ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-2025 TOP LEVEL SCHOOL SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT

MARADMINS : 447/23

R 071445Z SEP 23 MARADMIN 447/23 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM// SUBJ/ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-2025 TOP LEVEL SCHOOL SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT// REF/A/MSGID: DOC/MM/YMD: 20190530// REF/B/MSGID: DOC/CMC/YMD: 20210510// REF/C/MSGID: DOC/CMC/YMD: 20080125// REF/D/MSGID: MSG/CMC/YMD: 20081211// REF/E/MSGID: DOC/CMC/YMD: 20200825// NARR/REF A IS MCO 1524.1, MARINE CORPS GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM. REF B IS MCO 1300.8 CH-1, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY. REF C IS MCO 1553.4B, PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION. REF D IS MARADMIN 703/08, OFFICER PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION SUMMARY. REF E IS MARADMIN 491/20, REMOVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM CONSIDERATION BY BOARDS AND SELECTION PROCESSES PERTAINING TO ASSIGNMENT, TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND COMMAND.// POC/MICHAEL D. SCOTTO/MAJ/MMOA-3/(703) 784-9284/EMAIL: MICHAEL.D.SCOTTO@USMC.MIL// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. This message announces Top Level School (TLS) programs and fellowship assignments available during Academic Year (AY) 2024-2025, the eligible officer population for screening, and the timeline for execution of the TLS selection board. 1.a. Major timeline milestones are: Date Milestone Release of this message TLS questionnaire open 06 October 2023 Completed questionnaire due 06 October 2023 Remove by request (RBR) due 17 October 2023 TLS Board convenes 15 November 2023 TLS results released 2. Background 2.a. Top Level School. TLS is the premier Professional Military Education (PME) opportunity provided to lieutenant colonels. The purpose of the TLS Selection Board is to select best and fully qualified lieutenant colonels and lieutenant colonels (select) for resident education programs and special duty assignments available to Marine Corps officers. Reference (a), the Graduate Education Program order, establishes the policies and procedures governing TLS. 3. Eligibility 3.a. Eligibility criteria 3.a.1. Lieutenant colonels and lieutenant colonels (select) who will have 24 months time-on-station (TOS) by 31 July 2024 or are otherwise scheduled to complete their prescribed tour control factor (TCF) in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). 3.a.2. Lieutenant colonels currently in command of an organization identified in the Command Screening Program who are scheduled to complete their command tour in FY24. 3.a.3. The eligibility roster is posted on the following website: https:(slash)(slash)www.manpower.usmc.mil/webcenter/portal/OA3REP/pages_toplevelschoolboard 3.b. Ineligibility criteria. 3.b.1. Lieutenant colonels in the above zone for promotion. 3.b.2. Majors in zone for lieutenant colonel on the CY23/FY25 board 3.b.3. Officers selected to colonel. 3.b.4. Limited duty officers. 3.b.5. Officers attending or selected to attend Intermediate Level School (ILS) or Advanced ILS schools which require a follow on utilization tour who will not complete one year of their utilization tour by 31 July 2024. 3.b.6. Officers with an approved voluntary separation or retirement date. 3.c. Contact primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) monitors with questions regarding eligibility. 4. Education program allocations 4.a. Department of Defense (DoD) schools. The AY24-25 TLS Board will select officers to attend the DoD schools listed below. Schools, quotas, and convening dates are subject to change. Officers who complete one of the following DoD schools will obtain joint PME (JPME) phase II credit. (Read in five columns) Course Title/School Quota Convenes Graduates Note Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (Fort Leavenworth, KS) 1 Jun 24 Jun 25 1 Air War College (AWC) (Montgomery, AL) 8 Jul 24 Jun 25 Army War College (USAWC) (Carlisle, PA) 16 Jul 24 Jun 25 2 College of Naval Warfare (CNW) (Newport, RI) 16 Jul 24 Jun 25 College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC) (Washington, DC) 2 Jul 24 Jun 25 College of International Security Affairs (CISA) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Washington, DC) 12 Jul 24 Jun 25 3 Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) (Norfolk, VA) 3 Jul 24 Jun 25 4 Marine Corps War College (MCWAR) (Quantico, VA) 11 Jul 24 Jun 25 National War College (NWC) (Washington, DC) 14 Jul 24 Jun 25 Space Force Resident- Johns Hopkins University (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Note 1: Graduates will complete a mandatory one year follow-on assignment