R 161350Z AUG 19
MARADMIN 448/19
MSGID/GENADMIN/CG TECOM QUANTICO VA//
SUBJ/ACADEMIC YEAR (AY) 2020-2021 SCHOOL OF ADVANCED WARFIGHTING APPLICATION MESSAGE//
POC/MS. MELISSA CALLOWAY/PROGRAM MANAGEMEMENT SPECIALIST /SAW/MCU/TEL: (703) 784-6800/DSN 278 EMAIL: MELISSA.CALLOWAY@USMCU.EDU//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Situation.  The School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) is an Advanced Intermediate Level School (A-ILS) that produces officers qualified to fill high-impact service and joint planning billets.  The program enhances officers abilities to derive critical insights from large quantities of information, make timely and effective decisions, communicate succinctly both verbally and in writing, and collaborate to produce cogent orders.  The curriculum features rigorous case studies, multiple planning exercises, extensive staff rides, and a consideration of future war.  Marine SAW graduates earn the secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 0505 Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) planner and a Masters Degree in Operational Studies.  Graduates have a strong record of selection for promotion and command based on their well-developed capability to reason critically, solve complex problems, and apply operational art.
2.  Mission.  From 23 Sep – 15 Nov 19, Marine Corps University (MCU) will convene a selection board to select the best qualified applicants for Academic Year 2020-2021 (AY 20-21) in order to ensure the Marine Corps is supported with highly capable and effective MAGTF Planners.
3.  Execution
3.A.  Commanders intent.  Educate high-caliber officers who will serve as staff planners in key billets throughout the operating forces and supporting establishments.  Based on the nature of the applicant pool this selection process will look at two groups.  The first group is Marines that will be applying to one of the four service schools and the second group will be those sister-service and international military officers interested in attending SAW.  The end state is an A-ILS AY 20-21 student body comprised of officers who demonstrate the character, competence, and creativity to excel as planners, staff officers, and future commanders.
3.B.  Concept of operations
3.B.1.  Officers meeting the admissions criteria will, in accordance with this message, accomplish the following:  (1) submit an email stating intent to apply, (2) submit all application materials, and (3) participate in a SAW selection panel interview.  Selected applicants and alternates will be screened for eligibility, notified by MARADMIN, and issued orders to attend SAW.
3.B.2.  Officers selected by the Commandants Professional Intermediate Level Education Board (CPIB) and selected by the SAW selection panel will execute orders to SAW.
3.C.  General eligibility guidelines
3.C.1.  Unrestricted officers from all MOS fields who are majors, major selects at the time of application, and those in zone for the Fiscal Year 2021 FY21 Lieutenant Colonel Promotion Selection Board.
3.C.2.  Security Clearance:  For United States (U.S.) officers, a SECRET clearance that will not expire during the AY, and must be Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) eligible.  U.S. Marine Corps officers will be required to have or initiated a TS-SCI clearance before AY 20-21 school year begins.
3.C.3.  Officers who have fulfilled an obligated payback tour for a previously attended CPIB program are eligible to attend SAW.
3.C.4.  All applicants from all U.S. services, Department of Defense, and Interagency organizations must be Intermediate Level School (ILS), or Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) complete or currently enrolled in good standing and projected to complete resident/non-resident ILS/IDE requirements no later than (NLT) 7 Jun 20.  Failure to complete ILS (resident or non-resident) will terminate eligibility.
3.C.5.  International officers from non-English speaking countries must have graduate-level capability to comprehend, read, speak, and write English (Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):  83 on the internet based test or 560 on the paper based test).  The TOEFL score must be included on the application under the civilian education section.
3.C.6.  International officers must hold a qualifying undergraduate degree (U.S. regionally or nationally accredited bachelors degree or equivalent).  U.S. Officers with international degrees should contact MCU Registrar office for special instructions.  Registrar point of contact (POC) is mcu_registrar@usmcu.edu, (703) 432-5503, DSN 278-5503.
3.D.  The following are not eligible for consideration.
3.D.1.  Marine Officers who have not satisfied time on station requirements and are not eligible to execute PCS orders during the summer of 2020.  Marine officers who are not summer of 2020 movers shall contact their primary MOS monitor to determine eligibility for PCS orders and submit an Administrative Action (AA) form to request a tour length waiver.  Officers should not delay completion or submission of their application while awaiting AA decision.
3.D.2.  Officers who have not fulfilled an obligated payback tour for a previously attended program.
3.D.3.  Captains who are in zone for the FY21 Majors Selection Board.
3.D.4.  Officers may not be a lieutenant colonel or lieutenant colonel (select) at the time of application.  If the applicant is in-zone for lieutenant colonel at the time of application and fails to be selected, their SAW eligibility is terminated.
3.D.5.  Selected Marine Corps Reserve, Individual Ready Reserve, Active Reserve, Joint Service Reserve, and National Guard officers are not eligible.
3.D.6.  Officers selected to assume command of a recruiting station during FY20 are not eligible to apply.
3.E.  Application and Selection process
3.E.1.  NLT 6 Sep 19, applicants will send an intent to apply via email to:  the SAW organizational mailbox, mcu_saw_applications@usmcu.edu, SAW Program Specialist, melissa.calloway@usmcu.edu and SAW Operations NCO, alissa.zarate@usmcu.edu.  Subject line should read LAST NAME, F.M. - INTENT TO APPLY.
