Civilian options after usna

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west coast dad

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My son has his interview with his moc next month and his first choice is the usmma and usna second. He also applied to the uscga. He is interested in civilian service perhaps on a non military research vessel. Are such options available if he were to attend the usna?
 
USNA produces commissioned officers for the Navy and Marine Corps, warriors destined to serve with or onboard Navy and Marine vessels and units. "Civilian" research vessel is not one of the usual options, to the best of my knowledge. There is a possibility to eventually go into the METOC community. Google Navy Meteorological and Oceanographic Officer.

Suggest your son research the NOAA commissioned officers corps. They are one of the 7 uniformed services but not one of the 5 armed forces, who serve aboard government research vessels. USMMA and the state maritime academies are possible routes.
http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/

NOAA officers wear Navy-like uniforms and use same rank structure. Similar to USPHS officers, they are the other uniformed-but-not-armed service.
 
I think NOAA and SOME USPHS officers look a little more Coast Guardish these days (that is, in their operational uniforms).

NOAA also has something like ROTC/OCS, which, I THINK is now co-located with the Coast Guard's OCS…. but I could be wrong.
 
west coast dad said:
My son has his interview with his moc next month and his first choice is the usmma and usna second. He also applied to the uscga. He is interested in civilian service perhaps on a non military research vessel. Are such options available if he were to attend the usna?
Click to expand...

Not so much an option out of USNA. It would be more likely out of USMMA. The closest thing he could get to that out of USCGA is a spot on an ice breaker…. but those spots are fairly limited.
 
LITS, yes, I think NOAA used to have an office at USMMA in the naval science building and run their OCS-like course there for their newly-commissioned officers out of various college programs, including USMMA and the state maritimes. I have some hazy thought they may have moved that to USCGA in more recent years.

For OP, though, if your DS isn't fully into "I'm gonna be a warrior" mode, and serve with combatant units, then USNA might not be a great fit. USNA.edu spells that out pretty well. USNA is just an interim way station enroute to a minimum 5 years of uniformed service as a warfare officer. That bit is what your DS should want to do, and should be the driver behind applying.

NOAA is a small, highly professional service that does interesting non-warfare things all over the world in an ocean-going service environment.
 
Thank you for the replies. I think my son has done his homework regarding usmma and this may be why it is his first choice. I will look more into metoc, this may be a viable option. I think for him the noaa option seems very appealing.
 
Best wishes for good choices and successful outcomes.
 
The number of billets in the meteorology/oceanography community is fairly limited (last year only one). Your son needs to understand it is possible (and likely) that he might not get that assignment, so he needs to be comfortable with the possibility of being assigned to other communities (ships, subs, aviation, etc).
 
USNA produces commissioned officers in either the Marines or US Navy. While one has various choices during service selection, if your son already has a single very specific civilian career path in mind, USNA is probably not the right choice for him. Service selection is impacted by one's class rank as well as the needs of the military, so unlike civilian colleges, there is no guarantee you will get your first choice upon graduation.

You need to serve a minimum of 5 yrs after graduation.
 
Tell him to look into the Maritime Academy Schools. He can still get a Commission and work civilian. Navy is automatic from USNA. To choose Marine you must go through Leatherneck (certain) and be recommended by Marine Cadre (I think!). Both require at least a five year commitment after graduation.
 
Thanks for replies I think usna is not the best fit for my son, he is crossing his fingers for usmma or uscga. We appreciate everyone's assistance
 
The state academies are his plan b, a very exciting plan b! After considering all info he has access to, he decided to continue to pursue the usna appointment from his moc. Still a long shot but at least he is casting a wider net
 
Cast his net still wider! Both Webb and NY Maritime can open fantastic doors for him.
 
Webb is amazing. One of my close friends at USNA majored in naval architecture. Over half his colleagues are Webb grads. Great program, great job placement, great reputation. Very unique school.

If I had actually known what I was doing at 18 I probably would of been a Naval Architect major. I think boats at USNA was one of my favorite classes. I think it was because it was so hands on. Study the theory, engineering, science behind it all, but then can go down to the wave tanks and watch it, build it, test it. If I had only known at 18 there was a hidden engineer in me.
 
NavyHoops: ME TOO. I never got as far as taking boats, but I do remember we had some sort of survey mini-course...or perhaps it was a demo as part of majors selection, the purpose is fuzzy after all these years. Anyway, it was long enough that I remember clearly the links between equations, principles, and then real-world, hands-on trial and error. The professor (can't remember his name) had a great habit of getting us to state principles in plain, everyday language before the more formal equations. It was such an important part of that spring semester that it had me seriously re-considering my plan to leave at the end of plebe year.
 
KP cadets get to do the Antarctica run. There are 8 right now doing that and one may even be on the ice breaker. NOAA is available out of KP but not many choose that because there are so many better options. But if that is where your heart is, it's a great path.
 
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