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campus. Towering above all of it is the Academy?s futuristic wind turbine which not only supplies a fair percentage of the Academy?s hotel load but also sends power in one form or another back into the grid and returns money to the school?s coffers. Once just a mere curiosity and a boon to MMA?s bottom line, the turbine may someday put today?s cadets out in front of the pack as the U.S. wind energy market tries to gain some headway. In the meantime, the tug and workboat curriculum is already yielding fruit for the academy ? and industry, too. The showpiece state-of-the-art, DNV-certi ed and DP capable full mission simulator housed in the sparkling ABS Information Commons may well be the most visible training upgrade on campus, but another simulator ? in place for two years ? serves as the heartbeat of the academy?s rapidly expanding brownwater programs. Bolstered by the T/V ?Ranger,? a 1981-built, 80? LOA, twin screw training vessel, the two assets are today providing repeatable, real life training for cadets. In fact, Mass. Maritime?s elective courses (Tugs & Towing I and Tugs & Towing II) are now among the most popular with deck cadets, second only to ?diesels for deckies.? Acquired in the mid 1980?s, RANGER has been training students for 25 years. Arguably the perfect training platform for this type of training, it was originally built and intended for service in the U.S. Gulf offshore oil industry as a ?standby boat? in the oil  eld. But, the boat never saw service and the academy purchased the RANGER at an attractive price. Today, RANGER is underway as many as 5 days a week, further dispelling the notion that the nation?s maritime academies provide much in the way of book learning and little in the way of practical knowledge. THE CURRICULUM EVOLVES The RANGER supports two deck courses: Applied Shiphandling I and Applied Shiphandling II; each limited Mass Maritime?s 360-degree tug simulator www.marinelink.com MN 33