USMMA Aviation internship options?

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Pulsar99

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I am a high school Junior and am very interested in becoming a pilot in the Coast Guard. I am very involved with the Civil Air Patrol and am currently working on my Private Pilot Licence. I have all-ready looked at the Coast Guard Academy in some depth.

I know USMMA is very focused on Naval related careers and majors. Do graduates ever apply for and attend flight school upon graduation?

CGA puts a lot of focus on their summer experiences. Are there similar summer experiences every year at MMA? What happens each summer while at MMA?

Does this academy have a week long program for high school juniors during the summer like CGA?

How is the atmosphere different in each of these service academies during both the school year and their "indoctrination" or "swab" summer?

Are there any aviation internship options at USMMA?

My top choice is definitely USCGA, but in the event that I don't get an appointment I am looking at MMA as another option.

What are the differences between these two service academies beside majors and commissioning options?
 
Good questions and will defer to USCGA and USMMA grads to answer. I think the biggest question is what are the chances of getting a USCGA billet out of USMMA? USMMA grades have in data on that? Are there summer training options with the USCG or another branch for interested Mids?

I believe the large majority of USMMA grads enter merchant careers. I don't see one mention of that in your questions... so I think the bottom line is that something you are willing to do post graduation? What happens if your eyes go bad or there are no USCGA or no USCGA aviation spots available out of USMMA? I think you really need to read through the USMMA threads on here (I know I have learned a ton) and their website and gain knowledge on what the school is about. Remember they do sea years (I believe their semester system is different... like tri-semesters) where they go aboard merchant vessels and do specific sea projects. CG licensing is a graduation requirement. Their majors are very small in number and specifically revolve around naval/merchant ship world. Its great you are looking at these things and showing initiative. Definitely take a look around at the website and the USMMA forum and you will gain tons of info.
 
Yes many KP grads go into aviation after graduation: in fact the current Blue Angel #4 pilot is a 2002 grad (and for navy hoops he was also a really good basketball player too).

As noted the vast majority of graduates will work in the maritime industry; however, it is common to go aviation as well. You are required to do an internship during your time at KP and yes you can do it with a Navy (or Coast Guard) squadron if you like.
 
One of my Sea Year ship/classmates graduated and went Naval Aviation as an NFO. Can't speak directly about making the same transition to the Coat Guard. Oh, and on a side note, this particular aviator was on an Intruder for the first wave of attacks on Basra in the first Gulf war. . . . he wrote an incredible article about the experience that I just can no longer find. . . .
 
No summer program for juniors because there like a week between graduation and Indoc and the first trimester starts at the end of July. They do have overnight visits.
 
DS did a internship at VX-9 at China Lake during his second sea year.
 
USMMA has something much better than a summer experience. They have Sea Year: 4 months sailing as a cadet on commercial or MSC ships and then 8 months on one or more ships where you are more focussed on trying out different career options.

USMMA can't offer an AIM type program because it is nearly a year round school. But you can come and shadow a plebe for a day and overnight. You can be invited through admissions or through your coach.

The atmosphere is much different. For one, indoctrination at KP is only 20 days. Swab summer is like 7 weeks. My kid did AIM and was absolutely miserable. 7 weeks of that was a real turn-off. Indoc was much easier by comparison, not only due to the length but also the intensity.

Many midshipmen do an aviation internship. It seems fairly easy to get. However the internship is only 2 weeks long.

Definitely apply to USMMA as a back-up option. Many KP grads go active duty Coast Guard.

"What are the differences between these two service academies beside majors and commissioning options?"

Majors: at KP only 2 basic ones. Commissioning options: at USCGA there are no options. At KP, any service branch + NOAA or reserves/civilian employment. It's a great deal. You are dead set now but realize you are young and you may change your mind.

Besides that? Lots, I think the culture is vastly different. Don't know how to put it into words. Best to spend overnight at both places and you will know it immediately.

One thing that a KP alum told me that went active duty Coast Guard: she said that USCGA cadets are very cut throat because everyone knows that your job position is determined by class rank. So not only are you competing against one another but she felt that there was even sometimes sabotage against classmates to get ahead. KP has no such competition. Everyone is secure in their job prospects afterwards and the regiment and the camaraderie are what get you through. As a KP grad going active duty, she was able to leap frog to the top of the list. Maybe someone with direct experience can confirm but that is what I was told.
 
Do you know if it is less likely or there are less pilot slots available to USMMA for navy and cg as compared to USCGA and USNA?
 
I don't know but I assume that the pilot slots vary each year based on need for each service and everyone competes on equal footing for those slots. At least, that's the way I would hope it works!
 
420sailor said:
One thing that a KP alum told me that went active duty Coast Guard: she said that USCGA cadets are very cut throat because everyone knows that your job position is determined by class rank. So not only are you competing against one another but she felt that there was even sometimes sabotage against classmates to get ahead. KP has no such competition. Everyone is secure in their job prospects afterwards and the regiment and the camaraderie are what get you through. As a KP grad going active duty, she was able to leap frog to the top of the list. Maybe someone with direct experience can confirm but that is what I was told.
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That may be generally true but is by no means absolute. There were a fair number of people who "sat on ponies" meaning they would hoard information about certain professors and tests that would have helped their classmates. We used to have a saying "he would sell out his mother for a seat in Delano."

KP is probably far less cut throat than the other academies because of the wide range of options compared to the other academies. At USCGA, everyone is going active duty in the USCG so you are basically competing against everyone. At KP you would only be "competing" against someone who isn't going AD, who is the same or similar major, who is going into the same sector of the industry, who is looking in the same region of the country, etc. Selling you out to get ahead of you doesn't do me any good when we aren't really competing against each other anyway.
 
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