46 U.S.C. § 51306 — Cadet commitment agreements
submitted 20 years ago by Pub. L. 109-304 to r/title-46-SHIPPING · 1,173 words · no verdicts yet
United States cadets must agree to complete training, obtain and maintain specified credentials, serve in reserve and national-service roles, and report compliance. The section provides active-duty, repayment, alternative-service, and default remedies for failures.
(a) As a condition of appointment, a United States citizen cadet must agree to: (1) complete Academy* instruction; (2) before graduation, obtain an unlimited-horsepower-or-tonnage Coast Guard merchant-mariner officer license with the appropriate national and international endorsements and certifications required by the Coast Guard for service aboard vessels on domestic and international voyages, without limitation; (3) for at least six years after graduation, maintain that license, a transportation-worker identification credential, and a Coast Guard medical certificate; (4) apply for and accept if offered a commissioned officer appointment in the Navy Reserve (including the Strategic Sealift Officer Program, Navy Reserve), Coast Guard Reserve, or another armed-forces reserve component, then serve, meet participation rules, and remain in good active status for at least eight years after commissioning; (5) serve United States foreign and domestic commerce and national defense for at least five years after graduation as: (A) a merchant-marine officer on a documented vessel* or United States- or State*-owned and operated vessel*; (B) a United States maritime-industry, profession, or marine-science employee if the Secretary finds A unavailable; (C) an active-duty armed-forces officer, NOAA officer, or other maritime-related Federal employee serving United States national security as the Secretary determines; or (D) a combination of A through C; and (6) report compliance. (b)(1) If someone attended at least two years but failed to complete the course, Defense may order up to two years of active duty. The Transportation Secretary may partly or fully waive this for determined hardship. (2) If Defense cannot or will not order service, or repayment better serves the United States, the Transportation Secretary may recover the Government’s education cost. (c)(1) For failure to meet any agreement requirement in (a)(2)–(6), the person may be ordered to active duty for at least three years and up to the unexpired required service period. Transportation, consulting Defense, chooses the service. Hardship permits a waiver. (2) If active duty cannot or will not be ordered, or repayment is better, the Secretary may recover education cost and may reduce it for partial service and other meriting factors. (d) The Secretary may ask the Attorney General to sue and may use federal debt-collection procedures or other administrative remedies. (e)(1) Five years of active-duty armed-forces service, or commissioned NOAA or Public Health Service service, excuses the person from (a)(3)–(5). (2) The Secretary may modify or waive terms by imposing alternative service. (f)(1) Subject to 5 U.S.C. 552a restrictions, Defense, the Coast Guard department Secretary, NOAA Administrator, and Public Health Service Surgeon General must report an Academy graduate’s obligated-service status on request and may notify the Secretary of failures in active duty, the Ready Reserve, NOAA, or Public Health Service. (2) The report or notice must identify noncompliant graduates and give required reasons. (3) The Secretary may treat the graduate as in default and use all available remedies.
A citizen of the United States appointed as a cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy* shall sign, as a condition of the appointment, an agreement to—
complete the course of instruction at the Academy;
obtain a merchant mariner license, unlimited as to horsepower or tonnage, issued by the Coast Guard as an officer in the merchant marine of the United States, accompanied by the appropriate national and international endorsements and certifications required by the Coast Guard for service aboard vessels on domestic and international voyages, without limitation, before graduation from the Academy;
for at least 6 years after graduation from the Academy, maintain—
a valid merchant mariner license, unlimited as to horsepower or tonnage, issued by the Coast Guard as an officer in the merchant marine of the United States, accompanied by the appropriate national and international endorsements and certifications required by the Coast Guard for service aboard vessels on domestic and international voyages, without limitation;
a valid transportation worker identification credential; and
a Coast Guard medical certificate;
apply for, and accept if tendered, an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Navy Reserve (including the Strategic Sealift Officer Program, Navy Reserve), the Coast Guard Reserve, or any other reserve component of an armed force of the United States, and, if tendered the appointment, to serve, meet the participation requirements, and maintain active status in good standing, as determined by the program manager of the appropriate military service, for at least 8 years after the date of commissioning;
serve the foreign and domestic commerce and the national defense of the United States for at least 5 years after graduation from the Academy—
as a merchant marine officer* on a documented vessel* or a vessel* owned and operated by the United States Government or by a State*;
as an employee in a United States maritime-related industry, profession, or marine science (as determined by the Secretary of Transportation), if the Secretary determines that service under subparagraph (A) is not available to the individual;
as a commissioned officer on active duty in an armed force of the United States, as a commissioned officer in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or in other maritime-related Federal employment which serves the national security interests of the United States, as determined by the Secretary; or
by a combination of the service alternatives referred to in subparagraphs (A)–(C); and
report to the Secretary on compliance with this subsection.
