Our admissions experience with a few medical hurdles

[airbornedaddy]

A lot of people are in the midst of the process of applying and will be beginning the DODMERB process soon. I wanted to share our experience in hopes that it will help an applicant or their family.

So, our son had ACL reconstruction as an 8th grader. Freak deal playing football. Anyway, he fought back and played sports all of the way through his junior year. As he was applying to all of the academies, he tore his ACL in his other knee in June of the summer going into his senior year. He didn't really understand the spot it put him in regarding recruitment and even qualifying for admission into a service academy. But, he had the surgery and fought through physical therapy.

At his DODMERB physical, he was automatically DQ'ed. As he was jumping through all of the other hoops, we began completing the remedials and submitting additional information to DODMERB. It seemed slower than it was. The people as DODMERB were great and thorough. Ultimately, he received his waiver...great news, right?! Well a few months prior to indoc, we find out that he has a hernia. The doctor recommended surgery and we immediately went to the coach at USMMA, admissions, and DODMERB to let them know. Like I told my son, we could get the surgery and keep our mouths closed and take a chance...but you don't want to start your career as a leader of honor on clouded circumstances. We developed a plan B (NMMI), had the surgery, submitted information to DODMERB as requested, and prayed/worried. Luckily, he got his waiver and is up at USMMA now with a peeled head loving life--I'm sure.

Moral...be patient--there is hope--be honest--trust the process. Good luck to all that apply.

USMMA has such a different feel from other service academies. More like a family and wow--they will have some major opportunities. Sidebar, I went to West Point and reached out to some friends who made it a career and asked their opinion--West Point or USMMA. They all said USMMA. Retirement is no longer a defined benefit plan and is a portable 401K. Would you rather be socking money away making $100k or 60K starting out your career?

 

[OldRetSWO]

Retirement is no longer a defined benefit plan and is a portable 401K. Would you rather be socking money away making $100k or 60K starting out your career?

Your friends are not correct, the relatively new military system, the Blended Retirement System is a lot more than a 401k for career people. There is a 401k which is a huge improvement but there is still a pension as well.
.
I don't dispute that USMMA has its advantages but lets at least be accurate regarding the choices.

 

[Capt MJ]

Your friends are not correct, the relatively new military system, the Blended Retirement System is a lot more than a 401k for career people. There is a 401k which is a huge improvement but there is still a pension as well.
.
I don't dispute that USMMA has its advantages but lets at least be accurate regarding the choices.

Here’s an excellent summary of the BRS plan. It finally added in Govt matching to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP, the Fed 401k), a mid-career bonus, and there is indeed a defined benefit plan for 20 years service or more. The military member has to educate themselves and make smart decisions early on, with a disciplined approach to a personal financial plan.

The Blended Retirement System Explained

Should you switch to the new Blended Retirement System? We have the details to help you decide.

www.military.com

I agree there is a wide range of excellent career opportunities right out of USMMA, including high-paying ones, with potential for early wealth-building. The smart young grad sailing on his or her license minimizes shore expenses, racks up the income while sailing and starts building a fat foundation layer to IRAs, any 401k plans they are eligible to contribute to and other long-term growth investment vehicles.

I also think it is completely human to always wonder if/assume the grass was greener at that other SA, ROTC program, career choice, fork in the road…

 

[airbornedaddy]

Your friends are not correct, the relatively new military system, the Blended Retirement System is a lot more than a 401k for career people. There is a 401k which is a huge improvement but there is still a pension as well.
.
I don't dispute that USMMA has its advantages but lets at least be accurate regarding the choices.

Thanks for that clarification. Beers were involved and I could have missed some of the finer points. Although, I love West Point. USMMA has some great opportunities. As always, BEAT NAVY!

 

[airbornedaddy]

Here’s an excellent summary of the BRS plan. It finally added in Govt matching to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP, the Fed 401k), a mid-career bonus, and there is indeed a defined benefit plan for 20 years service or more. The military member has to educate themselves and make smart decisions early on, with a disciplined approach to a personal financial plan.

