Isaac

This ship killed my dreams of becoming a naval aviator. I graduated college with plans to attend OCS but wanted to get my Merchant Marine license wet so I took a temporary job aboard this beast, the MV Cape Mohican 57,290 long tons of lethality. She could singlehandedly build a port along any enemy beach. Step one for toppling a nation is to send in a USMC MEU. Step two was send this beast, the mighty Cape Mohican We would launch massive pier segments off the back while loading LCACS off the side. Once our job was done massive sealift ships would back down on the newly built pier and roll off tanks, humvees and artillery. Here I am right out of college off Camp Pendleton directing marines and seabees who didn’t care about rank or insignia or that i was just 21. It was just a mock invasion but these marines wanted their gear on the beach asap. I didn’t have a uniform but I was officer of the deck and that was enough for them to come to me for orders. And we worked hard to get “their shit over the rail” fast without damage Near the end of this exercise I vividly remember catching a short coffee break with a USMC Major. I told him of my plans to fly jets. He said “when shit hits the fan those aviators work to protect us on the beach and we work to protect you. We got enough flyboys, we don’t have enough officers like you delivering the gear I need to kill the enemy” I didn’t consciously change my plans to attend OCS and flight school, I just stopped dreaming about it and started focusing on being the best at my job. Sadly the mighty Cape Mohican is no more and a replacement was never built. Today there aren’t many young US Merchant Marine officers who know how to deliver lethality ashore. Worse still the stakes in the Pacific are much higher today and, in the Middle East, US Merchant Mariners are the Houthis favorite target. So if you are considering flight school I thank you for your service but if you want to go where our military needs smart young officers the most consider ringing up @MSCSealift or @DOTMARAD If you join us you won’t receive any medals or veteran benefits or GI Bill or even praise for a job well done. In fact you’ll be told you’re “just a contractor”, “not a real service” and “replaceable”. Pay no attention to these lies. You won’t get a cushy seat at a war college or a year at a diplomatic post overseas. You will work harder and likely treated worse than anyone in uniform and maybe asked to sail ahead of the warships through mine fields and enemy fires You won’t get much respect but, when the bullets are flying and those Marines, Army and Air Force are facing massive challenges in the Pacific when they absolutely need their fuel, heavy equipment and munitions on that beach yesterday… I absolutely assure you that you will be their #1 priority. And when that gear is landed no Admiral or General is going to praise you and no mayor will let you march in your uniform at any victory parades back home but I guarantee some grizzled devil dog major or lt colonel will pull you aside hand you a coffee and say “thank god for the merchant marine”… and that means more to a certain type of sailor than all the medals and parades in the world – at Massachusetts, USA