This Week's Feature Print Article: MarEx Examines New Coast Guard NMC

On October 10, MarEx Managing Editor Joseph Keefe traveled to Kearneysville, West Virginia to see, firsthand, the physical manifestation of the biggest overhaul of mariner-documentation procedures in many decades. The U.S. Coast Guard has at long last embarked upon an ambitious but long overdue quest to change the way it interfaces with America’s commercial mariners. The move to scale back operations at the 17 Regional Exam Centers (RECs) and centralize all credential-production operations -- among other things -- at Martinsburg, West Virginia has many in the maritime community concerned. And because the Coast Guard’s recent performance in many things related to marine safety has been lacking, there could be real merit to those who would question whether the nation’s fifth uniformed military branch is up to the task. Read on to see if they are…

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