Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a retired Army Officer (Lieutenant Colonel; served on Active Duty from 1998-2018), I had the privilege of serving with USMMA grads who worked either as Active Army Officers in the Logistics and Engineering fields, or as USN reservists who came to do their summer work at US Army Transcom seaports, and Coast Guard Academy grads, mostly in Kuwait and at military seaports who had various port security roles, and have always been impressed with grads of both of the D3 service academies.
This past weekend, I watched the Secretaries Cup game on ESPN+ for the first time ever. It was truly a game for the ages, and its outcome wasn't certain until literally the final "tip" play failed.
I was pulling for USMMA in the matchup simply because during my days as an Army Logistician I did so much work with the Merchant Marine, but I was really just happy to see a good game.
Looking back, I almost wish I had applied to USMMA. At the time, I didn't realize that their grads could commission not only in the US Navy Reserves, but also as active duty officers in all six branches of the armed forces, and even.........unlike any other federal service academy......in the NOAA Commissioned Corps, which may be the best kept secret in the entire federal uniformed services.
Kudos to both our D3 service academies!
I think I will make watching this game an annual event.
I try to watch the Army/Navy game every year and pull for Army, but it's hard, given how many West Pointers I had to work with over two decades (my commission was via ROTC).
But I can watch the Secretaries' Cup game and cheer for Merchant Marine with no such caveats!
As a retired Army Officer (Lieutenant Colonel; served on Active Duty from 1998-2018), I had the privilege of serving with USMMA grads who worked either as Active Army Officers in the Logistics and Engineering fields, or as USN reservists who came to do their summer work at US Army Transcom seaports, and Coast Guard Academy grads, mostly in Kuwait and at military seaports who had various port security roles, and have always been impressed with grads of both of the D3 service academies.
This past weekend, I watched the Secretaries Cup game on ESPN+ for the first time ever. It was truly a game for the ages, and its outcome wasn't certain until literally the final "tip" play failed.
I was pulling for USMMA in the matchup simply because during my days as an Army Logistician I did so much work with the Merchant Marine, but I was really just happy to see a good game.
Looking back, I almost wish I had applied to USMMA. At the time, I didn't realize that their grads could commission not only in the US Navy Reserves, but also as active duty officers in all six branches of the armed forces, and even.........unlike any other federal service academy......in the NOAA Commissioned Corps, which may be the best kept secret in the entire federal uniformed services.
Kudos to both our D3 service academies!
I think I will make watching this game an annual event.
I try to watch the Army/Navy game every year and pull for Army, but it's hard, given how many West Pointers I had to work with over two decades (my commission was via ROTC).
But I can watch the Secretaries' Cup game and cheer for Merchant Marine with no such caveats!
