R 011946Z NOV 18
MARADMIN 626/18
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM//
SUBJ/ACADEMIC YEAR (AY) 19-20 TOP LEVEL SCHOOL (TLS) SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT//
REF/A/MSGID:DOC/CMC WASHINGTON/YMD:20140918//
REF/B/MSGID:DOC/CMC/YMD:20080125//
REF/C/MSGID:MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC/112035Z DEC 08//
REF/D/MSGID:MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC/141427Z OCT 16//
REF/E/MSGID:MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC/012059Z MAR 16//
NARR/REF A IS MCO 1300.8, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY.  REF B IS MCO 1553.4B, PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION.  REF C IS MARADMIN 703/08, OFFICER PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION (PME) SUMMARY.  REF D IS MARADMIN 548/16, OFFICIAL MILITARY PERSONNEL FILE (OMPF) GUIDANCE.  REF E IS MARADMIN 115/16, CALENDAR YEAR OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ACTIVE DUTY MAJORS, LIEUTENANT COLONELS, AND COLONELS.//
POC/J.J. MCCAFFREY/MAJ/MMOA-3/-/TEL:DSN 278-9284 EMAIL:JOSEPH.J.MCCAFFREY@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Purpose.  To announce the eligibility criteria and publish the available Top Level Schools (TLS) and Fellowships during AY 19-20.  Per the references, the TLS board will meet on or about 4 Dec 18 for approximately three weeks to select officers to attend the schools and fellowships listed in paragraphs 3 and 4. The board will consist of general officers and colonels.  A sufficient number of primaries and alternates will be selected to fill the requirements from the eligible population.
2.  Eligibility
2.a.  Eligibility Criteria:
2.a.1.  Lieutenant colonels and lieutenant colonels (sel) who have 24 months TOS (CONUS and OCONUS) by 31 Jul 19.  For officers who are selected to attend or are attending the Special Education Program, this TOS requirement applies to their utilization tour.
2.a.2.  Officers selected by the CY18/FY20 Colonel Promotion Board who have not yet attended TLS.  The only TOS requirement for colonels (sel) are Joint and Acquisition assignment restrictions.
2.a.3. Officers serving in Joint and Acquisition tours are eligible for selection at 24 months TOS (by 31 Jul 19).  These officers should contact their monitor with questions regarding eligibility.
2.a.4. Lieutenant colonels slated to command or currently in command of an organization identified in the Command Screening Program who have completed a command tour by 31 Jul 19.
2.b.  Ineligibility Criteria:
2.b.1.  Colonels (sel) who were selected to colonel on the CY17/FY19 or earlier Colonel Selection Boards except for Senior CMC Fellowships and specific Executive Level Foreign PME location.
2.b.2.  Lieutenant colonels passed for promotion to colonel on the FY20 or earlier Colonel Selection Boards.
2.b.3.  Lieutenant colonels at or having attended TLS.
2.b.4.  Majors in zone for lieutenant colonel on the FY20 board.
2.b.5.  Restricted-Limited duty officers.
2.b.6.  Officers attending or selected to attend Intermediate Level School (ILS) or Advanced ILS follow on schools: School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), or Maritime Advanced Warfighting School (MAWS).
2.b.7.  Officers with approved retirements or resignations.
2.c.  Prior to the board convening, otherwise eligible officers who wish not to be screened for TLS are required to indicate this on the online questionnaire (see paragraph 6.a.2) and send an email to their PMOS monitor requesting to be Removed by Request (RBR).  Once the board is in session, officers who desire not to be screened must request in writing to the board president not to be considered for TLS and indicate the reason in their letter.  Officers will be removed from TLS consideration without prejudice.  This correspondence will not be placed in an officers OMPF.
3.  Department of Defense (DoD) schools to which selections will be made on the AY 19-20 TLS board are listed below.  Schools, quotas, and convening dates are subject to change.  Officers who complete one of the following DOD schools will obtain JPME Phase II credit.
