U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced that U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point (USMMA) will be opened to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps veterans recovering from combat injuries for assignment. The Academy, located on Long Island, New York, will provide an opportunity for wounded sailors and Marines to continue active duty as they recuperate from their injuries in a setting that is relatively close to their homes and families. Students at the Academy will benefit through interaction with veterans with recent combat experience, she added.
Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton, along with Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter and Representative Gene Taylor (4th-MS), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces, joined together to develop the new program. The participating veterans will be eligible for light duty assignments at Kings Point, such as classroom instruction and student mentoring, under the Navy’s Safe Harbor Program and the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, is operated by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. It trains men and women for service in the merchant marine, and all graduates are required to serve either in the U.S. maritime industry or in the U.S. Armed Forces.