at Fort Leavenworth as a seminar leader. Note 2: Two USAWC quotas are for the blended education program. Selectees for the blended program will conduct distance education from their current home station, with periods of travel to the USAWC campus in Carlisle, PA. Eligible officers should indicate their interest in the blended program in the comments section of the questionnaire. Note 3: The board will identify two students with an acquisition background (PMOS 8059/8061) to participate in the acquisition curriculum. Note 4: Graduates of this program will complete a mandatory utilization assignment to designated billets on the joint duty assignment list. 4.b. The TLS Selection Board will select officers for assignment to the foreign senior service colleges and fellowships listed below. Officers interested in a foreign, non-English speaking service school must take the defense language aptitude battery (DLAB) and have the score included in their record or have an established defense language proficiency test (DLPT) score on record for the target language. 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. 4.b.1. Foreign Professional Military Education (FPME). Language training for FPME courses may result in selected officers attending the course in another academic year. See notes below for details. Additional FPME information is located on the following website: https:(slash)(slash)www.usmcu.edu/Academic-Programs/CMC-Fellows-Strategists-Foreign-PME-Olmsted-Scholars/Foreign-Professional- Military-Education/. (Read in five columns) Course Title/School Quota Convenes Graduates Note Australian Defense College (Canberra, Australia) 1 Jan 25 Dec 25 5 Inter-American Defense College (Ft McNair, Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26 6 Israeli National Defense College (Tel Aviv, Israel) 1 Jun 24 Jul 25 5 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defense College Senior Course (Rome, Italy) 1st session 1 Sep 24 Feb 25 5 2nd session 1 Feb 25 Jul 25 5 Note 5: No language training required. Note 6: Spanish or Portuguese language training at DLI-Washington approx. Jan - Jun 2025. 4.b.2. CMC Fellowships. Additional details regarding CMC Fellowships are located at the following website: https:(slash)(slash)www.usmcu.edu/Academic-Programs/CMC-Fellows-Strategists-Foreign-PME-Olmsted-Scholars/Commandant-of-the-Marine-Corps-Fellowships/. (Read in five columns) Course Title/School Quota Convenes Graduates Note Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Department of State (DOS) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 7 Hoover Institution at Stanford University (Stanford, CA) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 International Security Studies Program at Yale University (New Haven, CT) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 JFK School of Government at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Lincoln Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Logistics Fellowship at Pennsylvania State University (State College, PA) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 8, 9 School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 9 Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Executive Fellowship (Various Locations) 4 Jul 24 Jun 25 10 SECDEF Strategic Thinkers Program at Johns Hopkins University (Washington, DC) 3 Jul 24 Jun 25 11 Security Studies Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 12 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (Washington, DC) 1 Jul 24 Jun 25 Note 7: Only open to PMOS 4402. Note 8: Only open to PMOS 0402 and 3002. Note 9: Master’s program. Note 10: Corporation/company/location determined post board. Two quotas are allocated for PMOS 8059/8061 and two quotas are allocated for any PMOS. Note 11: Additional details regarding this program are located on the following website: https:(slash)(slash)www.usmcu.edu/Academic- Programs/SECDEF-Strategic-Thinkers-Program/ Note 12: Graduates of this program will complete a mandatory two year utilization tour as USNA Marine Detachment Chief of Staff or Battalion Officer. 5. Board communication 5.a. Questionnaire. The online questionnaire is the primary mechanism for board communication. Officers may call attention to any matter they deem important to selection or slating including program preferences and family or personal situations that the board should consider in its decision making. A common access card certificate is not required to access the questionnaire. 5.a.1. Top Level School questionnaire: https:(slash)(slash)forms.osi.apps.mil/r/WZ0YmU41AV 5.a.2. The deadline for submitting the online questionnaire is 2359 eastern time (ET) on 06 October 2023. Any correspondence received after the convening of the board will be considered at the discretion of the board president. All correspondence to the board must originate from or be endorsed by the screening officer. 