3.E.1.A.  In the body of the email, provide first name, middle initial, last name, rank, branch of service, military email, personal email, and personal and work contact phone numbers.  Applicants will be sent a reply email with a link to application instructions, forms, and the essay prompt.  This information must be completed NLT 17 Sep 19.  If reply email is not received within 48 hours, contact the SAW POC via phone or email.
3.E.2.  Marine officers attending Joint Service Resident Professional Military Education at Newport, Fort Leavenworth, and Maxwell Air Force Base may apply for SAW.  However, Marine officers at joint service schools who desire to attend SAW are highly encouraged to apply to all other year-long Advanced Intermediate Level Schools (i.e., School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) or School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS)).  Likewise, Marine officers in the National Capital Region who desire to attend SAMS or SAASS should also apply to SAW.  Applications that do not conform to this guidance will be considered on a case-by-case basis with coordination between Marines chain of command to CMC (MMOA) and the SAW selection panel.
3.E.3.  Eligible and competitive applicants will be contacted to schedule an individual panel interview between 23 Sep and 15 Nov.
19.  In-person interviews for out-of-area applicants are not required.  Applicants outside the Washington, District of Columbia area who cannot make an in-person interview will be scheduled to conduct a video teleconference (VTC) or phone interview.  Out-of-area applicants who prefer a face-to-face interview in Quantico will be responsible for travel, lodging, and incidental costs.  Temporary additional duty solely to conduct the interview is highly discouraged.
3.E.4.  Between 15 Nov and early Dec 19, SAW will ensure selected students are approved for attendance by their respective service or nation.  Nominated international officers are invited through the International Military Education and Training office, which in turn coordinates with the officers military assignment staff.  Once approved, selection results will be announced via separate MARADMIN with a goal for release of the selection message in Dec 19.
3.E.5.  Follow-on assignments.  MOS 0505 MAGTF Planners are a low density, high-demand specialty that fill critical billets.  Officers performing utilization tours after A-ILS graduation will receive 36 month assignments and should expect to serve at least 24 months before subsequent assignments.  Requests to leave a utilization assignment early will be routed through the first general officer in the MMOA for adjudication.
3.F.  Coordinating instructions
3.F.1.  Website problems should be reported to SAW POC, Ms. Melissa Calloway.
3.F.2.  Deadline for all applications is 11 Sep 19.
3.F.3.  Interview information
3.F.3.A.  Interview dates for SAW selection:  23 Sep - 15 Nov 19.
3.F.3.B.  Interview location:  Warner Center, Bldg. 2044, Suite 2122, South Street, Quantico, VA 22134.  No on-site interviews will be conducted at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Naval War College, or Air Command and Staff College.  Joint service applicants from these sites will conduct VTC or phone interviews.  Marine POCs at the above locations, listed in paragraph 5, will assist in the scheduling of VTC interviews.
3.F.3.C.  SAW will coordinate with MMOA and sister service personnel branches to ensure selected primary and alternate applicants are endorsed by their services prior to official notification of selection.
4.  Administration and logistics
4.A.  If interested in applying to the United States Army SAMS, contact Mrs. Anna White, commercial (comm) (913) 758-3300/DSN 585-3300 or anna.e.white.civ@mail.mil.  Alternate is Lieutenant Colonel John Knutson, USMC, comm (913) 684-4552/DSN 552-4552 or john.d.knutson2.mil@mail.mil.
4.B.  If interested in applying to the United States Air Force SAASS, contact Ms. Sheila McKitt, comm (334) 953-5155/DSN 493-5155 or sheila.mckitt@us.af.mil.
4.C.  If interested in applying to United States Navy MAWS, contact Colonel Rob Gardner, USMC (RET), comm (401) 841-2534/DSN 841-4862, or robert.gardner@usnwc.edu.
5.  Command and signal
5.A.  POCs at SAW:
5.A.1.  SAW Deputy Director:  Lieutenant Colonel W. W. Johnson, USMC, comm (703) 784-6890/DSN 278-6890 or william.johnson@usmcu.edu.
5.A.2.  SAW Program Management Specialist:  Ms. Melissa Calloway, comm (703) 784-6800/DSN 278-6800 or melissa.calloway@usmcu.edu.
5.A.3.  SAW Administrative Non-Commissioned Officer:  Lance Corporal A. Zarate, comm (703) 432-5420/DSN 378-5420 or alissa.zarate@usmcu.edu.
5.B.  POC at Naval War College:  Colonel Todd Oneto, USMC, comm (401) 841-4862/DSN 948-4862 or todd.oneto@usnwc.edu, alternate is Colonel Rob Gardner, USMC (RET), comm (401) 841-2534/DSN 841-4862 or robert.gardner@usnwc.edu.
5.C.  POC at Army Command and General Staff College is Lieutenant Colonel John Knutson, USMC, comm (913) 684-4552/DSN 552-4552 or john.d.knutson2.mil@mail.mil. 
6.  Release authorized by Major General, William F. Mullen III, Commanding General, Training and Education Command.//