R 281500Z JUN 23
MARADMIN 327/23
MSGID/GENADMIN/CG EDCOM PRES MCU QUANTICO VA//
SUBJ/ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-2025 ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE LEVEL SCHOOL APPLICATION MESSAGE//
POC/MS. MELISSA CALLOWAY/PROGRAM MANAGER/SAW/MCU/TEL: (703) 784-6800/DSN 278/EMAIL: MELISSA.CALLOWAY@USMCU.EDU//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Situation.  Advanced Intermediate Level Schools (A-ILS) produce officers qualified to fill high-impact service and joint planning billets.  These programs enhance an officer’s ability to derive critical insights from large quantities of information; make timely and effective decisions; communicate succinctly verbally, visually, and in writing; and collaborate to design cogent orders and plans.  The curricula of the School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), and the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School (MAWS) feature rigorous case studies, exercises, staff rides, and a consideration of future war.  Marine graduates earn the secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 0505 Operational Planner and an accredited master’s degree.  A-ILS graduates also have a strong record of selection for promotion and command based on their well-developed capability as leaders who reason critically, solve complex problems, and apply operational art.
2.  Mission.  From August to November 2023, A-ILS selection boards will convene to select the best qualified applicants for Academic Year 2024-2025 (AY 24-25) in order to ensure the Marine Corps is supported with highly capable and effective operational planners.
3.  Execution
3.A.  Commander's Intent.  SAMS, SAASS, MAWS, and SAW offer exceptional opportunities for officers to advance their problem solving and leadership skills through advanced intermediate level education programs.  The Marine Corps seeks to maximize the number of high caliber officers applying for, and being selected to, these programs.  Each school has overlapping selection timelines and unique submission requirements that interested officers must meet.  The end state is an A-ILS AY 24-25 student body composed of officers who demonstrate the character, competence, and creativity to excel as planners, staff officers, and future commanders.
3.B.  Concept of Operations.  This concept of operations is separated into four parts to represent the different Advanced Intermediate Level Education application and selection processes.  Marine officers interested in pursuing a path to the Operational Planner MOS are highly encouraged to apply to multiple schools.  Because each program has its own requirements, applicants should check the respective websites and contact representatives at each school, as required.  Applicants are also encouraged to begin preparations early to better meet the application requirements.
3.B.1.  SAW
3.B.1.A.  Officers meeting the admissions criteria will, in accordance with this Marine Administrative Message (MARADMIN), accomplish the following: (1) submit a nonbinding email stating intent to apply, (2) submit all application materials, and (3) if invited, participate in a SAW selection panel interview.  Selected applicants and alternates will be screened for eligibility, notified by MARADMIN or joint service communication method, and issued orders to attend SAW.
3.B.1.B.  General Eligibility Guidelines
3.B.1.B.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 (FY) 2025 Lieutenant Colonel Promotion Selection Board are eligible.
3.B.1.B.2.  U.S. Marine Corps officers are required to have, or have initiated, a Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) clearance before the AY 24-25 school year begins.  All other United States (U.S.) officers require a SECRET clearance that will not expire during the AY, and must be TS-SCI eligible.
3.B.1.B.3.  All applicants from all U.S. Department of Defense service branches and the U.S. Coast Guard must be Intermediate Level School (ILS) or Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) complete, or currently enrolled in good standing, and projected to complete resident/nonresident ILS/IDE requirements no later than (NLT) June 2024.  Failure to complete ILS (resident or nonresident) will terminate eligibility.
3.B.1.B.4.  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.B.1.B.5.  International officers must hold a qualifying undergraduate degree (U.S. regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree or equivalent).  U.S. Officers with international degrees should contact Marine Corps University (MCU) Registrar's office for special instructions.  Registrar point of contact (POC) is mcu_registrar@usmcu.edu, (703) 432-5503, and DSN 278-5503.
3.B.1.C.  The following are not eligible for consideration:
3.B.1.C.1.  Marine officers who have not satisfied time on station requirements and are not eligible to execute Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders during the summer of 2024.  Marine officers who are not summer of 2024 movers should 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.B.1.C.2.  Officers who have not fulfilled an obligated payback tour for a previously attended program.
3.B.1.C.3.  Captains who are in zone for the FY 2025 Promotion Selection Board for major.
3.B.1.C.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 A-ILE eligibility is terminated.
3.B.1.C.5.  Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR), Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), and Active Reserve (AR), are eligible to apply.  SMCR, IMA, and IRR officer applicants must be willing to accept orders for a 12 to 24 month utilization tour at Headquarters, Marine Corps Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) in New Orleans, LA immediately following graduation from SAW.  AR officer selectees will be assigned to a 36 month MARFORRES tour as an Operational Planner following graduation from SAW.
3.B.1.C.5.A.  SMCR, IMA, and IRR officers who complete SAW will be required to conduct a minimum 12 month full-time payback tour after SAW graduation.  This tour may be extended up to 24 months on a voluntary basis.
3.B.1.C.5.B.  SMCR, IMA, and IRR applicants must submit a signed Separate Written Agreement to Train (SWAT) at the time of application to acknowledge and accept post graduation utilization tour orders in order to be eligible.
3.B.1.C.6.  Joint Service Reserve and National Guard officers are not eligible to apply.
3.B.1.C.7.  Officers selected to assume command of a recruiting station during FY 2025 are not eligible to apply.
3.B.1.D.  Application and Selection Process
3.B.1.D.1.  NLT 15 August 2023, applicants will send their “intent to apply” via email to: the SAW organizational mailbox, mcu_saw_applications@usmcu.edu, SAW Program Manager, melissa.calloway@usmcu.edu, and SAW Operations Noncommissioned Officer, steven.iulio@usmcu.edu.  Subject line should read “LAST NAME, F. M. - INTENT TO APPLY”.
