FISCAL YEAR 2024 ACTIVE AND RESERVE MARINE ATTACHÉ SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT

MARADMINS : 156/22

R 311746Z MAR 22 MARADMIN 156/22 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM// SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2024 ACTIVE AND RESERVE MARINE ATTACHÉ SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT// REF/A/MSGID: DOC/MCO/YMD: 20090709// REF/B/MSGID: DOC/MCO/YMD: 20210510// REF/C/MSGID: DOC/MCO/YMD: 20190215// NARR/REF A IS MCO 3821.2, THE DEFENSE ATTACHÉ SYSTEM (DAS). REF B IS MCO 1300.8 W/CH-1, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY. REF C IS MCO 1900.16 W/CH 2, SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT MANUAL.// POC/M. G. GUARD/MAJ/MMOA-3/TEL: 703-784-9284/EMAIL: MITCHELL.GUARD@USMC.MIL// POC/T. F. WRIGHT/GYSGT/MMEA-25/TEL: 703-432-9473/EMAIL: THOMAS.F.WRIGHT@USMC.MIL// POC/M. R. POPE/CAPT/INTEL DIV/TEL: 703-693-5421/EMAIL: MATTHEW.R.POPE@USMC.MIL// POC/S. A. KOPACH/LTCOL/DCI IMA/EMAIL: STEPHEN.KOPACH@DODIIS.MIL// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. In accordance with the references, this message outlines the active duty and reserve component Marine Corps Attaché (MARA) program, the procedures for consideration for service with the Defense Attaché Service (DAS), and solicits applications for the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) MARA program. Marines are screened based on Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) experience and performance. Marines are slated based on their specific language, regional expertise, and cultural skills. 1.a. Major timeline milestones are below. (Read in three columns) Date Milestone Note Release of this message Eligibility criteria defined 1 1 July 2022 MARA applications submitted 2 16 August 2022 FY24 MARA board convenes 3 30 November 2022 FY24 MARA results released 4 Note 1: Refer to paragraph 3 of this message for additional details regarding eligibility criteria. Note 2: Eligible officers complete all package application requirements by 2359 EST on 1 July 2022. Refer to paragraph 9 of this message for additional details regarding application submission requirements. Note 3: Manpower & Reserve Affairs (M&RA) convenes the FY24 MARA Selection Board on or about 16 August 2022 to select Marines for assignment to MARA program. Refer to paragraph 7 of this message for additional details regarding the available locations. Note 4: At the approval of the Secretary of the Navy, M&RA releases the results of the FY24 MARA Selection Board on or about 30 November 2022. 2. MARA's fill influential, strategic-level positions within the country team of their respective embassies. Depending on the specific billet and country, they serve as the direct representative of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, geographic combatant commanders, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Marines serving as MARAs may also serve as the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT) at particular embassies. SDO/DATTs direct, control, operate, and administer the Defense Attaché Office to which assigned. Attaché duties vary by country, but all personnel will advise the Chief of Mission on military matters and security assistance issues. 3. Eligibility criteria. 3.a. Grade. 3.a.1. Officers must meet the grade criterion (or be in-zone and competitive for promotion to that grade) of the associated duty for which they are applying. HQMC Intelligence Division will consider officers applying outside the grade criteria on a case-by-case basis. 3.a.2. Enlisted Marines in grade of E-5 to E-8. 3.a.3. Marines applying must possess the career timing to serve a full tour of duty (36 months) in the grade of the billet for which they are applying. Requests for exceptions will not normally receive favorable consideration. 3.b. Scheduled mover. 3.b.1. Must be a FY23 mover based upon current prescribed tour length. If selected, Marines will depart their current duty station in FY23 to attend training prior to reporting to their assigned country in FY24. 3.b.2. Officers may request via AA form to screen if they are scheduled to complete their prescribed tour length in FY24 or beyond. Requests must be endorsed by the first O-6 level position in the chain of command and therein acknowledge a potential gap in staffing should the requesting Marine be selected for service with the DAS, and inventory does not support a replacement. 4. Ineligibility criteria. 4.a. Marines with an established separation or retirement date. 4.b. Restricted officers. 4.c. Marines with pending legal action. 4.d. Officers and Marines in receipt of permanent change of station (PCS) or permanent change of assignment (PCA) orders, in accordance with (IAW) references (b) and (c). 4.e. Officers and Marines selected for or currently attending programs that have a designated utilization assignment are ineligible. Examples include, but are not limited to, Commandant’s Education Board, Test Pilot, School of Advanced Warfighting, and Funded Law. 4.f. Naval aviators completing two or more consecutive years in Duties Involving Flying - Denied (DIFDEN) status during FY23 will not normally be screened. These officers may request consideration by contacting their primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) monitor. 4.g. Captains and Majors in the above-zone (AZ) for promotion not selected for continuation are statutorily not eligible to apply. Lieutenant Colonels in the AZ may apply on a case-by-case basis. 4.h. Marines affiliated with the Active Reserve Program. 5. The following requirements apply. 5.a. All applicants (officer and enlisted) must include email correspondence from their PMOS monitor confirming their eligibility for this program. Any application without PMOS monitor confirmation will not be boarded. Service requirements and other manpower considerations may preclude eligibility in accordance with (IAW) ref (b). 