If the Secretary of Transportation determines that an individual who has attended the Academy for at least 2 years has failed to fulfill the part of the agreement described in subsection (a)(1), the individual may be ordered by the Secretary of Defense to serve on active duty in one of the armed forces of the United States for a period of not more than 2 years. In cases of hardship as determined by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Transportation may waive this paragraph in whole or in part.
If the Secretary of Defense is unable or unwilling to order an individual to serve on active duty under paragraph (1), or if the Secretary of Transportation determines that reimbursement of the cost of education provided* would better serve the interests of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation may recover from the individual the cost of education provided by the Government.
If the Secretary of Transportation determines that an individual has failed to fulfill any part of the agreement described in subsection (a)(2)–(6), the individual may be ordered to serve on active duty for a period of at least 3 years but not more than the unexpired period (as determined by the Secretary) of the service required by subsection (a)(5). The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall determine in which service the individual shall serve. In cases of hardship as determined by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Transportation may waive this paragraph in whole or in part.
If the Secretary of Defense is unable or unwilling to order an individual to serve on active duty under paragraph (1), or if the Secretary of Transportation determines that reimbursement of the cost of education provided would better serve the interests of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation may recover from the individual the cost of education provided. The Secretary may reduce the amount to be recovered to reflect partial performance of service obligations and other factors the Secretary determines merit a reduction.
To aid in the recovery of the cost of education provided by the Government under a commitment agreement under this section, the Secretary of Transportation may—
request the Attorney General to bring a civil action against the individual; and
make use of the Federal debt collection procedures in chapter 176 of title 28 or other applicable administrative remedies.
An individual who, for the 5-year period following graduation from the Academy, serves as a commissioned officer on active duty in an armed force of the United States or as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Public Health Service shall be excused from the requirements of paragraphs (3) through (5) of subsection (a).
The Secretary may modify or waive any of the terms and conditions set forth in subsection (a) through the imposition of alternative service requirements.
Subject to any otherwise applicable restrictions on disclosure in section 552a of title 5, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service—
shall report the status of obligated service of an individual graduate of the Academy upon request of the Secretary; and
may, in their discretion, notify the Secretary of any failure of the graduate to perform the graduate’s duties, either on active duty or in the Ready Reserve component of their respective service, or as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Public Health Service, respectively.
A report or notice under paragraph (1) shall identify any graduate determined to have failed to comply with service obligation requirements and provide all required information as to why such graduate failed to comply.
Upon receipt of such a report or notice, such graduate may be considered to be in default of the graduate’s service obligations by the Secretary, and subject to all remedies the Secretary may have with respect to such a default.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(b), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1572; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 515(g)(2)(A), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3236; Pub. L. 109–364, div. C, title XXXV, §§ 3505(a), 3506(a), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2516, 2517; Pub. L. 110–181, div. C, title XXXV, §§ 3523(a)(1), (b), 3526(b)(1), (c)(1), (g), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 598, 600–602; Pub. L. 114–92, div. C, title XXXV, § 3506, Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 1220.)
- 2006Enacted · Pub. L. 109-304 · 120 Stat. 1572
- 2006Amended · Pub. L. 109-163 · 119 Stat. 3236
- 2006Amended · Pub. L. 109-364 · 120 Stat. 2516, 2517
- 2008Amended · Pub. L. 110-181 · 122 Stat. 598, 600
- 2015Amended · Pub. L. 114-92 · 129 Stat. 1220
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 109-304 on 2006-10-06.
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