Maritime EO and SHIPS Act Target Critical Gaps Blocking Military Vets from Merchant Marine Roles

Opinion By Nate Gilman President of Mariner Credential Service LLC, Commander Ander S Heiles, USN and Grant Greenwell, AFNI,

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For decades, bureaucratic hurdles have blocked veterans and transitioning military service members from filling critical roles in the U.S. Merchant Marine, a workforce they are uniquely trained for but often cannot access. With the nation facing a documented shortage of mariners impacting national security readiness, a concerted effort is underway by both the executive and legislative branches to finally clear these pathways.

A recent executive order establishes a comprehensive “Maritime Action Plan” (MAP) process, while complementary legislation like the Securing the Homeland by Increasing Production and Ensuring a Seafaring Act (SHIPS Act) provides legislative backing, citing decades of neglect that have weakened domestic shipbuilding and the maritime workforce, impacting national security.

The Executive Order, signed April 9, 2025, alongside legislative momentum from the SHIPS Act, arrives at a critical juncture. Analysts warn the U.S. merchant marine force is aging out, potentially leaving the nation unable to crew existing strategic sealift vessels, let alone an expanded fleet envisioned by policymakers in both the White House and Congress. Without fixing the credentialing gap for military personnel, the U.S. leaves a massive reservoir of trained talent untapped, weakening its maritime capacity at a time when sealift and commercial shipping are central to strategic competitiveness and global power projection. While the EO tackles broad issues from shipbuilding capacity to trade policy, reinforcing legislative efforts like the SHIPS Act, key sections directly address the need to expand and streamline mariner training and credentialing, areas where significant inefficiencies remain despite previous efforts.

Persistent obstacles concerning redundant security checks, burdensome medical certification processes, and inconsistent sea service documentation continue to challenge personnel from the Navy, Coast Guard, Army, and NOAA seeking civilian maritime credentials, according to analyses and feedback from support organizations and directly from affected service members. These issues run counter to both the new EO’s stated policy of rebuilding the domestic maritime workforce and the goals of the SHIPS Act.

While earlier initiatives under Executive Order 13860 led to improvements, such as the elimination of Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) fees for Active Duty and Selected Reserve personnel finalized late last year, the new order signals a broader, more urgent push. Section 13 of the April 9th order specifically mandates a multi-agency report identifying requirements for credentialing mariners that are “unnecessary, insufficient, or unduly burdensome” and calls for recommendations for reform. It also explicitly requires an assessment of “United States Coast Guard credentialing program applicability to United States Navy Active Duty and Reserve sailors to increase opportunities for sailors to transfer into the Merchant Marine with validated skills.”

This directive directly aligns with long-standing criticisms of current processes, which the SHIPS Act also seeks to address through various provisions aimed at workforce development. A key point of friction remains the requirement for Active Duty and Selected Reserve members holding valid Common Access Cards (CACs), issued after extensive DoD vetting, to also obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This is widely viewed as an ‘unnecessary’ and ‘unduly burdensome’ requirement precisely targeted by the new EO’s mandate for reform, imposing duplicative costs ($124 per TWIC) and administrative delays with negligible security benefit. Accepting the CAC in lieu of the TWIC is presented as a necessary efficiency measure consistent with the EO’s deregulatory push (Sec 20) and the overall goal of reducing barriers highlighted by the SHIPS Act.

The most significant challenge documenting experience, particularly impacting Navy veterans, remains the lack of standardized sea service documentation. Directly relevant to the EO’s call to assess credentialing applicability for Navy sailors and a recognized hurdle for building the maritime workforce supported by the SHIPS Act. Unlike other branches, the Navy does not issue a standardized Transcript of Sea Service (TOSS). This is a long-standing documentation gap that has persisted despite being repeatedly raised by veteran advocates and service members, often getting lost within Navy and USCG bureaucracy. Veterans consequently face insurmountable difficulties compiling required records like the History of Assignments (HOA) and Fitness Reports/Evaluations (FITREPS/EVALS), especially after losing CAC access to personnel systems and encountering incomplete official files. The Coast Guard National Maritime Center’s strict adherence to these requirements frequently leaves veterans unable to validate their experience, hindering their entry into the workforce the new EO and the SHIPS Act aim to expand.

Beyond sea time documentation and security clearances, transitioning service members report facing another significant, costly hurdle: obtaining the required Coast Guard medical certification (Form CG-719K). According to feedback from affected personnel, DoD medical personnel frequently refuse to complete the form, citing reasons like it being outside their scope or lacking qualifications. This push-back forces sailors, often junior personnel, to pay for the required physical out-of-pocket (typically around $200-$500) despite having access to military medical care. This bureaucratic refusal by DoD medical represents exactly the type of ‘unnecessary’ and ‘unduly burdensome’ requirement the Executive Order seeks to eliminate, aligning with the broader goal of facilitating veteran transition into the merchant marine.

Industry observers and veteran advocates emphasize that resolving these specific credentialing bottlenecks is essential to achieving the workforce revitalization goals outlined in both the President’s order and complementary legislative initiatives like the SHIPS Act. An optimized system, they argue, would see credentialing processes integrated into military career pathways, ensuring documentation is standardized and accessible and medical requirements are met seamlessly within the military health system.

Fulfilling the mandate of the new executive order, and contributing to the broader goals supported by recent legislation like the SHIPS Act, requires translating its broad policy objectives into specific actions addressing these known deficiencies. The following steps are highlighted as critical contributions to the forthcoming Maritime Action Plan:

First, mandate the implementation of a comprehensive, standardized Transcript of Sea Service across all uniformed sea services, with particular urgency for the Navy, finally addressing the Navy’s long-standing documentation gap and ensuring these records are complete and readily accessible to veterans, directly addressing the assessment required by Section 13(b)(v) of the EO and supporting SHIPS Act objectives.

Second, eliminate the TWIC redundancy identified as an unnecessary burden by authorizing the acceptance of valid CACs to meet MMC security requirements for Active Duty and Selected Reserve personnel, aligning with Section 13(b)(iii) and Section 20 of the EO and removing a key barrier.

Third, direct the Department of Defense to ensure DoD medical facilities complete the CG-719K medical evaluation form for all service members at no cost, removing a significant financial burden and bureaucratic obstacle.

Fourth, normalize the credentialing process by integrating MMC application preparation into early-career training for sea-going personnel, treating it as standard professional development essential for building the maritime workforce prioritized by the EO and the SHIPS Act under the name Military Mariner Competencies (MarMilCom).

The President’s directive, alongside supportive legislation like the SHIPS Act, provides a critical framework and unprecedented opportunity. Its success hinges entirely on coordinated execution across the Navy, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, and other agencies. Unless these specific, long-known barriers are dismantled, including standardizing sea service records, eliminating redundant security checks, and ensuring access to required medical evaluations the maritime workforce gap will persist, undermining national security readiness. This confluence of executive action and legislative support presents a clear opportunity to move from well-intentioned policy to tangible results that strengthen the U.S. Merchant Marine.

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