While the U.S. Navy deep-sixed occupational ratings for enlisted sailors earlier this year — many of which ended in “-man” — the U.S. Naval Academy confirmed this week that the title “midshipman” is not going anywhere.
Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Ted Carter said that Academy officials had only “very briefly” discussing renaming the midshipmen something else, the Annapolis Capital reported Thursday.
Like the term “seaman,” which will remain the proper form of address for the lowest-rated enlisted sailors, “midshipman” is considered a rank and the title thus acceptable, regardless of gender.
The term, which dates back to the Annapolis institution’s founding in 1845, was originally was used for those who worked or slept in the amidships, or the central area of the ship, The Capital reported.
The three other U.S. service academies, including the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., refer to their officer candidates as “cadets.”
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