R 291850Z AUG 24
MARADMIN 399/24
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM//
SUBJ/ACADEMIC YEAR 2025-2026 TOP LEVEL SCHOOL SELECTION BOARD
ANNOUNCEMENT//
REF/A/MSGID: MCO/MM/YMD: 20190530//
REF/B/MSGID: MCO/CMC/YMD: 20210510//
REF/C/MSGID: MCO/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/J. L. GOSS/MAJ/MMOA-3/(703) 784-9284/
EMAIL: JAIME.GOSS@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. This message announces Top Level
School (TLS) programs and fellowship assignments available during
Academic Year (AY) 2025-2026, 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
1 October 2024 Completed questionnaire due
1 October 2024 Remove by request (RBR) due
16 October 2024 TLS Board convenes
15 November 2024 TLS results released
2.a. Top Level School. TLS is the premier Professional Military
Education (PME) opportunity provided to lieutenant colonels and
colonels (by exception). The purpose of the TLS Selection Board is
to select the best and most fully qualified Marine officers for
resident education programs and special duty assignments.
3. Eligibility. All eligibility questions should be directed to
your primary MOS monitor.
3.a. Eligibility criteria
3.a.1. Lieutenant colonels and majors who were selected on the
CY23/FY25 Promotion Selection Board (PSB) who will have 24 months’
time-on-station (TOS) by 31 July 2025 or are otherwise scheduled to
complete their prescribed tour control factor (TCF) in Fiscal Year
2025 (FY25).
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 FY25.
3.a.3. Due to the shift in timing of the CY24/FY26 Colonel PSB,
Marines selected for promotion to colonel who have not previously
had the opportunity to screen for TLS, may request to screen on the
AY25-26 TLS board by contacting their monitor as long as all other
eligibility requirements are met.
3.a.4. The eligibility roster is posted under the Top Level School
Board tab on the following website:
https:(slash)(slash)www.manpower.usmc.mil/wordpress/?active_marine=
active-marines-home/manpower-management-division/mmoa/mmoa-3-
homepage
3.b. Ineligibility criteria
3.b.1. Lieutenant colonels in the above zone.
3.b.2. Majors selected to lieutenant colonel on the CY24/FY26
Lieutenant Colonel PSB.
3.b.3. Officers with a mandatory retirement date prior to 31
December 2028.
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 2025.
3.b.6. Officers serving in the Marine Corps Doctor of Philosophy
Program (PHDP) or serving in the subsequent utilization tour.
3.b.7. Officers with an approved voluntary separation or retirement
date.
4. Education program allocations
4.a. Department of Defense (DoD) schools. The AY25-26 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 25 Jun 26 1, 5
Air War College (AWC)
(Montgomery, AL) 8 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
Army War College (USAWC)
(Carlisle, PA) 16 Aug 25 Jun 26 2, 5
College of Naval Warfare (CNW)
(Newport, RI) 16 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC)
(Washington, DC) 4 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
College of International Security Affairs (CISA)
(Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy
(Washington, DC) 8 Jul 25 Jun 26 3, 5
Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS)
(Norfolk, VA) 5 Jul 25 Jun 26 4, 5
Marine Corps War College (MCWAR)
(Quantico, VA) 11 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
National War College (NWC)
(Washington, DC) 14 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
Space Force Resident- Johns Hopkins University
(Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26 5
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.
Note 5: Master’s program.
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 or a
Fellowship will receive 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
Inter-American Defense College
(Ft McNair, Washington, DC) 1 Jul 26 Jun 27 5, 6
Israeli National Defense College
(Tel Aviv, Israel) 1 Jun 25 Jul 26 5, 7
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defense College
Senior Course (Rome, Italy)
1st session 1 Sep 25 Feb 26 7
2nd session 1 Feb 26 Jul 26 7
Note 5: Master’s program.
Note 6: Spanish or Portuguese language training, as required, at
DLI-Washington approx Oct 2025 - Jun 2026.
Note 7: No language training required.
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 State (DOS)
(Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
Hoover Institution at Stanford University
(Stanford, CA) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
International Security Studies Program at Yale University
(New Haven, CT) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
JFK School of Government at Harvard University
(Cambridge, MA) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
Lincoln Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(Lexington, MA) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
Logistics Fellowship at Pennsylvania State University
(State College, PA) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26 8, 9
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
(Johns Hopkins University) 1 Jul 25 May 26 9
Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Executive Fellowship
(Various Locations) 3 Jul 25 Jun 26 10
SECDEF Strategic Thinkers Program at Johns Hopkins University
(Washington, DC) 2 Jul 25 Jun 26 11
Security Studies Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(Lexington, MA) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at U.S. Naval Academy
(Annapolis, MD) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26 12
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
(Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
(Washington, DC) 1 Jul 25 Jun 26
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 one quota is
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/Zxb7EdrCax
5.a.2 The deadline for submitting the online questionnaire is
2359 Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 01 October 2024. 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. Officers should submit OMPF update
requests via OMPF- Records Management Application (O-RMA). If
assistance is required, contact your unit administrative section or
local IPAC. Officers are responsible for ensuring their OMPF is
accurate at all times.
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 a signed AA form to their PMOS monitor
and 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 EST on 01 October 2024.
6. Board results. Manpower Management plans to release the results
of the TLS board on or about 15 November 2024.
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, officers who decline selection to a TLS program due to
extraordinary circumstances 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 TLS 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
assignment.
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 D. C. Hyman, Branch Head, MMOA
DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300
Email: david.hyman@usmc.mil
Col R. F. May, Ground Col Monitor
DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703)784-9300
Email: robert.may@usmc.mil
Col M. A. Blejski, Aviation Col Monitor
DSN: 278-9300, Comm: (703) 784-9300
Email: michael.a.blejski@usmc.mil
Lieutenant Colonel J. W. Potter
Aviation Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
DSN: 278-9267, Comm: (703) 784-9267
Email: jason.potter@usmc.mil
Lieutenant Colonel M. E. Simon
Combat Arms Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
DSN: 278-9274, Comm: (703) 784-9274
Email: michael.d.simon.mil@usmc.mil
Lieutenant Colonel A. C. Norwood
Combat Service Support Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
DSN: 278-9274, Comm: (703) 784-9274
Email: aaron.norwood@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 MajGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director,
Manpower Management, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.//