U.S.M.C. Staff
Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO) Selection Board Prep
Don't Procrastinate!
The selection boards are conducted annually during the same timeframe
each year and should not be a surprise to any sergeant or SNCO. Marines,
with the assistance of their commanders, are responsible for the accuracy
and completeness of their OMPF. Waiting until the convening MARADMIN
is published to determine your eligibility is too late to begin preparing
for a selection board.
Ensuring the accuracy of your official records should be a continuous
process
Each SNCO selection board finds incomplete/inaccurate records on Marines
eligible for selection to the next higher grade. (i.e.: missing fitness
reports, unreadable information, erroneous information, etc.) If you
try to request remedial promotion consideration due to missing or
inaccurate information contained in their Official Military Personnel
File (OMPF) or the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) Subsequent
to the adjournment a selection board, IT'S TOO LATE!
Complete your required Professional Military Education. The PME
certificate must be dated prior to the convening date of the selection
board. Those Marines who have not completed their required PME are
considered less than fully qualified for promotion.
The
selection boards are conducted annually
Pre-Board setup:
The Marine Corps begins retrieving the eligible population, based
on the data contained in MCTFS, approximately 60 days (USMC) and
90 days (USMCR) prior to the convening date of the selection board.
If your MCTFS data is incorrect and will not/can not be corrected
60 days/90 days prior to the convening date of the selection board,
you should submit the correct information to the board as update
material.
Know the information:
It's important to carefully review all of the following:
Enlisted Promotion Manual [MCO P1400.32C] - Chapter 1 and 3:
Review this to ensure you are up-to-date on the latest procedures
and regulations concerning Enlisted Promotions.
Enlisted Promotion Board Schedules: Although the convening
dates for boards are usually constant from year to year, there are
no guarantees. Don't miss your board because you assumed it was
going to be held the same time as last year.
Convening Message: This message formally announces the convening
of the board, along with the allocations and zones. It is released
approximately 30 days prior to the board. This message will contain
specific guidance about the board, so it's important to read it
all.
Contact Enlisted Career Counseling - [MMEA-64].
Read the Enlisted Career Force Control maradmin.
Review your OMPF and MBS within 12 months of the board: Review
your OMPF and MBS early enough that you have time to correct any
problems that you discover. In some cases, the RS or RO from years
ago need to be located to get a copy of a missing fitness report.
Current instructions on how to order your OMPF and MBS can be obtained
at the Personnel Management Support Branch (MMSB)website.
Realize that the OMPF and MBS are two separate documents and are
not linked. It is possible for a fitness report to be listed on
the MBS but, not be in the OMPF, and vice versa. Carefully review
both for accuracy.
What to look for in the OMPF: Are all fitness reports present and readable? If not, contact
MMSB to correct the OMPF and send a "certified true copy" directly
to MMSB for resubmission to OMPF.
Are your awards and schools documented in your "C" fiche?
A copy of your award, school certificate, MCI, etc... should be
in your OMPF.
Review your OMPF for accuracy, completeness and readability.
MCO P1070.12J (Individual Records Administration Manual) and MCO
P1610.7E (Performance Evaluation System) will assist you in determining
the documents that should be filed in your OMPF and instructions
on corrective action.
What to look for in the MBS: Is the header information correct?
(Name, DOR, etc...)
Are the Awards correct? Do the awards and their citations
appear in the OMPF? Corrections to the MBS are made via unit diary
- see your admin section.
Are Your Scores Correct? Ensure your physical fitness score,
rifle range score, pistol score, primary military occupational specialty
or intended military occupational specialty, professional military
education, civilian education, personal awards, armed forces active
duty base date (AFADBD), pay entry base date (PEBD), date of rank
(DOR), Career Retirement Credit Report (CRCR) [USMCR only] is correct.
Communicate with the board: You may communicate with Enlisted
Promotion or the Selection Board in various ways: by e-mail, carrier
mail, fax, or telephone.
Communicate with the board via letter on anything you think is important.
If it is not on your MBS or in your OMPF, then the board DOES NOT
HAVE VISIBILITY TO IT! The MCI you finished last week, you are in
the Exceptional Member Family Program, just PCS'd, etc... will not
be visible to the board. This is the best way to communicate information
that you feel is important directly to the board.
If you are asking other individuals (a third party) to prepare a
letter of recommendation for the board, you must endorse the letter
or forward the letter(s) under a separate cover letter. This process
PROTECTS YOU, the eligible Marine, from having information submitted
to the board without your knowledge. Any correspondence received
without your signature will not be presented to the board for consideration.
Note: These letters must be received not later than 2359 on the
convening date of the selection board.
Send a photo: Submit a SQUARED AWAY photograph to
the selection board regardless of zone. Instructions for the photograph
are contained in MCO P1070.12J (Individual Records Administration
Manual) and MARADMIN 463/01 AND 483/02. If you are unable for some
reason to send a photo, communicate to the board as to why not.
Digital photos must be sent to MMSB at least 2 weeks prior to the
convening date of the board to allow for processing. (Digital photos
are valid for 12 months) (MARADMIN 463/01 and 483/02) Sendhard copy
photos to the President of the board and must be taken within 6
months of the convening date.
If your service "C" uniform is not available due to deployment,
submit a photograph in the most appropriate uniform available.
Although not required, you are strongly encouraged to have your
photograph certified by your CO/XO/SgtMaj/1stSgt if you exceed the
height/weight standards. Include your body fat percentage.
Review the USMC Website before calling: The Enlisted Promotion
Section goes to great lengths to keep their website as current as
possible. Check the Frequently Asked Questions section to see if
the answer to your question is already available. Spread the word
about the site, and send recomendations for improvements.
Things to Remember:
You compete by military occupational specialty [USMC/USMCR(AR)]
and by occupational field [USMCR (SMCR/IRR)]. Your entire record
is reviewed and considered by the selection board.
Above Zone Marines receive full consideration along with the Promotion
Zone Marines.
There is no minimum/maximum allowable number that may be selected
from the Above Zone.
An accelerated fitness report for sergeants and staff sergeants
place a Marine in the Below Zone population, if the Marine is not
already in one of the three eligibility zones.
The Promotion Zone population may be either extended or reduced
during a selection board. Review the select MARADMIN for the zone
and allocation changes that occurred during the selection board.
The Below Zone is normally an estimate of the promotion zone for
next year's selection board. Although the below zone records are
reviewed by the selection board, a maximum of 5% of the allocation
may be selected from the below zone at the president's discretion.
Note: This page is intended to provide basic information for
all enlisted personnel to consider who are currently or will become
eligible for a statutory selection board.
