Lance corporals and corporals who work in hyper-competitive jobs that are slow to promote  where picking up rank is a near impossibility can pick up rank quickly by making earn an instant promotion if they are willing to make a lateral move into one of 10 in-demand specialties — including one in the infantry.

The incentive is part of the Marine Corps'

Eligible MOSs are the same as last year with one notable addition: 0365 infantry squad leader. The MOS was created in March as part of an initiative by Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford to retain squad leaders in their units and prevent the loss of their hard-won experience earned during years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as the service draws down to during the manpower drawdown set to end in 2017 with 182,000 Marines in 2017.

Other specialties eligible for non-competitive promotions with a lat-move include:

  • 0211 counter intelligence/human intelligence specialist
  • 0241 imagery analysis specialist
  • 0372 critical skills operator
  • 0689 cyber security technician
  • 2336 explosive ordnance disposal technician
  • 3044 contract specialist
  • 4133 morale, welfare, recreation specialist
  • 4821 career retention specialist
  • 5821 criminal investigator CID agent

Those are in-demand jobs the service has struggled to keep stocked because of difficult schools, challenging duties and competition from the civilian job market. Most start eligibility at the grade of sergeant with the exception of counter intelligence/human intelligence specialists and infantry squad leader, which start at corporal.

To qualify, Marines must be current on all required professional military education. They must also meet time-in-service and time-in-grade requirements before they can be non-competitively promoted. Most first-term Marines up for re-enlistment are likely to meet time-in-service requirements, but they may have to wait to pin on rank if they don’t yet meet time-in-grade requirements. For a lance corporal to make corporal he must have eight months at his current rank and to be promoted to sergeant, a corporal must have 12 months in his current rank.

In some cases, Marines must also meet specific MOS eligibility. Counter intelligence/human intelligence specialists must be U.S. citizens able to obtain top-secret security clearance, for example, and infantry squad leaders must come from one of five infantry MOSs including infantryman, machine gunner, mortarman, infantry assaultman and anti-tank missileman.

Once promoted, Marines immediately receive pay and other benefits commensurate with their new rank. However, they will be administratively reduced to their previous rank if they fail to successfully complete the required MOS school. That's important to bear in mind when considering particularly difficult schools with high washout rates for operators and intel Marines.

For additional details on how to apply, refer to Marine administrative message 386/15the MARADMIN available online.

Share:
In Other News
Load More