The Officer insignia featured on our Maritime Service / Merchant Marine belt buckle is an eagle standing on a shield over which a fouled anchor has been superimposed, with both the anchor and shield enclosed in a laurel wreath. The wreath and anchor are gold, while the eagle and shield are silver. The insignia, which is also used as a cap device, is worn by any Officers enrolled in the Maritime Service, regardless of whether they attended a Maritime Academy.
Authorized by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 and established in 1938, the U.S. Maritime Service (USMS) was the official training service for personnel in the United States Merchant Marine and the U.S. Army Transport Service and employed the same system of ranks, ratings, and pay grades as the United States Coast Guard. A total of ten USMS training bases, some offering advanced courses, were constructed across the U.S. between 1938 and 1943. These were disestablished in 1954 and the Maritime Service now exists only through Maritime Academies, with flag or senior officers in the USMS often serving as Presidents or Superintendents at these institutions.