Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2015)

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Dialing for Dollars

Reaching for Relevance

Joseph Keefe is the lead commentator of

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ecently U.S. Maritime Admin- sels and maintaining MARAD’s NDRF one of three ? nalists for the position of The departure of Dean Kumar would istrator Paul Jaenichen made the ? eet sites. Provost at The Citadel military college. leave the Academy in an unusual posi-

Rannual trudge to the Hill to pres- The President’s FY 2016 Budget Re- He was selected from a ? eld of over 130 tion, as Kumar is the only mariner at the ent his case for an operating budget in quest includes $25 million as a compo- quali? ed candidates. senior administrative level. Unlike the the coming ? scal year. At the same time, nent of Food Aid reforms proposed for other Service Academies who have ad- it is important to note that the President’s P.L. 480 Title II food aid that would The Web site also lists other high level ministrations comprised almost entirely

Fiscal year 2016 Budget for the Depart- provide ? exibility to deliver emergency departures from USMMA, and further of graduates who are experts in the mis- ment of Transportation (DOT) proposes food where appropriate such as in con- claims: sion of those Academies, USMMA has a total of $94.7 billion across all modes. ? ict situations and logistically dif? cult • Commandant will be leaving March only Kumar. This means that the nation’s

Marad’s portion of the FY 2016 Budget crises. 6, 2015 after beginning his job only federal Merchant Marine Academy,

Request is just $406.8 million, or less Marad’s budget also asks for $96 mil- search at least a year ago. whose mission is to educate and develop than one half of one percent of that total. lion for USMMA. Of this, $71.3 million • Athletic Director stepped down in the next generation of maritime profes-

Notwithstanding those who would ques- will support Academy operations and March 2014 and only now is that sionals, will be fully under the leader- tion if Marad should get ANY of those $24.7 million will fund major capital position being ? lled. ship and guidance of non-mariners.

funds, it is also telling that the needs of improvements and repairs to the Acad- • Waterfront Director vacated his po- The Kings Point alumni web site en- an island nation and its waterfront infra- emy’s physical campus. Anyone who sition in February 2014. His posi- courages quali? ed Kings Pointers to ap- structure merit so little consideration. has visited the Kings Point campus in tion remains un? lled. ply for these jobs. And, no wonder. With

Sure, infrastructure funding comes the last couple of years knows they des- • The Sexual Assault and Response no commercial mariners (if the Dean from a lot of sources, and Marad has lit- perately need that money. Money, as it Coordinator (SARC) left last spring leaves) left in senior management posi- tle to do with any of it, but the paucity of turns out, may actually be the least of the and was not replaced for six months tions, one has to wonder what Marad re- money allocated to America’s maritime Merchant Marine Academy’s problems. resulting in a de? ciency in a recent ally has in store for the academy. And, cheerleaders shows exactly where this Inspector General Audit. the messy demise of GMATS – the country views the importance of mari- Kings Point Questions • Four vacancies in Admissions in- well regarded not-for-pro? t continuing time commerce. Marad is also the only As I was penning this column this clude the Assistant Director of Ad- education program that was axed by modal arm of the U.S. DOT that has vir- week, I was contacted by a Kings Point missions, who left last summer, and Marad (along with several superinten- tually no regulatory teeth. They advocate graduate who brought my attention to the Diversity Recruiter position, dents along the way) – certainly doesn’t for a lot of things and get tasked with the following information (that is also vacated in July, 2014 as well as bode well for what may come next. Stay things like making sure the lights stay on posted on the Kings Point alumni web the Admissions Of? cer, who left in tuned.

at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. site: http://www.usmmaaf.com): 2013. The class of 2019 will be the

According to the Kings Point posting, ? rst plebe class in memory to have State Maritime Academies

Marad by the Numbers the Merchant Marine Academy may lose no foreign students because the Ad- Where the budget also gets interest-

For FY 2016, Marad asked for $186 its highly respected Academic Dean, missions Department is functioning ing is the request for $34.6 million for million for the Maritime Security Fleet Dr. Shashi Kumar, who holds a Ph.D. in at 50% staf? ng. the State Maritime Academies. The plea (MSP) – you know; the collection of 60 Maritime Economics, is a Master Mari- • Tactical Of? cer, Regimental Lo- includes $5 million for what Jaenichen foreign-built, ? agged-in vessels that we ner and a Fulbright Senior Specialist gistics Of? cer and Student Activi- characterizes as National Security can theoretically depend on in times of and has stepped up to serve as interim ties Director vacancies exist in the Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) planning crisis? Superintendent three separate times. As Commandant’s Division. and design to support the replacement

Jaenichen says in his written statement a recognized maritime policy expert, he • External Affairs Director and as- of the 53-year-old training vessel EM- that funding provided by a reimbursable writes the “U.S. Merchant Marine and sistant in Administration have been PIRE STATE and $22 million to fund agreement from DOD allows MARAD World Maritime Review” published an- vacant since 2013. maintenance and repair costs for feder- to continue to provide ready surge sealift nually in the Naval Institute Proceed- • There are currently seven vacancies ally owned training ships on loan from support in FY 2016 in the areas of acti- ings magazine. A recent article in the in the academic departments, some MARAD to the academies. In a nutshell, vating, operating, deactivating and spe- Charleston, South Carolina, Business of which have been vacant for six Jaenichen is reviving a long talked about cial mission requirements for RRF ves- Journal reported that Dean Kumar is months or longer. (but never funded) effort to have the fed- 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • APRIL 2015

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