COURSE TITLE                                QUOTA  CONVENES  GRAD
Adv. Strategic Leadership Study Program     1      Jun 19    Jun 20
(Note 1)
Air War College                             8      Jul 19    Jun 20
Army War College                            14     Jul 19    Jun 20
College of Naval Warfare                    16     Jul 19    Jun 20
College of International Security Affairs   1      Jul 19    Jun 20
Eisenhower School (Note 2)                  13     Jul 19    Jun 20
College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC) 2      Jul 19    Jun 20
Joint Advanced Warfighting School           2      Jul 19    Jun 20
(Note 3)
Marine Corps War College                    11     Jul 19    Jun 20
National War College                        14     Jul 19    Jun 20
(Note 1) Followed by 1 year assignment at Ft Leavenworth as a seminar leader.
(Note 2) Two students with an acquisition background (PMOS 8059/61) will be identified to participate in the acquisition curriculum.  (Note 3) Followed by immediate assignment to designated billets on the Joint Duty Assignment List (JDAL) as detailed in the annual NDU Size and Composition Plan.
4.  Foreign senior service colleges and fellowships to which selections will be made are listed below.  Officers interested in a foreign, non-English speaking service school must take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) and have it included in their record or have an established DLPT score on record for the target language.  Minimum DLAB scores to attend language training are 100 and 110 for level IV languages (e.g., Japanese, Mandarin, etc.).  Officers completing a foreign PME assignment receive service TLS credit and JPME Phase I credit except as noted.  Fellowships grant service TLS PME credit only.
COURSE TITLE                                QUOTA  CONVENES  GRAD
Inter-American Defense College (Ft McNair)  1      Jul 20    Jun 21
    (Note 4)
Israeli National Defense College (Note 5)   1      Jun 19    Jul 20
Japanese National Institute for Defense     1      Aug 21    Jun 22
    Studies (Note 6)
NATO Defense College (Rome, Italy)
    1st Session                             1      Sep 19    Feb 20
    2nd Session                             1      Feb 20    Jul 20
Dept of Homeland Security (Wash DC)         1      Jul 19    Jun 20
Dept of Justice (Wash DC, Note 7)           1      Jul 19    Jun 20
U.S. Institute of Peace (Wash DC)           1      Jul 19    Jul 20
Dept of State (Wash DC)                     1      Jul 19    Jun 20
Hoover Institution (Stanford)               1      Jul 19    Jun 20
International Security Studies              1      Jul 19    Jun 20
Program (Yale)
JFK School of Government (Harvard)          1      Jul 19    Jun 20
Logistics Fellowship (Penn State, Note 8)   1      Jul 19    Jun 20
School of Advanced International            1      Jul 19    Jun 20
    Studies (Johns Hopkins)
SECDEF Executive Fellowship (Note 9)        2      Jun 19    Jun 20
Security Studies Program (MIT)              1      Jul 19    Jun 20
MIT Tech/Cyber (Lincoln Labs)               1      Jul 19    Jun 20
United States Agency for                    1      Jul 19    Jun 20
International Development (Wash DC)
 (Note 4) Language training if required (approx. Sep 19-Jun 20, Wash DC).  JPME I credit upon completion.
 (Note 5) No language training required.
 (Note 6) Language training (Mar 20–Jun 21, Monterey CA).
 (Note 7) Only open to PMOS 4402.
 (Note 8) Only open to PMOS 0402 and 3002.
 (Note 9) Corporation/company/location determined following selection.
5.  Executive (colonel) level Foreign PME students to attend the India National  Defence University (Dec 19-Dec 20) and the United Kingdoms Royal College of Defence Studies (Aug 19-Jun 20) will be independently assigned.  Senior CMC Fellows to attend the Brookings Institution, Atlantic Council, Center for a New American Security, and Center for Strategic and International Studies (Wash DC, Jul 19-Jun 20) will be selected from those officers who are TLS Graduates and assigned by MMOA.  Officers desiring consideration for these assignments should contact their monitors.
6.  Board Communication and Update Material
6.a.  Online Questionnaire
6.a.1.  The online questionnaire is the primary mechanism for officers to communicate with the board.  Such communication may call attention to any matter the officer considers important, including preferences for school.  Officers electing to remove their name from consideration shall complete the applicable portions of the online questionnaire and notify their PMOS monitor via email.
6.a.2. The TLS questionnaire is accessed through the max.gov website at https:(slash)(slash)survey.max.gov/458917.  CAC certification is not required to access the site.  Additionally, officers are highly encouraged to submit all additional material electronically through the questionnaire.  Instructions on how to upload material are included on the questionnaire.
