Superintendent of USMMA, a graduate of the academy, to retire

The superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy will retire in June after a 45-year maritime career, even as the Kings Point school struggles to combat continued allegations of sexual misconduct.

Vice Adm. Jack Buono, a 1978 USMMA graduate, announced his retirement last week. He will relinquish command after the academy's June 18 graduation, said USMMA spokesman George Rhynedance. No successor has been named.

In a statement, Buono called serving as the 13th superintendent of the MMA "the honor of a lifetime. The young women and men who come here are truly the best and brightest America has to offer. I am amazed at their resilience and perseverance, and know the future of the maritime industry is in good hands with them at the wheel."

Buono arrived at USMMA in November 2018, after retiring as president and chief executive of SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., an ExxonMobil marine subsidiary headquartered in Houston.

Born in Brooklyn, Buono and his family moved to Westbury when he was a child. He is a graduate of W.T. Clarke High School in the East Meadow school district.

During his tenure as superintendent, Buono led the academy through the COVID-19 pandemic, graduating two classes, increased the focus on the academy's aging infrastructure and implementated a five-year strategic plan for the school.

In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg thanked Buono for his "deep commitment" and for leading the academy through "this period of unprecedented challenge."

Polly Trottenberg, Transportation's deputy secretary, said "we have already begun the search for a new superintendent, and look forward to continuing our work together to usher in a new chapter in this institution's proud history of service and leadership."

During his 2018 change of command ceremony, Buono pledged to bring cultural change to the USMMA, which was the first federal service academy in the country to admit women.

"Leadership is about helping your shipmates stand taller than yourself," he said at the time. "And any act of disrespect toward a shipmate is an act of disrespect toward the regiment."

But the academy, which trains personnel to be midshipmen working on deep-sea vessels and in the military, has continued to face allegations of sexual assault and harassment in its ranks.

In October, a female cadet and a member of the 2022 class, alleged on an maritime whistleblower website that she was sexually assaulted by an engineering supervisor 40 years her senior while aboard a commercial ship in the Middle East. The victim wrote that she was 19 at the time of the rape, which took place during Sea Year, a period when midshipmen complete more than 300 days of work on commercial vessels in international waters.

In November, the academy suspended the Sea Year program for the second time in five years.

In 2016, reports of sexual misconduct forced the temporary suspension of Sea Year, although the program resumed the following year after the USMMA implemented a new "zero tolerance" policy for sexual assault and harassment along with new training procedures.

Rhynedance said Buono's departure is unrelated to the academy's ongoing issues.

"This was a personal decision to retire," he said.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.