<p>I will be leaving in about two weeks for Indoc in the USMMA. I have spanned the internet and cannot find the answer to a question that has been pestering me for awhile. I read somewhere that when you graduate, should you chose to enter into the Maritime Service, that you are required to serve aboard a merchant vessel. I also hear and read about being able to work ashore. When you graduate are you required to work afloat or are you allowed to choose to work on land? Any help I get will be extremely beneficial</p>
<p>You can work anywhere in the Maritime industry -- ports, designing ships, managing logistics, etc. but you have to keep your mate's or engineer's license active. There may also be a National Guard option begining this year as well.</p>