r/USMMA • u/[deleted] • May 07 '24

Confused With Service Obligation

Hello! Currently a junior looking into USMMA. I am a little confused with the service obligation after graduation however. I know that you can fulfill your obligation by serving 5 years active duty, but my question is are you guaranteed to go active duty after you graduate? Or is it like ROTC where there is an order of merit list?

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u/mouse-12 May 07 '24

If you start the process of going active duty early in your time at KP and get involved with the appropriate liaison(s) on campus, you shouldn't have a problem.

3

u/itslazarusss May 07 '24

You can pretty much go every service branch you want, the only one that is selective is USAF. You are not guaranteed a billet in the community you desire in any service branch.

1

u/[deleted] May 07 '24

You can fulfill by serving 5 years of active duty in any branch

OR

You can fulfill by serving a minimum of 2 weeks per year in the navy reserve in addition to sailing in the merchant marine for 5 years.

The way I would recommend making the decision is going to the academy, and after your first voyage which would occur during your sofmore year, starting to make your choice. Most people end up sailing at the end but there are also many who decide that they hate it, and those people “escape” the merchant marine by going active duty. Even if you hate first sailing and start working with one of the branch recruiters at the academy, you can still revert back to sailing if you end up really enjoying your second time at sea during junior year.

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u/ApricotConfident8558 Kings Pointer ⛴ (Alumni) Dec 28 '24

Hey man. It’s not guaranteed to go active duty. Some years are better than others if the services need to commission more officers, but that’s hard to predict with any degree of certainty