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<p>And we are just attempting to assist all you kids to help you make something of yourselves.</p>
<p>There seems to be a common misconception, especially among parents on these forums, that leaders are born not made. All officer procurement programs are leadership factories, pure and simple. All other things being equal, the more the relevant leadership exposure, statistically, the better the officer preparation. Service academies are better than ROTC which is, in turn, better than OCS. Additionally, leadership principals instilled at WP are far different than those taught at USNA.</p>
<p>My concern with this particular forum is that when potential candidates ask for advice, other than merchant marine, it is most often either stated or implied that USMMA is their BEST choice and subsequently their BEST odds of obtaining a particular specialty. This is simply not true. With the possible exception of surface Navy, opportunities exist elsewhere that far outweigh USMMA in their preparation for leadership. What does a Marine gain from sea year? What does an Air Force officer gain from a USCG exam? Would a potential Army officer not be better served at WP or VMI or even at an AROTC unit, learning about his particular service, than ‘wasting’ a substantial portion of his four years gaining expertise of which he will never use again? Would all not be better served pursuing a major course of study more relevant to their future endeavors?</p>
<p>USMMA supports the commercial merchant marine and does an outstanding job doing so. Let’s allow the other officer procurement sources do the same for their individual services.</p>