{"id":23338,"date":"2019-03-04T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T23:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:01:09","slug":"why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It probably shouldn\u2019t have taken an executive order from the president to let experienced service members get merchant marine credentials, but that\u2019s what finally happened on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By signing an executive order entitled \u201cSupporting the Transition of Active Duty Service Members and Military Veterans into the Merchant Marine,\u201d President Donald Trump indicated that helping veterans land good blue collar jobs at sea will strengthen national security, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s declaration is designed to allow Navy, Coast Guard and <a href=\"https:\/\/asc.army.mil\/web\/portfolio-item\/cs-css-army-watercraft-systems-4\/\" target=_blank>Army Watercraft Systems<\/a> personnel leaving active duty to apply their training and experience to land future careers in the maritime industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt makes it easier for sea service veterans to get high-paying, high-skilled jobs as mariners by waiving government-issued licensing fees and by crediting military training in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dco.uscg.mil\/national_maritime_center\/\" target=_blank>National Maritime Center <\/a>credentialing system,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/people\/peter-navarro\/\" target=_blank>Peter Navarro,<\/a> the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, during a conference call with reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A direct White House adviser to Trump, Navarro said that the executive order makes it easier for enlisted sailors and officers to qualify as \u201cmates and engineers\u201d under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dco.uscg.mil\/Our-Organization\/Assistant-Commandant-for-Prevention-Policy-CG-5P\/Commercial-Regulations-standards-CG-5PS\/Merchant-Mariner-Credential\/\" target=_blank>Coast Guard\u2019s civilian mariner licensing rule<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previously, sailors and other service members had to start over by enrolling in basic maritime classes, often paying $25,000 to meet the requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s executive order should allow service members on active duty to simultaneous earn qualifications at sea while also netting equivalent civilian licenses along the way, Navarro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who already separated also could be fast-tracked to getting licensed, but Navarro said more work must be done there.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/10\/08\/the-army-is-preparing-to-fight-in-europe-but-can-it-even-get-there\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/roll-on.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The US Army is preparing to fight in Europe, but can it even get there?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Army has been laying the foundations to fight once again in Europe. But if war were to break out tomorrow, the U.S. military could be hard-pressed to move the number of tanks, heavy guns and equipment it would need to face-off with Russian forces.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before all of this becomes a reality, the Navy first must work with the Coast Guard to get schools, qualifications and experiences certified for civilian licensing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s already done this for their active-duty mariners, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark H. \u201cBuz\u201d Buzby, the <a href=\"https:\/\/retired%20navy%20vice%20adm.%20mark%20buzby%2C%20the%20https\/\/www.maritime.dot.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/rear-admiral-mark-buzby-usn-ret-sworn-maritime-administrator\" target=_blank>Maritime Administrator. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think this is a huge step in the right direction and something the nation critically needs,\u201d Buzby told Navy Times by telephone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A graduate of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmma.edu\/\" target=_blank>Merchant Marine Academy<\/a> and career naval officer. before joining the U.S. Department of Transportation Buzby led Military Sealift Command, the government\u2019s largest employer of civilian mariners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their supply ships replenish the Navy\u2019s fleet at sea and would be called upon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2018\/10\/10\/youre-on-your-own-us-sealift-cant-count-on-us-navy-escorts-in-the-next-big-war-forcing-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\">to ferry materiel to Marines and soldiers<\/a> fighting overseas in a ground war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they depend on qualified merchant mariners, which is why Trump\u2019s executive order is important to national security, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/10\/10\/youre-on-your-own-us-sealift-cant-count-on-us-navy-escorts-in-the-next-big-war-forcing-changes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/valient_shield.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018You\u2019re on your own\u2019: US sealift can\u2019t count on Navy escorts in the next big war<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In a major war, the U.S. Navy would likely have its hands full with combat operations, forcing the nation&#039;s civilian mariners to confront the possibility of transporting weapons of war unescorted in contested waters.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On April 24, Buzby warned senators that an outbreak of war likely would find the nation with a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maritime.dot.gov\/sites\/marad.dot.gov\/files\/docs\/newsroom\/congressional-testimony\/9721\/7c00bb4f08322e2ef5855b6d07b6ef2d042418-buzby-testimony.pdf\" target=_blank>shortfall of 1,800 qualified mariners <\/a>in the event of a full, prolonged mobilization\u201d \u2014 and that\u2019s assuming a best case scenario, with no losses of ships or personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only weeks earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/AS\/AS03\/20180308\/106952\/HHRG-115-AS03-Wstate-BuzbyM-20180308.PDF\" target=_blank>he warned House lawmakers<\/a> that dwindling numbers of commercial vessels and qualified crew members to man them might make the \u201csurge\u201d of sealift necessary to support operations difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause of the historically low number of ships in the U.S.-flag, oceangoing fleet over the past several years, I am concerned about the availability of a sufficient number of qualified mariners with the necessary endorsements to operate large ships (unlimited horsepower and unlimited tonnage) and to sustain a prolonged sealift mobilization beyond the first four to six months,\u201d Buzby said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHistorically, the men and women of the merchant marine have always stood up in times of need to meet any task set for them and would likely extend their time at sea beyond normal tours if called upon to do so. However, it is critical to ensure we have enough qualified U.S. mariners to safely crew our government vessels so that the readiness of the force is not negatively impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s good for national security also is good for American workers, Navarro added during his round table with reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He pointed to the average annual wages paid to water transportation workers \u2014 $65,720 per year, which is well above the national occupational average of $50,620 \u2014 and members of the U.S. Merchant Marine routinely earn even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo this is a great opportunity for sea veterans to seamlessly transition into really good, high-paying jobs that will help our national security front,\u201d Navarro said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president&#8217;s executive order comes amid fears that the United States won&#8217;t be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":49718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3167],"class_list":["post-23338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LO7Q6M2ISBGVRF6ILS5MRSQOAU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The president&#039;s executive order comes amid fears that the United States won&#039;t be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The president&#039;s executive order comes amid fears that the United States won&#039;t be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Faram\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark D. Faram\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 710,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The president's executive order comes amid fears that the United States won't be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/04\\\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Army\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-army\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners - Army Times","description":"The president's executive order comes amid fears that the United States won't be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners","og_description":"The president's executive order comes amid fears that the United States won't be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00","author":"Mark D. Faram","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark D. Faram","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners","datePublished":"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/"},"wordCount":710,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/","name":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-04T23:59:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T19:01:09+00:00","description":"The president's executive order comes amid fears that the United States won't be able to muster enough qualified merchant mariners to sustain combat operations abroad.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/04\/why-trump-is-trying-to-help-sailors-become-merchant-mariners\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Army","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/","ad_zone":"your-army"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Why Trump is trying to help sailors become merchant mariners"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF1717.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23338"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104714,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23338\/revisions\/104714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23338"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}