Free Republic

Helis lied. Sea Year died. November 26, 2016 Andy Simpson, KP '82 Sea Year Stand Down Looks like my $100,000 bet is officially safe. It should have been an easy bet to win. After all, the leader of an institution that has an honor code that forbids a midshipman from lying, cheating or stealing wouldn’t lie, would he? Or, if he did, surely he would immediately tender his resignation. After all, any competent leader would recognize that at that point he had lost all moral authority to lead the institution. Right? Right? Back in July, I offered $100,000 to the...

The Inspector General is on the LMI case — here’s how you can help November 16, 2016 Andy Simpson, KP '82 Sea Year Stand Down We have received information via the confidential tip page that the DOT Inspector General has opened an investigation into the suspicious nature of the award of the contract to LMI and the conflict of interest issue we raised in our recent posts, The LMI Scandal Unfolds and LMI and the Conflict of Interest Clause. This is a big development and some of the readers of this website may be able to help. Here’s how: The...

One of the great benefits of attending the US Merchant Marine Academy is the experience of going out to sea on US-Flag merchant ships. This is called ‘Sea Year’. While the state schools primarily rely on school ships, USMMA Midshipmen are sent, generally two at a time, to commercial vessels trading around the world. That is until now — if the following information released by the USMMA Alumni Association is to be believed: Please see the following announcement from the Academy concerning Sea Year: While the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the United States Merchant Marine...

Check out this highlight reel from a USMMA midshipman’s summer Sea Year with Military Sealift Command on board the USNS Joshua Humphreys.

Gabriel Whitney says he did not plan to nearly suffocate President Bush in a bear hug. In fact, he did not plan to hug him at all. But when Mr. Whitney, one of 202 midshipmen to graduate from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., on Monday, stepped forward to receive his diploma, it just sort of happened. Call it irrational exuberance. But after six years of undergraduate school and 4,872 demerits, Mr. Whitney, 25, of Nashua, N.H., could hardly restrain himself. With more reason than most to be overjoyed, the 6-foot-7 midshipman stepped onto the stage...

KINGS POINT, N.Y. - President Bush told Iran on Monday that nations worldwide won't back down from their demand that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment. "Iran's leaders have a clear choice. We hope they will accept our offer and voluntarily suspend these activities so we can work out an agreement that will bring Iran real benefits," Bush said a day before leaving for Vienna, Austria, where he will talk with European Union officials who are leading efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute. If Iran's leaders reject the offer, they will face action before the U.N. Security Council and progressively stronger political...

The President and First Lady spent Father's Day Weekend in Crawford returning to the White House on Sunday afternoon. Today the President became the first sitting President to deliver the commencement address at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point NY Vice President Dick Cheney makes remarks at the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize luncheon Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice met with Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, Poland's Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu with the Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku. Also she announced the resignation of Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are spending Father's Day weekend at their ranch in Crawford, TX. In the meantime, in upstate New York, the 202 midshipmen of the Merchant Marine Academy, along with their families, faculty, Academy staff and guests are eagerly anticipating the first visit ever by a sitting President of the United States to their commencement. Judging by reports in multiple news articles, as well as in news releases from corporations and sponsors, this event is a very big deal in the Maritime industry. I've vicariously become excited about it just through reading the...

India may have refused to join the US-led coalition in Iraq and may be opposed to it being under an occupation force. But in a remote corner of Mizoram, a group of US soldiers and officers who will be deployed in Iraq early next year have just completed training at the Indian army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS). The 17-day training exercise, named Yudh Abhyas (battle practice), has drawn accolades from the American participants. In fact, according to Major Dan Wilson of the US army's 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii, critical aspects of the training will be...

former cadet at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point and his friend pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to smuggle the drug Ecstasy into the country, taking advantage of the academy's tradition of having cadets spend time on ocean-going merchant ships. Mark Posthumus, 30, and his friend, James Pagano, 30, both of Kendall Park, N.J., admitted in U.S. District Court in Central Islip that when Posthumus was a cadet at the academy between August 1998 and January 1999, they smuggled a total of 380,000 Ecstasy pills into the country. [snip] According to court papers, Posthumus and Pagano flew to...

<p>I wonder how Toni Smith's critics feel about Muhammad Ali. They jeer her at Manhattanville women's basketball games when the senior guard turns sideways, her face looking away from the American flag during the national anthem. Do they adore the Ali of today, and would they have hated him in the '60s, when he refused to serve in Vietnam?</p>

Manhattanville College basketball player Toni Smith has been drawing unusually large crowds to Division III women's basketball games lately. Five hundred fans packed the gym for a road game at Mount St. Mary's. More than 300 showed up to see her at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. But they're not there to be dazzled by her skills on the court or to watch a big conference game as the regular season wears down. Nor are they there to cheer on the home team. They show up to heckle Smith because she has the courage to stand up for what she...

AMHERST, Mass. -- Toni Smith is senior sociology major from New York City, but she is no ordinary student. She is the 5-foot-10 forward and captain of the Manhattanville College women's basketball team. Smith is openly against the war, and has made it a point for everyone to know. Since the start of the season, Smith has refused to face the flag during the Star-Spangled Banner at the start of games. Without fail, at each game both at home and away, she has turned 90 degrees away from the flag and has cast her eyes to the ground. Her protest...