{"id":269,"date":"2023-11-27T19:35:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T19:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/?p=269"},"modified":"2023-12-05T20:34:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T20:34:58","slug":"change-of-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/campus-currents\/change-of-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Change of Command"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEadership<\/span><\/p>\n

Change of Command<\/h1>\n

FOR ONLY THE THIRD TIME in the school\u2019s history, an MMA alum has been named Commandant of Midshipman. Captain Mark Winter \u201988 returned to campus in August. Winter brings more than thirty years of service in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Merchant Marine, and on the staff of Senator Susan Collins. Winter holds a Third Mate Unlimited Tonnage Coast Guard license.<\/p>\n

\"Mark

Capt. Mark Winter
PHOTO BY RHONDA VARNEY<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cCaptain Winter is well positioned to carry out a vision for regimental excellence while leading a seasoned commandant\u2019s staff,\u201d said President Paul in his announcement of Winter\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

Winter grew up in Newbury, a small town in New Hampshire, and admits he came to MMA for all the wrong reasons. \u201cMy dad was a Navy pilot. My uncle had been a Navy pilot. I was going to be a pilot,\u201d said Winter, \u201cand Maine Maritime had a good reputation for getting people into flight school.\u201d But he suffered a kidney stone his senior year, ending his dream of being a Navy pilot. He was commissioned with his classmates and told he would be a surface warfare officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told the ROTC commanding officer I didn\u2019t want to be a surface warfare officer,\u201d recalled Winter. \u201cHis reply was \u2018Welcome to the Navy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Following his active duty, he worked for American President Lines before deciding to go to law school to become an admiralty attorney. \u201cI\u2019d gone to a maritime academy, I had a license, I\u2019d worked for a shipping company, and I had a law degree. I was able to use that to get a job working at a maritime law firm in New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter was in the Navy Reserve when he received the chance to work with the Civil Maritime Industry Group, part of the Office of Naval Intelligence. \u201cTo be honest,\u201d said Winter, \u201cI thought about it as a networking opportunity. Then 9\/11 happened, and I was recalled to active duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to civilian life, Winter moved to Maine, working with a law firm in Portland before returning to Washington, DC. \u201cI was lucky to get a job with Senator Susan Collins,\u201d said Winter. \u201cI was in the right place at the right time with the right background. I had the port security experience her staff was seeking for a bill they were drafting.\u201d Winter worked in both Washington and in local offices in Maine. He considers this time the highlight of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Winter brings a great deal of expertise and experience,\u201d said Provost Keith Williamson. \u201cHis background as a senior naval officer, attorney, and unlimited license mariner gives him unique insights to his role. Under Mark\u2019s leadership, the regiment will grow to even greater heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter sees the job of the regimental staff as teaching cadets how to think and operate aboard merchant ships with structured chains of command. As Winter explains, \u201cCadets learn to follow instructions and orders. They have to understand where they fit in the team . . . that it\u2019s not just about them anymore. A part of learning to lead is learning to be led.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEadership<\/p>\n

Change of Command<\/p>\n

FOR ONLY THE THIRD TIME in the school\u2019s history, an MMA alum has been named Commandant of Midshipman. Captain Mark Winter \u201988 returned to campus in August. Winter brings more than thirty years of service in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Merchant Marine, and on the staff of Senator Susan Collins. Winter holds a Third Mate Unlimited Tonnage Coast Guard license.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Winter is well positioned to carry out a vision for regimental excellence while leading a seasoned commandant\u2019s staff,\u201d said President Paul in his announcement of Winter\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

Winter grew up in Newbury, a small town in New Hampshire, and admits he came to MMA for all the wrong reasons. \u201cMy dad was a Navy pilot. My uncle had been a Navy pilot. I was going to be a pilot,\u201d said Winter, \u201cand Maine Maritime had a good reputation for getting people into flight school.\u201d But he suffered a kidney stone his senior year, ending his dream of being a Navy pilot. He was commissioned with his classmates and told he would be a surface warfare officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told the ROTC commanding officer I didn\u2019t want to be a surface warfare officer,\u201d recalled Winter. \u201cHis reply was \u2018Welcome to the Navy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Following his active duty, he worked for American President Lines before deciding to go to law school to become an admiralty attorney. \u201cI\u2019d gone to a maritime academy, I had a license, I\u2019d worked for a shipping company, and I had a law degree. I was able to use that to get a job working at a maritime law firm in New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter was in the Navy Reserve when he received the chance to work with the Civil Maritime Industry Group,<\/p>\n

…Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions\/480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}