The Blended Retirement System Explained

Should you switch to the new Blended Retirement System? We have the details to help you decide.

www.military.com

I agree there is a wide range of excellent career opportunities right out of USMMA, including high-paying ones, with potential for early wealth-building. The smart young grad sailing on his or her license minimizes shore expenses, racks up the income while sailing and starts building a fat foundation layer to IRAs, any 401k plans they are eligible to contribute to and other long-term growth investment vehicles.

I also think it is completely human to always wonder if/assume the grass was greener at that other SA, ROTC program, career choice, fork in the road…

Great article. The meat of my post is more about if you or your kid has medical issues...don't lose heart...they can be surmounted...have a backup plan...trust the process. All service academies are great...just different. I probably couldn't have stayed out of the bars at Annapolis and would have had a hard time with the academics at USMMA and had no interest in the USAFA at all...so my Rockbound Highland Home was great for me.

 

[MullenLE]

To put a finer point on the medical issues...the injuries were real and needed to be evaluated before waivers could be granted.

airbornedaddy explained it correctly, but for new folks looking at this...DoDMERB did NOT cause the injuries or elongate the process on purpose​

 

[Capt MJ]

Great article. The meat of my post is more about if you or your kid has medical issues...don't lose heart...they can be surmounted...have a backup plan...trust the process. All service academies are great...just different. I probably couldn't have stayed out of the bars at Annapolis and would have had a hard time with the academics at USMMA and had no interest in the USAFA at all...so my Rockbound Highland Home was great for me.

Your post WRT med issues is current and helpful to those just starting, glad you put it up. A few months from now, many will be wading through the AMI process.

I like “Rockbound Highland Home.” I also like “Greyskull Castle.” DH attended “Boys Boat & Barge School” (back when it was not gender-diverse), or “Canoe U.”

 

[OldRetSWO]

I like “Rockbound Highland Home.” I also like “Greyskull Castle.”

"Hudson High"?

 

[airbornedaddy]

To put a finer point on the medical issues...the injuries were real and needed to be evaluated before waivers could be granted.

airbornedaddy explained it correctly, but for new folks looking at this...DoDMERB did NOT cause the injuries or elongate the process on purpose​

Absolutely...can't thank your team enough. Not just because the waiver was ultimately granted, but because everyone was so great through the process.

 

[MullenLE]

Our honor and privilege to serve

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

USMMA has such a different feel from other service academies. More like a family and wow--they will have some major opportunities. Sidebar, I went to West Point and reached out to some friends who made it a career and asked their opinion--West Point or USMMA. They all said USMMA. Retirement is no longer a defined benefit plan and is a portable 401K. Would you rather be socking money away making $100k or 60K starting out your career?

The point is completely missed here. The Merchant Marine and commercial industry jobs that pay $100K + are completely different from a billet in the Service (Army, Navy, AF). It's more accurate to compare apples to apples. For example if ones goal is to obtain a Merchant Marine licensed officer job earning the $100K, then compare USMMA to the five state Maritime Academies as all six schools are very successful at placing grads in these industry jobs (although buyer beware the Merchant Marine market is steadily shrinking-however maritime schools place lots of grads into non Merchant Marine Jobs and starting pay will vary $50K-$100K).

Regarding the "feel of USMMA", remember this; 1. it's a much smaller school than a DOD SA, 2. USMMA falls under MARAD (not DOD)-so it's doesn't have the same culture. Regarding retirement plans: today most commercial companies only have a 401K contribution plan (a small amount have a defined benefit retirement plan (pension)-an even smaller amount have both). The analysis above may be well intended - but is flawed.

Side note: I did some analysis on the military pay and the BRS: DOD officers can achieve a very strong retirement (comparable to commercial peers) if they: 1. Participte in the BRS fully (from day 1-time value of money), 2. Don't buy lots of toys (i.e. cars), 3. Don't spend more than they make (i.e. credit cards). It's often not about how much you make-but how much you keep and save.

 

[cmakin]

The point is completely missed here. The Merchant Marine and commercial industry jobs that pay $100K + are completely different from a billet in the Service (Army, Navy, AF). It's more accurate to compare apples to apples. For example if ones goal is to obtain a Merchant Marine licensed officer job earning the $100K, then compare USMMA to the five state Maritime Academies as all six schools are very successful at placing grads in these industry jobs (although buyer beware the Merchant Marine market is steadily shrinking-however maritime schools place lots of grads into non Merchant Marine Jobs and starting pay will vary $50K-$100K).

