What do US Merchant Marines do?

Okay, you did ask a lot of questions, so here are a lot of answers...

'Merchant Marine' is the blanket label for pretty much any and all seamen/women who work on any kind of ship that is NOT military. Cargo ships, freighters, barges, as long as there is some kind of cargo or freight that is not human (like cruise ships, though ferries can also be crewed by merchant mariners).

The US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, is a federal academy just like West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, etc, and their graduates will have Navy Reserve Ensign status with the option to go into any of the US Armed Forces officer level. Most (like my husband) will instead sail on the MARAD/MSC pre-position fleets which supply the military. And during actual conflict, they may be 'pushed back' into active duty in order to supply our troops. During Operation Desert Storm, my husband's pre-position ship sailed from Diego Garcia to the Mid East, earning him a medal (only Kings Point grads and some Reserve Duty shipmates earned them, the rest got a pay bonus from the Master of the ship) since he was within bombing range. Scary for me, but a proud moment for him, since he knew that some of the supplies on his ship (mostly fuel and ground equipment) helped our troops there. So, no to military except for some specific people and situations.

Now for training - that depends on where on the ship you want to work and in what capability. At the base, you have either Licensed (trained, licensed), and Unlicensed (trained, but to a lesser level). You choose to go Deck (Mates, Captain/Master for Licensed, Able-Bodied (ABs) and Ordinary Seamen (OSs) for Unlicensed), Engine (Chief and Assistants for Licensed, Wipers, Oilers and QMEDs for Unlicensed). The Steward 'group' consists of everyone else on a ship, from the Cook to the guy cleaning out the rooms.

To be licensed, you need a specific level and type of training for what you choose (deck or engine) and seatime earned. You can work your way up all the way from Unlicensed up to Licensed, called Hawspiping, but that can take years. Nowadays you can gain licensed training either through USMMA at Kings Point, at the state maritime colleges scattered across the nation (MassMaritime, MaineMaritime, SUNYMaritime, etc), and there is a fairly newish program offered through two of the unions for merchant marines, AMO and SIU, that consolidates unlicensed and licensed training and you graduate with a Unlimited Third Engineer license (https://www.star-center.com/techprogram/techprogra... is free

Pay...hmm...pay is relative, ranging from what size ship you work on (ferry versus container ship), your position in the ship (Stewards assistant versus Chief Engineer), the length of your assignment (2 week relief versus 4 month), even sometimes the company who hires you. Unless you work on a local ferry or barge, you will be away from home for weeks to months, work 7 days a week (no weekends off when sailing). This is a profession where everyone starts at the bottom, and even though my husband heard the myth at Kings Point that graduates make 20K a month, that only happens NOW, 20 years of sailing and earning his seatime and licenses. But if you want this, your patience is rewarded.

Merchant ships rarely carry arms as a rule. Almost every country with a port (including the US) bans ships with weapons. It's simply a safety issue, plus with crews changing almost constantly, having crews who have the proper training to handle weapons is pretty hard to keep track of. With regards to the issue of piracy, which is actually a 'profession' since the first ships, many shipping companies will hire 'security' when sailing in notorious areas. These security tend to be retired military contractors, and surprisingly, their job is to protect the cargo, not necessarily the crew. But still, much better protected than when my husband first went out to sea.

The ships go all over the world. In the old days (like, 30 years ago, lol), you would most likely join a union, head to the union hall, and look at a wall of index cards with job opportunities. One of my uncles was a Bosun (head steward), and would have my dad drop him off at the union hall in Brooklyn. He would look at the posted jobs, pick something that looked interesting, pat my dad on the back with a 'see you in a few months' and sail away. Nowadays, you either contact HR for shipping companies (for those that dont use union crews), or join a union.

Depending on your trip, you might NOT get the whole 'let's do some sightseeing while we're here' routine. Ships are on a schedule, ports all over the world have tighten security, and there are a lot of less-safe places around. But, if you can find adventure, you can see the Northern Lights (like my husband did on a trip into the Artic Circle), penguins (when his ship was in McMurdo), and dolphins surfing along a ship (Diego Garcia).

There are no recruiters. While military can go to the merchant marine, and can transfer/adapt some of their specialties so they can start 'higher' (officer status rather tan unlicensed), it's not as regimented as the military. Marines and Navy have transitioned easily, and the Master (the captain of a merchant ship is Master, while on a military ship is Captain) of my husband's present ship is former Navy.

If this is something you want to do, you will need a slew of paperwork ready, starting with a valid passport, and anything listed on the left side of this page: http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/

If you have any more questions, let me know and I can PM you separately. Good luck and hope I haven't overwhelmed you!

Cargo ships crews are Merchant Marines. There is a MM Academy for ships officers, but I'm not sure if every civilian sailor goes through it.

No they have no weapons, though some ships have independent security contractors put on them for protection.

Look at this website: http://www.usmm.org/faq.html