5.b. Per references (a) and (b), applicants must have completed a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) or Top Secret (TS) Security Investigation and have Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility to apply. Application to the MARA program is not sufficient justification for an investigation eligibility determination. SSBI/TS requests will not be submitted as part of the MARA application. Officers and Marines selected by the board will be required to either have a current (within the last five years) counterintelligence scope polygraph, or obtain one prior to attending the Joint Military Attaché School (JMAS). For questions regarding clearances, contact USMC SSO at 703-693-6005 or hqmc_sso@usmc.mil. 5.c. Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) are highly desirable qualities but are not prerequisites. 5.d. Families are an important element of the MARA program. Attachés are encouraged to take their families to most assignments. Applicants with dependents enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) are eligible to apply, but may not be able to participate pending availability of required care. 5.e. Foreign-born Marines are not eligible for assignment to the country in which they were born. 5.f. Spouses of applicants must be naturalized US citizens. Applicants will not be eligible for assignment to the country in which the spouse was born. 6. Training. JMAS is conducted over approximately 13 weeks at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC. Marines who successfully complete this training are then available for assignment abroad. Language training is also required or desired for most billets. The length of language training will be based on the language and proficiency level required or desired. Training start dates are dependent upon language training (up to 64 weeks in duration, depending on country assigned), JMAS (13 weeks), and the country to which selected. In some cases, this training may start as early as January 2022. Active duty officers serving as MARAs are administratively controlled by the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA) throughout training and while assigned to their respective countries. 7. Vacancies. The FY24 board will screen for the below positions. This list is subject to change. All are 36-month accompanied tours unless noted otherwise. 7.a. Officers. (Read in four columns) Country Language Rank Notes Cameroon Spanish Maj 24-month tour China Mandarin LtCol Indonesia Indonesian Maj Iraq Arabic Maj 12-month, unaccompanied tour Israel Hebrew Maj Italy Italian Maj Japan Japanese Col Kenya Swahili Maj Liberia English Maj 24-month tour Mexico Spanish Maj Oman Arabic LtCol Peru Spanish Maj Senegal French LtCol South Africa English Maj Taiwan Mandarin LtCol Turkey Turkish Maj 7.b. Enlisted. (Read in three columns) Country Language Notes Armenia Armenian 24-month tour Ethiopia English 24-month tour Jamaica English Oman Arabic 8. Reserve attaché's primary purpose is to augment the DAS utilizing drills and annual training periods, but may also have opportunities to support while on Active Duty Operational Support (ADOS) orders for periods of up to one year. Reserve attaché program selectees will be transferred to the HQMC Intelligence Department’s Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) unit (RUC 88600) prior to the start of the reserve attaché training course. Reserve JMAS runs annually for two weeks beginning in December, and attendance at this course is required prior to filling any assignments abroad. Drill attendance sheets, orders requests, and other administrative requirements associated with this duty will be processed by HQMC Intelligence Department. 8.a. The FY24 board will screen one primary and one alternate reserve component O-4 or O-5 billet, and one primary and one alternate reserve component E-6 or E-7 billet. 8.b. For reserve billets, eligible applicants must belong to one of the following categories of the ready reserve (SMCR, IMA, or IRR) or the active component with a transfer date to the ready reserve before the end of FY22. 8.c. Reserve candidates must have had four satisfactory years of service (50 points minimum each year) during the last five years. 9. Application process. 9.a. All applications will follow guidelines posted to the HQMC Intelligence Division MARA website. Applications must include a command endorsement from the O-6 commander in the applicant’s chain of command. Applicants will list billets in order of preference, although country selections will be based on the needs of the service. Prospective applicants, if selected, must be prepared to serve at any duty station solicited in paragraph 7. 9.b. Application requirements, documents and templates are available at: https:(slash)(slash)www.hqmc.marines.mil/intelligence/intel-ops-pers/defense-attache-program/. 9.b.1. Every document within the application must be a separate file in Portable Digital Format (.pdf) and saved with the naming convention EDIPI_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_MI_RANK_ACTIVE(or reserve)_MOS_ENCLOSURENUMBER_DOCUMENTNAME (e.g. 1234567890_SMITH_JOHN_A_CAPT_RESERVE_0202_ENCL7_FAMILYPHOTO). 9.b.2. The board will not consider incorrect or incomplete packages. 9.b.3. Applications must arrive to HQMC Intelligence Division no later than 2359 Eastern Standard Time on 1 July 2022 to be considered by the board. 9.b.4. Applications will be submitted using DODSAFE (https:(slash)(slash)safe.apps.mil/) to: mara.application@usmc.mil. Ensure encryption passphrases are provided to expedite processing. 9.b.5. Enlisted Marines applying will additionally submit their application via the Special Duty Assignment Miscellaneous Reenlistment Extension Lateral Move (RELM) in the Total Force Retention System (TFRS) via the normal RELM routing chain to CMC (MMEA-25). Unit Career Planners have access to the TFRS program. Enlisted packages not routed through TFRS will not be boarded. 10. This message is applicable to the Marine Corps Total Force. 11. Release authorized by MajGen Michael J. Borgschulte, Director, Manpower Management Division.//