The United States Merchant Marine refers to either United States civilian mariners, or to U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States.
 The Merchant Marine primarily transports cargo and passengers during peacetime; in times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military.
 Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as military officers by the Department of Defense.
 This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the Naval Reserves.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (also known as USMMA or Kings Point) is one of the five United States service academies, located in Kings Point, New York.
 It is charged with training officers for the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, and the transportation industry.
 Midshipmen (as students at the Academy are called) are trained in marine engineering, navigation, ship's administration, maritime law, personnel management, international law, customs, and many other subjects important to the task of running a large ship.
Rear Admiral Thomas T. Matteson (born June 15, 1935) was appointed Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1993 and served in that position until his retirement in August 1998.
 Matteson had served as superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy from June 1989, prior to taking over as superintendent of the Merchant Marine Academy.
The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936.
 The mission of the organization is to train people to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the United States Merchant Marine per Title 46 U.S. Code 51701.
 Heavily utilized during World War II, the USMS has since been largely dissolved and/or absorbed into other federal departments, but its commissioned officers continue to function as administrators and instructors at the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the several maritime academies.
Earl M. Brown, Jr. (October 23, 1915 – September 23, 2003) was an American football and basketball player and coach.
 He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College (1943–1944), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1945), Canisius College (1946–1947), and Auburn University (1948–1950), compiling a career college football record of 27–36–6.
 Brown was also the head basketball coach at Harvard University (1941–1943), Dartmouth (1943–1944), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1945–1946), and Canisius (1946–1948), tallying a career college basketball mark of 72–70.
 He led Dartmouth to the finals of the 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
Joseph D. Stewart, also known affectionately by the midshipmen of the United States Merchant Marine Academy as "Joey D," (born July 9, 1942) is a retired United States Marine Corps major general, who after his retirement from the Marine Corps, was appointed as Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) on August 1, 1998.
 He retired from the U.S. Maritime Service with the rank of vice admiral on September 30, 2008.
Allen B. Worley of Roanoke, Virginia, Captain (USN), Rear Admiral (USMS), was the tenth Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, New York.
 Retired career U.S. Navy and a 1974 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Worley was Superintendent of the Texas Maritime Academy, one of the United States' six state maritime academies prior to his being appointed Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 2008.
 In addition to his Naval Academy BS degree in physics, Webster University awarded him a MA degree in business administration and personnel management, and the United States Naval War College awarded him a MA degree in national security and strategic studies.
 Admiral Worley resigned from his position as Superintendent of the USMMA in 2009, effective January 4, 2010, serving as the Academy’s Superintendent for just over a year.
The Merchant Marine Reserve, founded in 1913 as the Naval Auxiliary Reserve consists of members of the United States Merchant Marine who are also members of the United States Navy.
 Officers in the Merchant Marine Reserve are entitled to wear the Navy Reserve Merchant Marine Insignia.
Dr. James A. Helis, Rear Admiral (United States Maritime Service), is the twelfth Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
 A 1979 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and a decorated Afghanistan War veteran, Helis served thirty years in the US Army, retiring at the rank of Colonel (United States Army).
 In 2012, Helis was commissioned a United States Maritime Service Rear Admiral and appointed Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy by US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
 Helis served his last eight years with the U.S. Army as an academic, culminating as Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
 Helis earned a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Military Affairs from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and a Doctor of Philosophy in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
 An airborne United States Army Ranger, Helis was awarded the Army Master Parachutist Badge.
 Helis and his wife Jan have two sons, Dr. Corbin Helis, a physician and West Point graduate, and Ian Helis.
Captain James Harvey Tomb (September 2, 1876 – September 23, 1946) served as Superintendent of the New York State Merchant Marine Academy and was appointed the first Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy on April 15, 1942.

Question: What was James Harvey Tomb appointed as at the United States Merchant Marine Academy?
Answer: Superintendent