Regarding the "feel of USMMA", remember this; 1. it's a much smaller school than a DOD SA, 2. USMMA falls under MARAD (not DOD)-so it's doesn't have the same culture. Regarding retirement plans: today most commercial companies only have a 401K contribution plan (a small amount have a defined benefit retirement plan (pension)-an even smaller amount have both). The analysis above may be well intended - but is flawed.

Side note: I did some analysis on the military pay and the BRS: DOD officers can achieve a very strong retirement (comparable to commercial peers) if they: 1. Participte in the BRS fully (from day 1-time value of money), 2. Don't buy lots of toys (i.e. cars), 3. Don't spend more than they make (i.e. credit cards). It's often not about how much you make-but how much you keep and save.

If there even is a 401K. . . . Maritime Unions don't have the sway that they once had, but they do have a pension program and many of my old shipmates and classmates have done very well with them.

 

[curious_m3rchant]

The point is completely missed here. The Merchant Marine and commercial industry jobs that pay $100K + are completely different from a billet in the Service (Army, Navy, AF). It's more accurate to compare apples to apples. For example if ones goal is to obtain a Merchant Marine licensed officer job earning the $100K, then compare USMMA to the five state Maritime Academies as all six schools are very successful at placing grads in these industry jobs (although buyer beware the Merchant Marine market is steadily shrinking-however maritime schools place lots of grads into non Merchant Marine Jobs and starting pay will vary $50K-$100K).

Regarding the "feel of USMMA", remember this; 1. it's a much smaller school than a DOD SA, 2. USMMA falls under MARAD (not DOD)-so it's doesn't have the same culture. Regarding retirement plans: today most commercial companies only have a 401K contribution plan (a small amount have a defined benefit retirement plan (pension)-an even smaller amount have both). The analysis above may be well intended - but is flawed.

Side note: I did some analysis on the military pay and the BRS: DOD officers can achieve a very strong retirement (comparable to commercial peers) if they: 1. Participte in the BRS fully (from day 1-time value of money), 2. Don't buy lots of toys (i.e. cars), 3. Don't spend more than they make (i.e. credit cards). It's often not about how much you make-but how much you keep and save.

What would you say would be the biggest factor in a shrinking Merchant Marine market?

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

What would you say would be the biggest factor in a shrinking Merchant Marine market?

Cost. The cost to build US Ships (must be build in a US ship yard), maintain and hire US Merchant Seamen/Officers is significantly higher that other flags.

 

[OldRetSWO]

What would you say would be the biggest factor in a shrinking Merchant Marine market?

If you have any exposure to ports within the US, try to look at the ships that are there. Few, VERY VERY FEW are Us Flagged ships and with the foreign flags, you will often find crews from a variety of nations that are not the US. This includes Cruise Ships.
Generally the merchant crews are small and few if any of them are US Nationals.

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

A typical merchant ship carries about 25 persons onboard (officers & crew).

 

[deepdraft1]

Cost. The cost to build US Ships (must be build in a US ship yard)

US flag ships don't necessarily have to be built in a US yard.. They're only required to be if they run in a Jones Act trade [domestic trade].. The ship my son is currently captain of is US Flag but was built in Ulsan Korea. They run between Northern Europe and the US East Coast, so they don't fall under the requirement to be a US bottom. The ship is also one of the 60 enrolled in the Maritime Subsidy Program.

 

[TheRightStuff]

The experience of USMMA and WP are obviously very different, as are the careers once you graduate from both (assuming you do not commission in the military once you leave USMMA and go directly into the maritime field). There are those who are familiar with USMMA and WP and it appears that @airbornedaddy is one of them. While not speaking for him, I think his point about the financial upside for some USMMA graduates is very relevant.

It is said that some USMMA graduates that go to work afloat for their 5 years of commitment can have close to $1,000,000 in the bank at the end of those 5 years based upon compounding interest and depending on how the $ is invested, salary, position, company, bonuses, time afloat, frugality and spending habits.