Wharton by the sea; the federal government spends millions to train shipping executives at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

• Author: Feinberg, Susan

Wharton by the Sea

It looks like a military academy. Walking through the gates at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, visitors see the undergraduates, called midshipmen, march in crisp uniforms and salute like their brethren at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Overlooking Long Island Sound, the handsome campus is dotted with sea-weathered anchors and portraits of war heroes.

It sounds like a military academy. When the midshipmen stand stiff at inspection, there are echoes of a Lous Gossett movie. "I can't hear you!' "Sir, no sir.' "I can't hear you!' On command, freshmen, called plebes, shout the alma mater or bark out the King's Point motto--acta non verba, "deeds not words.'

And it sure does feel like a military academy. Midshipmen are shaken by surprise bunk checks in the middle of the night. For scheduled inspections they lose sleep, too, pulling all-nighters to wax floors, scrub toilets, and polish brass. That's a breeze compared to the brutal two-week indoctrination, when plebes have on occasion been ordered to march to the garbage room, rifles in tow, hop on one foot and chant, "ha ha ha.' Little wonder that Kings Point officials boast that the academy "out-militaries the military.'

Even though it is a federally run, four-year military service academy, Kings Point isn't West Point or Annapolis. Although it was created during World War II to train a special breed of commercial sailor who could guide ships through dangerous waters, it has become a kind of business school with calesthenics. More than three-fourths of its 1986 graduates took jobs in civilian industries, not the military. And the majority of those are ashore. An academy grad is more likely to earn a nice living designing financial models for a shipping consulting firm than preparing for battle on the high seas. Of course, Kings Point does have one thing in common with West Point: the federal government foots the bill. This year, the Department of Transportation, which oversees the academy, will spend more than $22 million for what is little more than boot camp for the shipping industry.

The presidential yacht

While West Point and Annapolis require their graduates to spend five years in uniform in exchange for their free education, Kings Point graduates don't have it so rough. Before the class of 1986, they were required to serve in the reserves of one of the armed forces, usually the Navy--a commitment of a few weeks a year. When it came time to...