5.b. Officers may submit correspondence such as letters to the board and any material not found in their Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) via email to the MMOA-3 organizational email at smbmmoaplanso@usmc.mil. 5.c. OMPF update material. Submit OMPF update material to the email address: smb.manpower.mmrp-20@usmc.mil as soon as possible. 5.d. The board does not consider photographs per reference (e). 5.e. Fitness reports. Completed fitness reports must be submitted to the Performance Evaluation Section (MMRP-30) for inclusion into the OMPF. Incomplete fitness reports will not normally be accepted or forwarded to the board. 5.f. Remove by request (RBR) 5.f.1. Officers who are eligible but do not desire to screen must complete the online TLS Selection Board questionnaire and indicate that they do not desire to screen for TLS. These officers must then confirm their RBR by sending an AA form to their PMOS monitor and to the MMOA-3 organizational email at smbmmoaplanso@usmc.mil. The AA form must be signed by the officer requesting removal, but does not require any additional endorsement. The board will screen all officers who do not submit a signed AA form. 5.f.2. Complete questionnaire indicating desire to RBR and submit a signed RBR AA form to MMOA-3 NLT 2359 ET on 06 October 2023. 6. Board results. Manpower Management plans to release the results of the TLS board on or about 15 November 2023. 6.a. Alternates. The board will identify officers as alternates for assignment when TLS program vacancies occur. MMOA-3 will post an alphabetical list of alternates on the MMOA-3 website following the release of the board results. 6.b. Declinations 6.b.1. If an officer believes that they will likely decline TLS selection, then they should request RBR rather than wait to decline until results are released. Declinations should be a tool of last resort for officers who were unable to anticipate circumstances that would lead to them being unable to attend a TLS program. 6.b.2. Officers slated to a TLS program who decline must do so via AA form, endorsed by the first general officer in their chain of command, forwarded to Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) (MMOA-3). Officers who decline will receive a letter in their OMPF documenting the declination. Unless otherwise approved by Director, Manpower Management due to extraordinary circumstances, officers who decline selection to a TLS program will not be considered for any other TLS program during the slating year and are ineligible for screening on future TLS boards. MMOA will place letters of declination in the officer's OMPF. The results MARADMIN will establish a deadline for declination requests. 6.b.3. Alternates identified to fill vacated TLS program quotas are also required to formally decline if they choose not to accept the offer. 6.c. Deferrals 6.c.1. Officers selected for TLS who are unable to execute orders due to extraordinary life or personal circumstances may request a deferral. 6.c.2. Officers requesting deferral must do so via AA form, endorsed by the first general officer in their chain of command, forwarded to HQMC (MMOA-3). The results MARADMIN will establish a deadline for deferral requests. 6.c.3. If approved, the Director, Manpower Management will defer officers to the following year's TLS selection board. 7. Points of contact. Col N. I. Brown, Branch Head, MMOA DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300 Email: nick.i.brown@usmc.mil Col K. M. Gall, Ground Col Monitor DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703)784-9300 Email: kurt.gall@usmc.mil Col R. E. Herrmann, Aviation Col Monitor DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300 Email: robert.herrmann@usmc.mil Colonel L. W. Hemming Aviation Lieutenant Colonel Monitor DSN: 278-9267, Comm: (703) 784-9267 Email: lee.hemming@usmc.mil Lieutenant Colonel R. F. May Combat Arms Lieutenant Colonel Monitor DSN: 278-9274, Comm: (703) 784-9274 Email: robert.may@usmc.mil Lieutenant Colonel B. C. Issitt Combat Service Support Lieutenant Colonel Monitor DSN: 278-9274, Comm: (703) 784-9274 Email: brogan.issitt@usmc.mil Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Patterson Information Lieutenant Colonel Monitor DSN: 278-9273, Comm: (703) 784-9273 Email: jeffrey.pattersonII@usmc.mil Mr. M. G. Cooper, CMC Fellowships/Foreign PME, MCU DSN: 378-0696, Comm: (703) 432-0696 Email: michael.cooper@usmcu.edu 8. This message is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve. 9. Release authorized by BGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director, Manpower Management, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.//