When it becomes your work duty to write a technical paper, it becomes harder to keep writing outside of work. Fortune has it, though, that I had been working on a Vibe Coding project this week, and had some fresh insight to share from the maritime world. I have never "html"ed, or hand-coded a website, but I've used various web building systems. I even remember when we had free, quality options like matmice and webs.com. Today, the ability to build apps and websites through AI has been a game changer. Instead of clunky click-and-drags of the mouse, I can narrate what I want to see on the page. Some readers may find this to be filler material, but I tell them: the blog must go on! The content below was written by me, not AI. Now that you know which courses to take and what wickets to accomplish to get your maritime license, you may be wondering, how do I pay for it upfront? Course Fee Funding Mechanisms Current Maritime Employees: Training Courses or Fee Reimbursement may be provided by Employer or Maritime Union. Veterans with GI Bill: Courses may be covered at approved training centers, such as the Maritime Institute in Norfolk, VA. As a bonus, the GI Bill may also offer a housing allowance payment during your training period. Active Duty: The Navy’s Tuition Assistance Program can assist active duty enlisted members with course fees. Other popular strategies include bootstrapping the course fees with cash, use of a rewards-based or lower-interest credit card, or a gift or loan from family. License Fee Funding Mechanisms Veterans with GI Bill: The VA will reimburse testing and evaluation fees. Note that you may be personally responsible for license issuance fees, as these are not authorized for GI Bill reimbursement. Active Duty and Recently Separated: USCG offers waiver of fees during and within 180 days of service. Be prepared to provide your endorsed orders. Strategic Sealift Officers have benefitted greatly from this program, but be mindful of the 180 day threshold from your last Active Duty for Training period. Active Duty: In addition to the USCG’s statutory fee waiver program, active-duty Navy personnel may participate in the Navy COOL program. Note that this program should only be used if fee waiver is not applicable to your particular situation. Victims of Natural Disaster or Maritime Casualty: Credential mariners may be able to replace lost credential documents at no cost. Be prepared to provide a notarized statement as to the nature of the loss. Compared to the cost of maritime training, licensing fees are more approachable. While the rewards of earning your maritime credential are significant, we advise against taking high-interest loans to do so.

Five Days in Annapolis

I have never been in the JROTC or taken a formal military science class or attend a military-centric school. That said, I'm off to Annapolis tomorrow for a five-day taste of the Naval Academy. I don't know what to say about a naval career; I've heard to keep an open mind about it.

Over Spring Break, I was looking up internship programs, the federal STEP (Summer temp. youth program), and other summer activities in general. Frankly, the application for the Navy program was not too hard. The hardest part was class rank. It was not an objective number from my point of view; our school doesn't supply it. In that case, the USNA stated to estimate. I lowballed my estimation for class rank, in deferrence to the math whizzes in my class and some others who applied with numbers 3, 5, and 7.

--I also applied for the USCGA Aim Program, but an apparent computer glitch prevented me from submitting my portfolio of paragraph essays.--

I applied later than my peers. When I first heard of their intent, one had already received a letter of acceptance. "First round pick", we say. I received a similar letter on formal stationary soon after the deadline. I suspect some of my other classmates received theirs as well. They haven't been vocal about it, though. As the school mantra goes, "As GPA's are competitive, so is everything else".