Able Seaman (M) - Trainee
- Military Sealift Command
- San Diego, CA, USA
- Nov 02, 2026
Job Description
This is a shipboard position with the Military Sealift Command, a U.S. Navy command. Ships operate worldwide, so the work is at sea and the San Diego location is a reference point only; assignments are made by MSC. Applications are submitted through MSC's own application portal (apply.sealiftcommand.com) - contacting your Veteran Staffing Consultant does not submit one.
Trainee pay: starting salary $54,122; the average annual salary upon credentialing is $121,680.
Announcement opens continuously from 10/05/2026, with periodic cut-offs.
The Able Seaman Maintenance (In Training) is a Civil Service Mariner (CIVMAR) in a developmental training status, employed by the Navy to serve the Military Sealift Command (MSC) onboard naval auxiliaries and hybrid-maned warships worldwide, in peace and war. MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations. MSC provides on time logistics, strategic sealift, as well as specialized missions anywhere in the world, in contested or uncontested environments.
Qualifications
MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
- • Must be a United States Citizen of at least 18 years of age
- • Possess and maintain a valid U.S. Passport with a minimum of ten (10) months remaining of expiration date
- • Possess and maintain a Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) and/or Department of Defense (DOD) Common Access with a minimum of ten (10) months remaining of expirations date
- • United States Coast Guard (USCG) Medical Certificate without any Limitations/Restrictions, with a minimum of ten (10) months remaining of expiration date
- • United States Coast Guard (USCG) Merchant Mariner's Credential (MMC), with a minimum of ten (10) months remaining of expiration date with the following endorsement(s): Ordinary Seaman, Wiper, Stewards Department (FH) with a minimum of ten (10) months remaining of expiration date
- LICENSING AND/OR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
- • Former or current U.S. Navy Boatswain's Mate Petty Officer 2nd Class (BM2), or senior, or other branches of the Military with related experience as Seaman
- with a minimum of 5 (five) years combined sea service assigned to a ship, and any combination of the following qualifying options:
- 540 days or more of deck service on ocean-going vessels; OR
- 360 days or more of deck service on vessels of 100 Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) or greater; OR
- 360 days or more of service on vessels 65 feet or longer operating on any U.S. navigable waters.
- OR
- • Commercial experience as Utilityman/Ordinary Seaman with experience assigning daily tasks, ensuring work is done safely, and training junior crew members
- overseeing all deck work, rigging, and mooring operations
- running ship's corrosion control and preservation program to include managing the chipping, painting, and preventative maintenance to combat rust and wear
- Experience on oceangoing vessels standing bridge watch, supervising the lookouts and helmsman, and making required announcements over the ship's public address system
- and experience as lifeboat operator, AND
- 360 days or more of deck service on vessels of 100 Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) or greater; OR
- 360 days or more of service on vessels 65 feet or longer operating on any U.S. navigable waters.
- PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: • Qualified as:
- UNREP Safety Officer
- Deck Safety Officer
- UNREP Rig Captain
- UNREP Rigger
- Coxswain (any craft)
- • Experience with shipboard maintenance documentation and diagnostics
Work for Warriors is a no-cost employment program of the California Military Department for Service Members, Veterans, and military family members. The Veteran Staffing Consultant for Military Sealift Command is Chuck Callahan.
Qualifications
State
Immediate Fill
Job Reference
Mission
As a global Type Commander (TYCOM) and Navy Component Commander to U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), MSC provides combat logistics, special mission, service support, and strategic sealift to deploy and sustain U.S. Forces worldwide, during peacetime and war.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As the Department of War’s maritime logistics provider, Military Sealift Command (MSC) delivers agile, persistent, and innovative sealift logistics solutions to the Navy and Joint Force, generating effects across the spectrum of military operations in strategic competition, crisis, and conflict.
MSC crews, trains, equips, and operates more than 140 government and commercially-owned and chartered vessels to directly support Navy Fleet Commanders. MSC, as Naval Sealift Transportation Command (NAVTRANS), also serves as the Naval Component of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).
The MSC Fleet includes cargo vessels, tankers, naval auxiliaries, and a variety of special mission ships. MSC ships are underway around the world to serve joint warfighters and call on ports in every continent, including Antarctica.
MSC Area Commands provide expertise and operational perspective to Navy Fleet Commanders worldwide. The Area Commands are operationally focused and aligned with the Numbered Fleet logistics staffs in their respective theaters: MSC Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia; MSC Pacific in San Diego; MSC Europe and Africa in Naples, Italy; MSC Central in Manama, Bahrain; and MSC Far East in Singapore. The MSC Area Commands also directly command and control vessels assigned USTRANSCOM missions as part of the NAVTRANS mission.
Ship maintenance and support functions are integrated into six maintenance hubs under the Area Commands in the following locations: Naples, Italy; Manama, Bahrain; Singapore; Yokohama, Japan; San Diego and Guam.
MSC is a $5 billion per year organization which provides services to the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, U.S. Transportation Command, Missile Defense Agency, and other U.S. government agencies.
Worldwide operations are funded through two working capital funds, complemented by Navy’s Operations and Maintenance funding to support Maintenance and Repair. The Navy Working Capital Fund is used to support Navy Fleet Commanders and other Department of War entities. The Transportation Working Capital Fund is used to support sealift services.
MSC receives direct funding appropriations from the Navy for Maintenance and Repair. MSC customers transfer funding for their requirements to MSC into the appropriate working capital fund and MSC draws from the fund to pay for command operations. Essentially, MSC is primarily funded by purchases from its customers.
Unlike private industry, that budgets to make a profit, the goal of the Working Capital Fund is to break even, i.e., charges levied on customers equal MSC’s expenses and no more.
Created in 1949, MSC, then called Military Sea Transportation Service, became the single managing agency for the Department of War’s ocean transportation needs. MSC has been present during every major conflict since World War II, providing vital logistics and operational support to the U.S. Navy and Joint Force around the globe.
MSC is focused on continuing to achieve maritime success in a contested logistics environment by developing new technologies and strategies. The next decade will see the delivery of new ships with modernized systems, and emerging capabilities such as new ship to shore connectors, unmanned resupply, and expeditionary munitions reload to better support distributed maritime logistics and no-fail mission sustainment.