Revitalizing Merchant Mariners to ensure a Maritime Renaissance Happens, with Brent Sadler
it isn't all warships and shipyards
In creating a maritime renaissance in the U.S., there is a lot of work, discussion, and money going toward not just buying more ships, but also expanding the industrial base and training skilled tradespeople to make that expansion possible. A cornerstone of this should be training more dedicated Merchant Mariners and employing their skills in a better way.
Returning to Midrats today is Brent D. Sadler to discuss this and related topics. Along with Hollins Randolph and Peter Lynch, he co-authored a report at Heritage, Time to Bring Back the U.S. Maritime Service to Support America’s Maritime Revival and a Wartime Economy, that we will use as a basis for our conversation.
Brent is Senior Research Fellow for Naval Warfare and Advanced Technology in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for National Security at The Heritage Foundation, and a retired U.S. Navy Captain.
You can listen via this link, or via the Spotify widget below.
Summary
This episode features Brent Sadler from the Heritage Foundation discussing the urgent need to revitalize the US maritime industry, focusing on the reactivation of the US Maritime Service, improving merchant marine training, and enhancing logistics for national security and wartime readiness.
Chapters
00:00: Revitalizing Naval Power and Merchant Marine Support
02:34: The Importance of Merchant Mariners
06:19: Organizational Challenges in Maritime Operations
12:17: Credentialing and Training Issues
15:06: The TidalWave Project and Sea Lift Requirements
20:03: Leadership and Cultural Shifts in Maritime Services
25:10: Immediate Solutions for Maritime Needs
30:39: Addressing Vulnerabilities in Maritime Logistics
This is utter bullshit. MSC has a manning issue because they treat Civmars like they're military and don't pay them competitively. We already make more officers than the industry can absorb and have spent the last generation making it harder for those who don't attend academies to become licenced. How about instead MSC start paying properly and not leaving guys on ships without relief? Not hiring shitbirds as unlicenced would also be tremendously helpful.
My uncle Buford was in the merchant Marine, oh the tales he would tell!
He went in service in the late thirties and served during the war, said his ship, a petroleum transporter was a well known one in the Atlantic, the "SS floating Target" LOL He and my Army Dad used to fuss about who was at a bigger risk.
He was a cool customer.
We need the Merchant Marine.