Midshipmen warn that left-wing politicians are infiltrating Merchant Navy Academy: ‘Last frontier for an awakened ideology’

Numerous current and former midshipmen of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, told Fox News Digital that in recent years, the “awakening” ideology has been seeping into the school and has accelerated under the leadership of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The highly selective USMMA, which is the only military academy authorized to carry battle standards due to 142 World War II casualties, is operated by the Department of Transportation and trains leaders “who are inspired to serve the national security, maritime transportation, and economic needs of the United States.” ,” it says on its website.

In January, the academy made headlines over a controversy over the historical painting “Christ on the Water,” which depicts Jesus Christ walking on water to merchant sailors lost at sea. An image painted by Hunter Wood, a merchant seaman whose art is based on his own experience, has graced the Elliot M. See Conference Room in Wiley Hall’s Administration Hall for 76 years.

“People aboard the fragile lifeboats [in World War II] they believed in a Power greater than their own, as interpreted here by Hunter Wood in perhaps his most ambitious work,” the description of the 1970s USMMA painting reads.

The academy placed a white curtain over the painting after a complaint from Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). In a January 10 letter to USMMA Superintendent Vice Admiral Joanna M. Noonan, MRFF President and Founder Michael Weinstein argued that displaying the painting constituted a violation of the First Amendment clause prohibiting the establishment of religion.

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“Christ on the Water” at Wylie Hall at the USMMA was placed behind a curtain following a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. (US Coast Guard)

After the move sparked a petition and letters to Noonan from figures such as Sen. Ted Cruz, D-Tex., Rep. Jim Banks, D-Ind., and other members of Congress, the academy announced that a huge picture would be uncovered, but ultimately moved into the school’s chapel, which Fox News Digital has been told is prone to flooding.

“There was simply no hope for them.”

One midshipman at the academy, who spoke to Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity, said Noonan was a good fit for the position and that he was still unsure to what extent she played a role in the Jesus painting controversy, but he noted that many of his friends are disappointed by this because “there are big problems going on with the school”.

The Jesus picture situation is symptomatic of Buddhism that is “absolutely” permeating the USMMA, said John Gettlein, a 2022 academy graduate who spoke to Fox News Digital from a fishing boat off the coast of Alaska.

Goettlen called the school’s COVID-19 vaccine policy the start of a trend that he claimed sparked resistance from many midshipmen when the school began cracking down on the unvaccinated in 2021.

Midshipmen greet each other on their way to classes at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, August 1, 2016. (Yana Paskova/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“It was basically [get the vaccine] or be kicked out of the academy, and throughout the year they killed one after another,” he said, adding that of the approximately 140 midshipmen who initially refused to be shot, that number was reduced to four in his senior class amid the threat of a possible deductions and payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships.

“Many freshmen, many of my friends, left immediately because they didn’t want to go to a school that threatened them. There was simply no hope for them,” Goettlein said, adding that he and other older people were better able to withstand the vaccination requirement because they had already spent a lot of time at sea and “there was so much more at stake.”

“There were a lot fewer things that woke up on campus, and then they just slowly creeped in.”

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According to multiple sources who spoke to Fox News Digital, midshipmen who opted out of the vaccine were also banned from dining at the school’s Delano Hall and were required to pick up food in boxes for a short period of time, which often fell during sports competitions.

USMMA is administered by the Department of Transportation and Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)

“So, there were a lot of cases where people skipped meals,” Goettlen said. “People had to order food and pay for it themselves. As freshmen, you can’t even technically order food, so the seniors would bring them food.”

The mother of one midshipman who spoke to Fox News Digital said she mailed her son food.

A 2021 email obtained by Fox News Digital shows former USMMA superintendent Vice Admiral Joachim Buono saying the cafeteria’s policy “encourages unvaccinated midshipmen to be vaccinated.”

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Goettlen and another source said the school expelled the unvaccinated from their friends, separated them in the ranks and required them to wear masks and maintain social distancing, although vaccinated midshipmen still tested positive for COVID-19.

New Midshipmen Cadets of the Class of 1972 at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, New York, are sworn into the Naval Reserve August 31, 1968. (Newsday LLC via Getty Images)

A US Maritime Administration spokesman told Fox News Digital in a statement that USMMA is a place where “the core values ​​of mutual respect and dignity are firmly upheld, and we take pride in building a campus that reflects excellence, service, and honor.”

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy has taken precautions to ensure the health and well-being of all midshipmen, faculty and staff, and we do not concur with any allegations that any member of our community has been abused for any reason related to the pandemic. ” added the spokesperson.

“Distorted Perspective”

Fearing retribution that could extend beyond their academic careers and effectively blacklist them professionally, several midshipmen currently attending the academy spoke to Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity, but reiterated Goettlen’s claim that the school has in recent years becomes more and more politicized.

“There were a lot fewer things awakening on campus, and then they just slowly moved in,” said the midshipman, who has been with the school since 2021. He noted that the school’s main aisle was decorated with a mural promoting LGBTQ ideology.

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Midshipmen walk to class at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, August 1, 2016. (Yana Paskova/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Several sources said that during a recent Q&A session with Noonan about the Jesus painting, the midshipman received a standing ovation from fellow students for asking why the Jesus painting was removed because it might offend some people while LGBTQ-advertising material gained notoriety. , despite the fact that they potentially offended believers.

“I’m just paraphrasing, but [Nunan] basically saying that we should glorify the minority,” one of the sources said.

“It’s like we’re the last frontier of the awakening ideology.”

Goettlen noted that during his time there, the school produced shirts emblazoned with the rainbow logo and offered midshipmen the opportunity to wear them with khaki uniforms during “Spirit Day”.

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One current senior midshipman said he was “very excited” to visit USMMA because the academy seemed to be “totally immune to anything political”, but he noted that a lot had changed since he was there.

“We didn’t have any discussions about race; we didn’t have discussions about diversity, equality and inclusion,” the midshipman said of starting his USMMA career in 2019. very individualistic culture.”

Vice Admiral Joanna Noonan became the first female Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in December 2022. (US Merchant Marine Academy)

Noonan, who became the school’s first female superintendent in December, boasts of helping to “lead efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the Coast Guard,” according to her official USMMA biography.

The senior midshipman placed partial blame for the cultural change on both her and Buttijiga, saying the secretary of transport “brought a group of people to power” with a “distorted view” of how the school should be more diverse.

“They are trying to introduce cultural changes, but on the ground the culture of midshipmen has not changed,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the politicization that our school has been subjected to by the new administration seems to be getting worse,” he continued. “And, frankly, I’m glad I’m leaving, because you really can’t speak out on political issues here. You can easily be reprimanded. This is what it is, and it wasn’t there before.”

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Midshipmen from the United States Merchant Marine Academy salute during the national anthem before a game at Citi Field on August 23, 2017 in New York City. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

“It is clear that there are ideological differences between the people in charge here and the people who go here, and also between the majority of professors who are actually conservative,” the midshipman said, adding that he and his colleagues now sometimes feel “targeted.” “.

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“It’s like we’re the last frontier for the Awoken ideology,” he said of the Merchant Marine.