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<p>You are correct, Jam, this is certainly a concern. How can one even begin to compare the commitment required to sign away at least ten years of one’s life, which for an 18 year old seems like forever, to a free ticket into a private sector job?</p>
<p>However, my real beef remains that I have this unpleasant taste in the back of my mouth that I am part of a horrible bait-and-switch scam. I meet with a lot of outstanding young people who want to make a commitment to a life of service to their country. I encourage them, help them with their application, work with them in forming a valid backup plan, and provide moral support. They submit their application for nomination to their MOC. The MOC, with unfilled USMMA nominations, suggests the candidate look at the MMA. They get into the MMA system. As any typical 18 year old, there may be uncertainity. Maybe the military isn’t for them. The thought of being able to wait 4 years to make a decision is lucrative. The hard sell of the 10k monthly salary registers with them. They get rejected by USNA and accepted by USMMA. They turn down a very good ROTC scholarship with unlimited majors where they could have reapplied to USNA the following year. They attend USMMA. It’s mission is to support the merchant marine. They go on sea year and hear the stories of the 10k monthly salaries. They become, for lack of a better word, brainwashed. They sell out. Three years after graduation, acutely aware of the hardships necessary to be at sea 100% of the time to gain those great salaries, they are standing on a pier somewhere, totally disallusioned, dreaming of what could have been. Sad, but true. It takes a special person to commit to a life of service, serving at the mercy of the President, but the rewards are immense. They missed that opportunity.</p>