“This Beauchamp character neglected to mention, or more likely didn’t know of the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Poinin the USN, New York. They also produce Ensigns USNR. Yet their training, though military, is more commercial shipping oriented. A lot of officers in the USNS fleet are USMMA trained.”
The merchant academy school from which my daughter graduated (not USMMA) was fond of boasting they had more flag-rank officers in the USN than any other school.....including USNA. Don’t know if that included reserves??
Indeed, it seems that the Merchant Marine acedemies are generally recognized as developing better product for the oceanic armed forces.
Was it a east coast MMA? I used to do some work with the one on Cape Cod. They produced some pretty successful grads.