6.a.3.  The questionnaire will open upon release of this message and will close at 2359 EST on 28 Nov 18 to ensure all material is submitted to the board in a timely manner.  For questions concerning questionnaire eligibility or functionality, contact this MARADMINs POC.
6.b.  Update material.  If unable to upload additional material through the questionnaire, all correspondence to the board must originate from or be endorsed by the eligible officer.  All correspondence addressed to the board including enclosures is destroyed upon completion of the board.  All correspondence must be received before 28 Nov 18 and sent to:
      Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
      Manpower and Reserve Affairs (MMOA-3)
      Attn: AY 19-20 TLS Board
      3280 Russell Road
      Quantico, VA 22134-5103
SMB Email address:  smbmanpowerofficerpr@usmc.mil.  Email is strongly preferred.
6.c.  Photographs.  Officers have a personal responsibility to ensure their photographs are submitted and received by the board.  To parallel officer promotion board and command screening board requirements, an official photograph is required to be submitted for the TLS board.  Digital photographs are to be electronically filed in the OMPF per references (d) and (e).  Officers who submit digital photographs to the OMPF may confirm receipt of the digital photograph by contacting MMRP-60 and by verifying OMPF inclusion in Marine Online under the "My OMPF" tab.  All photographs must be dated within one year of the convening date of the board.  If electronic transmission of digital photographs is not possible, officers must submit a hard-copy photograph to the board.  6.d.  Fitness reports.  Completed fitness reports must be submitted to MMRP-32 for inclusion into the OMPF via A-PES.  Incomplete fitness reports will not be accepted if forwarded to the board.
6.e.  Deferrals.  Historically, the TLS board has selected a small number of officers who have subsequently been unable to attend school due to operational commitments.  On rare occasions, some officers may be slated to off-cycle TLS slots.  However, off-cycle TLS opportunities are extremely limited.  If a known operational commitment will preclude an officer from beginning the academic year (Jul 19), that information should be identified on the questionnaire.  Additionally, those officers should strongly consider requesting not to screen by removing their name by request (RBR).
6.f.  Declinations.  The TLS results MARADMIN is considered to be official notification of orders.  Officers selected for TLS by the board who subsequently decline the opportunity to attend are required to submit their declination in writing with chain of command endorsement to include the first general officer to CMC via MMOA-3.  The declination letter will become part of the officers OMPF.  Alternates fleeted up to fill vacated TLS quotas are also required to formally decline via the procedure described above if they decline the opportunity to attend school.
7.  Points of Contact
10. CMC (MMOA) points of contact are:
Col L. W. Suttee, MMOA Branch Head
  DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300
  Email: leland.suttee@usmc.mil
Col M. E. Van Skike, Aviation Col Monitor
  DSN: 278-9300 Comm: (703) 784-9300
  Email: mark.vanskike@usmc.mil
Col M. T. Good, Ground Col Monitor
  DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300
  Email: matt.good@usmc.mil
LtCol C. M. Murray, Aviation LtCol Monitor
  DSN: 278-9267 Comm: (703) 784-9267
  Email: christopher.m.murray@usmc.mil
Maj J. J. Onuska, Deputy Aviation LtCol Monitor
  DSN: 278-9267 Comm (703) 784-9267
  Email: joshua.onuska@usmc.mil
LtCol R. H. Pitchford, Ground LtCol Monitor
  DSN: 278-9279 Comm: (703) 784-9279
  Email: richard.pitchford@usmc.mil
Maj R. C. Anness, Deputy Ground LtCol Monitor
  DSN: 278-9279 Comm: (703) 784-9279
  Email: ryan.anness@usmc.mil
LtCol M. D. Nicholson, Head, MMOA-3 Plans and Programs
  DSN: 278-9284, COMM: (703) 784-9284
  email: mark.nicholson@usmc.mil
Maj J. J. McCaffrey, Plans Officer, MMOA-3
  DSN: 278-9284, COMM: (703) 784-9284
  email: joseph.j.mccaffrey@usmc.mil
Mr. M. G. Cooper, CMC Fellowships/Foreign PME MCU
  DSN: 378-0696, COMM: (703) 432-0696
  email: michael.cooper@usmcu.edu
11. This MARADMIN is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve.
12. Release authorized by MajGen Craig C. Crenshaw, Director, Manpower Management Division.//