New to KP

captainkirk · May 15, 2007

I am fairly unfamiliar with the Merchant Marine Academy. I do know that it is close to NYC and that it is a federal service academy. However, I have no idea what happens when graduation rolls around. Can you join the AF? Navy? a private company? Can someone just make me better acquainted with the academy overall?

jamzmom · May 15, 2007

http://www.usmma.edu/admissions/catalog.htm

Heres a link to the academy's official catalog that can answer a good many questions you may have. The academy is located at Kings Point on Long Island. Being a Kings Pointer, you will have the opportunity to go active duty in any branch of service as well as Reserves. Midshipmen are in Naval Reserves until graduation. You can also commission directly to Intel or go NOAA. Starting in the second year, the kids all go to sea for Sea Year, sailing to several different countries. Check it all out & come back with questions. There are a few KP grads hanging around that can fill you in.

captainkirk · May 17, 2007

I looked through the catalog and found useful information about what happens after graduation. However I was confused about a few things. If I took the active duty option, does that make me an officer able to get a pilot slot in the Air Force or Navy? How competitive is it to get these assignments or to "cross-commision" in the first place?

jamzmom · May 17, 2007

Lets hang on until KP2001 returns from a little trip in a few days and ask him. I think he would know more about this.

kp2001 · May 20, 2007

captainkirk said:
I looked through the catalog and found useful information about what happens after graduation. However I was confused about a few things. If I took the active duty option, does that make me an officer able to get a pilot slot in the Air Force or Navy? How competitive is it to get these assignments or to "cross-commision" in the first place?

Coming from Kings Point is a GREAT way to get a pilot slot in the Air Force or Navy/Marine Corps. In recent years the selection rate for Navy Flight has been well over 90% and is usually 100% for those who are physically qualified. Air Force flight I do not know as much about, but there are more than a few people who are Air Force pilots and to me it seems everyone who wants to do AF flight gets a slot.

Cross commissions from KP are probably the easiest of all the service academies. Basically you decide you want to go Air Force/Army/Coast Guard/Marine Corps and tell the appropriate liason officer at Kings Point and they will get you hooked up. Some are more challenging than others, for example Marine Corps option students do a lot of PT together and go to various leadership courses at Quantico.

kpmom2011 · May 21, 2007

CG

How hard is it for a graduate to go active duty Coast Guard from KP? Also, do you know what the percentage is of getting into the flying program with GC from KP?

kp2001 · May 21, 2007

kpmom2011 said:
How hard is it for a graduate to go active duty Coast Guard from KP? Also, do you know what the percentage is of getting into the flying program with GC from KP?

Getting a commission into the Coast Guard is relatively easy from what I understand. I unfortunately do not know about flight slots in the USCG as things have changed from when I was there. When I was there the CG did not allow people to immediately go to flight school, instead they had to do a tour as a regular officer before being selected for flight school. It is my understanding that now people are selected directly into the flight program, but I don't have any stats for coast guard from kings point. I would imagine that it wouldn't be too tough though.

jamzmom · May 21, 2007

About 20 went active duty CG last year at graduation. Don't know how many of those went flight. Son is considering CG & tells me that he must be within the top 20% to be able to go active duty CG. The boy isn't interested in flying though so he has never mentioned doing that as an option with the CG.

bossf51 · May 22, 2007

I could be wrong but I don't think you can go directly to CG flight school from KP. They do have a good number go from the CGA directly but not sure about from KP.

captainkirk · May 27, 2007

Knowing that about the number of pilot slots for navy/marines, I would guess that there would be even more for Air Force. 90% for Naval aviation is a big surprise for me. It seems like they would advertise that stat more than they do now.

kp2001 · May 28, 2007

captainkirk said:
Knowing that about the number of pilot slots for navy/marines, I would guess that there would be even more for Air Force. 90% for Naval aviation is a big surprise for me. It seems like they would advertise that stat more than they do now.

Not necissarily true about the Air Force. Because KP is "in cahoots" with the Navy it has a different relationship with the Navy then it does the Air Force. But even though there may not be more for Air Force there are fewer people from KP competing for those slots since only a handful of graduates will go into the AF.

coastymom · May 21, 2009

Flight School

my oldest - Class 2003 - was commissioned into the Coast Guard upon graduation - and went straight into flight school at Pensacola from Kings Point.

kp2001 · May 21, 2009

coastymom said:
my oldest - Class 2003 - was commissioned into the Coast Guard upon graduation - and went straight into flight school at Pensacola from Kings Point.

I think right now the CG is still allowing new ensigns to go straight to flight school. I had one in my API class last year, but in the past they sometimes have had this idea that you had to have a tour under your belt first before going to flight.

kpmom2011 · May 21, 2009

KP has a Coastie group called the Guardians, they are the Coast Guard version of Amry/Marine Opps. KP also this past year (08) got one flight spot to go direct to CG Flight from school. 09 got one and maybe two, and if all goes well the number of spots offered directly out of KP will increase as the years go by. I heard that this year there will be more kids direct commissioning into the Coast Guard out of KP then any other service.