CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa, Japan --
Marines who want to reenlist will find they need to excel above their peers more than ever after a Marine administrative message regarding new reenlistment procedures was released May 11.
MARADMIN 273/11 specifies that the Marines who retain Marine Occupational Specialty “boat spaces” should be the most qualified instead of “first to volunteer.”
“Due to the Marine Corps’ high tempo, we want to keep the most qualified top notch Marines,” said Master Sgt. Stuart Morvant, career retention specialist for 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “The Marine Corps is losing quality Marines with the first-come, first-serve submissions due to deployments.”
New considerations for potential reenlistments have been made which include expanding the reenlistment submission timeframe, more thorough evaluations by commanders and offering lateral moves to highly technical MOSs to qualified candidates. In addition, commanding generals can request reenlistment approval from Headquarters Marine Corps for qualified Marines after available spaces have been filled.
“The Marine Corps is responsible for ensuring that Marines are led by the best Marines our Corps can provide,” stated the MARADMIN, which was approved by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. “To that end, the reenlistment process is amended to assist leaders in identifying those Marines who have excelled in relation to their peers and provide for higher competition in reenlisting.”
Marines are now given 90 days to apply for reenlistment, from July 1-Sept. 30. Afterward, Headquarters Marine Corps will commence boards to determine the most qualified for fast-filling MOSs.
The new system breaks Marines into four tiers to determine the most qualified for retention.
Tier one Marines are eminently qualified. They do superior work in all duties; even extremely difficult and unusual tasks are assigned with confidence that they will be completed competently. These Marines also demonstrate positive effects on others by example and persuasion.
Tier two Marines are highly competitive. They do excellent work in regular duties but need assistance in dealing with extremely difficult tasks or unusual assignments. They demonstrate reliability, good influence, sobriety, obedience and industry.
Tier three Marines are competitive. They can be depended upon to complete regular duties but usually needs assistance in dealing with problems that aren’t routine.
Finally, Tier four Marines are below average and may not meet the minimum standards.
Highly-qualified Marines are offered a greater opportunity to execute a lateral move into high-demand/low-density jobs.
“HQMC has always offered lateral moves to highly-qualified Marines,” said Sgt. Thomas Regan, career retention specialist for Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. “Traditionally, there are a few (Military Occupational Specialties) that are identified as high demand, low density MOSs, meaning that there are not enough people to meet the demand. This year, Marines qualifying for these MOSs will be identified in advance to help the Marine Corps better staff those crucial billets.”
Morvant advises Marines wanting to reenlist for fiscal year 2012 to see their career planners as soon as possible.