🚢 Maritime & seamanship
Running ships and boats — navigation, deck operations, seamanship, and small-boat handling for the Navy and Coast Guard.
What they do
These are the core seagoing jobs. Boatswain’s mates lead deck operations, seamanship, and small-boat handling; quartermasters navigate; operations specialists run radar, tracking, and the combat-information center; gunner’s mates and minemen handle weapons systems. The Coast Guard adds maritime law enforcement and search and rescue.
It is the hands-on craft of operating ships at sea.
Jobs & codes by branch
Representative jobs in this field and their military occupation codes — not a complete list; each branch has many more and codes change. Use the official job finders below for the full, current list.
Navy
BM Boatswain’s Mate · QM Quartermaster · OS Operations Specialist · GM Gunner’s Mate · MN Mineman · SN Seaman (undesignated deck) · DC Damage Controlman · GSM/GSE Gas Turbine Systems
Coast Guard
BM Boatswain’s Mate · OS Operations Specialist · MK Machinery Technician · ME Maritime Enforcement Specialist · GM Gunner’s Mate · DV Diver
Marine Corps
0481 Landing Support Specialist · 1345 Engineer Equipment Operator (shore/port support)
ASVAB areas that matter
Mechanical Comprehension (MC), Auto & Shop (AS), and Arithmetic Reasoning (AR); hands-on aptitude. Your AFQT score decides whether you can enlist; individual subtests combine into “line scores” that set which jobs you qualify for. Prepare with our free ASVAB practice tests.
How it transfers to civilian work
Transfers to the merchant marine and commercial shipping, port and terminal operations, tugboat and ferry crews, and maritime security. Credentials: U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC), TWIC card, and able-seaman/navigation endorsements.
See every job & the exact requirements
Codes, availability, and ASVAB minimums vary by branch and change often — confirm on each branch's official job finder: Army ↗ · Navy ↗ · Air Force ↗ · Marine Corps ↗ · Space Force ↗ · Coast Guard ↗.