The fact that the United States Maritime Service, or USMS, is related to the Merchant Marine yet remains a distinct, separate entity can be seen simply by examining the insignias on the golden screw caps used to secure the gold chinstraps used on both service’s Combination Caps.
Since its inception, the U.S. Maritime service has employed laurel wreaths on all its imagery as a way of maintaining its identity apart from other seafaring operations. The Merchant Marine, on the other hand, uses the same vertical, fouled anchor as its unique identifier, but without the laurel wreaths.
Maritime Service Officers serve at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, as well as at state-run maritime schools across the country. They can also be found the ship that that students serve on during their “year at sea,” a critical part of the Maritime Service’s training regimen.