There are a few loud ruffians, but the silent professionals are still around and maintain a proud tradition with a sense of decorum. Fair winds, following seas gentlemen.

[QUOTE=Tugs;107529]My Father, who to put it mildly never cared for Kings Point, always pointed out that their Alumni Association was second to none when it came to banging the KP Drum. One has to wonder what might happen if all of a sudden the Alumni Association came to an end? We can only hope!!!

The Alumni Association was very good at taking care of any and all Graduates that worked with them. I am sure that we have this Association to thank for all of The Kings Pointer that are in Upper Management. In my years of sailing and or working around the Maritime Industry, it seems that Kings Pointer move up the Shoreside food chain at a pretty good pace. Now would a time where the State Alumni Associations should band together and do what KP has always done and that is to take care of their own.

As has been said (quite a lot lately) KP has long out lived it’s usefulness and should close it’s doors. As powerful as a lot of these Alumni are in the Industry, I have to wonder just how much weight they will pull (in D.C.) now that the fight is on. Hopefully they all can be knocked down a couple of rungs and both, the School and Alumni Association will end up with one hell of a Black Eye![/QUOTE]

First off, I have been a long-time observer of these forums. And to be honest have always abstained from posting due to how quickly these threads deteriorate into the same posters rallying together to kick a little more dirt on the USMMA. I have to agree with the sentiment that the constant bashing is detrimental to everyone’s best interest and only goes to decrease the support we need. I have had more than a few shoreside people reference some of the pure crap that is said in these forums and applied it as a wholesale verdict on the US Merchant Marine. Note, there is no Academy in that. I reference all of the recent Jones Act articles I have seen popping up on this site as proof that we are devaluing ourselves. So, on this note, I too agree, use a little discretion for everyone’s sake.

Secondly, while there as disagreement as to KP’s mission, usefulness, or viability I think we can all agree that at a time when this world was in crisis and fighting a second world war, the USMMA served a proud mission with midshipmen who did their duty with valor. These were kids, like the midshipmen today, going to sea during war directly assisting in winning the war by getting the bullets to the front lines. I have heard stories of guys standing on the bow in a convoy and seeing a torpedo go past their bow and into the side of the ship next to them. Stories of guys sleeping in life preservers, just in case. Some of these guys are those of whom were never heard from again. That legacy is something I think anyone addressing the academy should bear in mind.

Thirdly, as far as the academy goes today I hear sentiments of “De- fund MARAD, close KP”. Let kids go to a state school and work their way through college so they know what it is like to actually earn something. First of all, defunding MARAD will hurt the other maritime academies. That is where their training ships and fuel to do their summer cruises come from. Why are we killing the next generation of maritime officers? But, people read that without any education of the industry and take it as gospel because the guy who wrote it from the industry.

Close KP? Well, if Helis thinks the mission of the academy is just to send out “leaders” then we do have a problem. That is not the intent or mission of the academy, and the people making the most important decisions up there have strayed from the intended purpose of the school. If you believe that our country has a national security interest in getting away from foreign oil, or that it is an interest of national security to have ships at the ready to respond to a crisis, then I think you have cases for the purpose of the USMMA. We desperately need a steady flow of officers filling the void that the baby-boomer generation is leaving behind. That combined with the increased regulation and requirements for upgrading it is almost impossible for a “hawse-piper” to make it these days. The offshore industry is moving farther out, with bigger rigs, drill ships, bigger supply boats, and AHTS vessels that are small ships. The bayous don’t have enough guys to fill these jobs or the ability to pay for the courses to upgrade. Not to mention being able to afford to take the time off to take those courses. The companies just aren’t there to help.

“Just go to another academy.” Well, the insanely high and continually soaring tuition costs are not isolated to Harvard, Princeton, MIT and all the other traditional universities. And to imply that just because you worked your way through college scrubbing toilets and pumping gas while some kid got a “golden ticket” is how it works with everyone that goes through the USMMA is using a broad generalization. I came from less than humble beginnings and still had to work off campus to pay for the loans I needed to even afford to be at KP at it’s reduced cost. In case you didn’t know, it isn’t totally free. And I was definitely not the only one in that situation. Not to mention, that once you are at the academy you are still doing 20+ credit hours, regimental activities every day, and a sport. The attrition rate is incredibly high. So, I would say we earned it just as much.

Fourthly, I see this recurring theme that the Alumni association is some mafia or secret society that gives the graduate a golden ticket to excel into an upper-management position is ludicrous. Or even that the alumni are all products of drinking the kool-aid and being ego-maniacs once they come out. Again, broad strokes being painted here. Very broad generalizations. I have experienced no such thing and have been very successful up to this point based solely on the work ethic and determination I had to develop at KP. And of late, any success from somebody “looking out” for me that has helped climbing any ladder or getting a shot to move up has been from well-established alumni from SUNY. Are there tight knit groups of people from KP looking out for each other? Yes, and they were usually roommates, or class mates. Sometimes not. Just fellow alumni. But any school has that. That is the point of an alumni group. You look out for each other. Some associations are better than others. But, that is not singular to USMMA.

Lastly, in this sentiment that I keep seeing I read about the kids going to KP being rejects from the “real” service academies. Well, I would hate for any current midshipmen to read that. That is not doing them any favors putting them down like that with another broad generalization of the USMMA population. While there is a small population of midshipman every year that show up to KP because their first choice service academy (or even 2nd and 3rd choice) did not accept them, that is by far a small percentage. Many of my classmates were sons/daughters of chief engineers, captains, harbor pilots, maritime attorneys, cargo surveyors, etc. I for one was not. I just wanted to go to a maritime academy. And, since I couldn’t afford to go to any state academies (I would have to pay out of state tuition) USMMA was my choice. But, some kids do show up with KP as their last alternative for attending a service academy. Often they are ill informed as to what they are really getting into. But, that is not their fault. In my experience, the attrition rate is high enough as it is, and many of these individuals don’t hold out because going to sea wasn’t something they wanted to do. Some do make it. But, they also go on to do well and fulfill their obligations just like everyone else. Often, they see KP as a better choice in the end.

I would continue, but I have said my piece. And while I am sure there will be fervent responses from supposed hard-core individuals with way too much time on their hands to commit sooooo many responses and still be worth their salt running a ship or standing a watch, I hope that anyone trying to educate themselves on the industry and USMMA sift through all the other garbage and at least glance upon this. There are a few loud ruffians, but the silent professionals are still around and maintain a proud tradition with a sense of decorum. Fair winds, following seas gentlemen.

Well, Nelson, you guys do have that secret handshake thingy going on. And then there’s that magic ring you all have…the one that makes the loud knocking sound when it hits a solid mahogany conference table? Yeah, that ring. Put it on, and jobs and money descend from heaven like manna! :stuck_out_tongue:

(I hope you know I am busting your chops. It’s a thing I do)