3.B.1.D.2.  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 28 August 2023.  If the reply email is not received within 48 hours, contact the SAW POC via phone or email.
3.B.1.D.3.  For SAW, competitive applicants will be contacted to schedule an individual panel interview between September 2023 and November 2023.  In-person interviews for out of area applicants are not required.  Applicants outside the National Capital Region who cannot make an in-person interview will be scheduled to conduct a video teleconference (VTC) or phone interview.  Out-of-area applicants who choose to execute a face-to-face interview in Quantico will be responsible for travel, lodging, and incidental costs.  Contact information for the all A-ILE schools is included below so that all interested officers have access.
3.B.1.D.4.  Interview dates for SAW selection are 1 September - 30 November 2023.
3.B.1.D.5.  The interview location is the Warner Center, Building 2044, Suite 2122, South Street, Quantico, VA, 22134.  SAW will not conduct on site interviews at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Naval War College, or Air Command and Staff College.  Joint service SAW 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.B.1.D.6.  In December 2023, SAW will ensure selected students for all A-ILE programs are approved for attendance by their respective service or nation.  Nominated international officers are invited through the International Military Training Office, which in turn coordinates with the officer's military assignment staff.  Once approved, selection results will be announced via separate MARADMIN with a goal for release of the selection message in December 2023.
3.B.1.D.7.  Questions about the application or website problems should be directed to SAW POC, Ms. Melissa Calloway.
3.B.2.  SAMS
3.B.2.A.  The Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP) is a one year graduate-level education program.  AMSP educates and develops effective planners, leaders and teammates who directly assist senior leaders to understand the operational environment and then visualize and describe viable solutions to complex problems.  Graduates of the AMSP are critical and creative thinkers grounded inoperational theory, doctrine, and history; can identify problems and propose viable solutions; can clearly communicate to various audiences orally, graphically, and in writing; are good leaders and great teammates who collaborate effectively to get the job done; have the courage to lead from above, beside, and below; are physically and mentally tough; and are humble professionals who are more than they seem.
3.B.2.B.  The AMSP is for majors and junior lieutenant colonels who have completed their Intermediate Level Education requirement or equivalent.
3.B.2.C.  If interested in applying to the United States Army AMSP, contact SAMS Administrative Team, (comm) (913) 758-3300/DSN 585 or usarmy.leavenworth.tradoc.mbx.armyu-cgsc-sams-web@army.mil. Find general information on Twitter (@us_sams).
3.B.3.  SAASS
3.B.3.A.  SAASS is the U.S. Air Force and Space Force graduate school for strategists.  A highly qualified and motivated faculty, a small and carefully selected student body, a coherent and challenging curriculum, outstanding educational and research resources, and a well designed facility combine to produce tomorrow’s senior military leaders who are experts in the role of military force in the art of statecraft.  At the core of the program is a one year in residence Master of Philosophy degree in Military Strategy.  For a select cadre of top graduates, SAASS also offers a Doctorate of Philosophy in Military Strategy.  The emphasis is not on military operations; but, rather on the strategic nexus where military and security professionals interact with decision makers on policy, diplomacy, international relations, geopolitics, and matters of military and political theory.  In short, SAASS takes air, space, and cyber minded officers and educates them to become strategists at the national level where the military tool (airpower in particular) is contemplated as one of several instruments of power that may (or may not) be appropriate for achieving national objectives.
3.B.3.B.  SAASS is tailored for majors and junior lieutenant colonels that have completed Intermediate Level Education.
3.B.3.C.  If interested in applying to the U.S. Air Force SAASS, contact Ms. Sheila McKitt, (comm) (334) 953-5155/DSN 493 or sheila.mckitt@us.af.mil.
3.B.4.  MAWS
3.B.4.A.  MAWS is the U.S. Navy’s resident A-ILE program, completed in conjunction with the College of Naval Command and Staff curriculum.  This course will develop strategic and operational leaders with the skills required to plan, execute, and assess combined, joint, and naval operations.
3.B.4.B.  Applications for the MAWS program are conducted at MAWS for prospective students that are selected and slated to attend the College of Naval Command and Staff in Newport, RI.  U.S. Marine officers interested in attending MAWS are encouraged to list Naval Command and Staff College high on their preference choices for the Commandant’s Professional Intermediate Level Education Board questionnaire.
4.  Administration and Logistics. Follow on assignments.  0505 Operational planners are a low density, high demand MOS in critical billets.  0505 assignments are normally 36 months.  Lieutenant colonels and lieutenant colonel selects with the 0505 MOS will be eligible to screen for command after their first 12 months of their 36 month utilization tour.
5.  Command and Signal
5.A.  POC at SAW:
5.A.1.  SAW Deputy Director: Lieutenant Colonel H. E. Ruppert, USMC, comm (703) 784-6890/DSN 278 or heath.ruppert@usmcu.edu.
5.A.2.  SAW Program Manager:  Ms. Melissa Calloway, comm (703) 784-6800/DSN 278 or melissa.calloway@usmcu.edu.
5.A.3.  SAW Administrative Noncommissioned Officer:  Corporal Steven Iulio, comm (703) 432-5420/DSN 378 or steven.iulio@usmcu.edu
5.B.  POC at the U.S. Army, Command and General Staff College:
5.B.1.  LtCol Tom Chhabra, USMC, comm (913) 684-4552 or tom.chhabra.mil@army.mil.
5.C.  POC at the U.S. Air Force, Air Command and Staff College:
5.C.1.  Ms. Sheila McKitt, comm (334) 953-5155/DSN 493 or sheila.mckitt@us.af.mil.
6.  Release authorized by Brigadier General Maura M. Hennigan, President, Marine Corps University.//