REQUIREMENTS    

•            Recency: An applicant for any officer endorsement must have

3 months of qualifying service on vessels of appropriate tonnage or horsepower within 7 years immediately preceding the date of application.

•            Vessel Information: Documentation must include name or official number, period time assigned to the vessel, rate or rank for officers, and/or position held while assigned.

•            Proof of Qualifications: Any proof such as, Army Watercraft Operator certification, DWO, or EWO (PQS or designation letters) must be included.

•            Shipboard Generated Letter: A letter signed by the CO of the vessel is considered appropriate as long as it is properly formatted and signed by the CO of that particular vessel for the point in time

the service was obtained

•            DD-214: This is not acceptable to document sea service as it lacks the required information such as HP, tonnage, route, and position held while assigned to the vessel.

ENLISTED PERSONNEL:

Evaluation of sea service is complex for enlisted personnel. This is due to the great variety of specialized duties that enlisted personnel perform. The following guidelines are provided as to how enlisted sea service is evaluated:

•            The Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Chapter 2 contains a table with all military ratings. The table shows which ratings may be used towards deck, engineer or staff officer. To view the table, visit the following location: http://www.uscg.mil/directives/ cim/16000-16999/CIM_16000_8B.pdf (The table is Figure 2-1, and begins on page 2-5).

•            Service as a seaman apprentice (SA) or seaman (SN) is equivalent to sea service as an ordinary seaman or deckhand.

•            Service as fireman apprentice (FA) or fireman (FN) is equivalent to sea service as a wiper or coal passer.

•            Service as a petty officer (any rating of E4 or greater) in the deck department may be considered equivalent to that of an Able Seaman (AB).

•            Service as a petty officer (any rating of E4 or greater) in the engineering department may be considered equivalent to that of a Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED).

•            Deck rating of E-4 and above with qualifications as DWO is equivalent to licensed mate time.

•            Service experience obtained as a junior officer of the deck (JOOD) is considered equivalent (on a day-for-day credit basis) to able seaman time. (“Day means...8 hours of watchstanding or day-working not to include overtime.” 46 CFR 10.107 (b))

•            Engine rating of E-4 and above with qualifications as EWO is equivalent to licensed assistant engineer time.

 

OFFICERS:

Underway Deck Watch Officers' (DWOs) and Engineering Watch Officers' (EWOs) duties are considered equivalent to the watchstanding duties performed by licensed mates and engineers respectively aboard merchant vessels. Therefore, this qualifying sea service may be used to satisfy the experience requirements for an original or raise of grade of a master, mate, or engineers license.

 

•            Service experience obtained as a JOOD is considered equivalent (on a day-for-day credit basis) toward AB service.

•            Graduates of the USCG or Naval Academy may qualify for 3rd Mate or 3rd A/E, respectively with qualification as underway officer of a navigational or engineer watch. (46 CFR 11.407(a)(2), 46 CFR 11.516 (a)(3))

 COMMON DELAYS

Common delays for processing documented sea service include the following:

•            Missing letters of qualification as underway DWO/OOD/EWO for credit as licensed officer.

•            Engine ratings in the military applying for a deck license or vice versa.

•            CO attesting to service performed at another command.

•            Courses must be USCG/NMC approved and majority of military trainings and courses are not.

•            Not applying for a specific Officer’s Endorsement/Qualified Rating, requesting the “Highest Level Possible” on your application, and not realizing that military service will be evaluated in the order it was obtained sequentially.

•            Not meeting qualifications at each Officer’s Endorsement level prior to applying for positions of greater responsibility. For example: To qualify for 2nd Mate you must first meet the qualification requirements for 3rd Mate.

•            Overall lack of supporting documentation, in particular sea service. See other side of this brochure for proper documentation of sea service.

 HELPFUL LINKS       

US Coast Guard (Active, Reservist, and Civilians): http://cgbi.osc.uscg.mil/2.0/personal.cfm/, or https://ep.direct-access.us/psp/UCGP1PP/? cmd=login&languageCd=ENG&

US Navy (Active, Reservist, and Civilians): http://www.npc.navy.mil/channels (once in the site, click on BUPERS NPC)

US Army (Active, Reservist, and Civilians):

Currently the Army does not have a website to assist in documenting sea service. Applicants should use SF-180 (http://www.archives.gov/ research/order/standard-form-180.pdf) or current active-duty members may contact:

Department of the Army

Maritime Qualification Division (MQD) 461 Kerr Road

Joint Base Langley-Eustis 23604-5403

The Army has many enlisted certifications, deck licenses, and engineer licenses and has received USCG approval for these certifications to be given credit for multiple Mariner Credentials.

You can check the various approvals by visiting U.S. Army Transportation School under approved courses on their website.

All Military (Veterans):

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard- form-180.html