R 061312Z JUN 25
MARADMIN 263/25
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM//
SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2026 COMMANDANT'S CAREER-LEVEL EDUCATION BOARD
(CCLEB) ANNOUNCEMENT//
REF/A/MSGID: DOC/MM/YMD: 20190530//
REF/B/MSGID: MSG/MCCDC/YMD: 20080125//
REF/C/MSGID: DOC/PPO/YMD: 20130327//
REF/D/MSGID: DOC/MPP-56/YMD: 20210510//
REF/E/MSGID: DOC/MMSR/YMD: 20190215//
REF/F/MSGID: MSG/EDCOM/YMD: 20240408//
NARR/REF A IS MCO 1524.1, MARINE CORPS GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM.
REF B IS MCO 1553.4B PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION (PME). REF C
IS MCO 1520.11F, THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM (IAP). REF D IS
MCO 1300.8 W/CH-2, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY. REF E
IS MCO 1900.16 CH 2, MARINE CORPS SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT MANUAL
(MARCORSEPMAN). REF F IS MARADMIN 176/25, OFFICER PROFESSIONAL
MILITARY EDUCATION BLENDED SEMINAR PROGRAM FY25-26 SEAT QUOTA
ASSIGNMENTS.//
POC/DELANEY T. DUMANOVSKY/MAJ/MMOA-3/USMC/DSN 278-9285/
TEL (703)784-9285/EMAIL: SMB_MMOA_GRAD_EDU@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. This message announces the Fiscal
Year 2026 Commandant's Career-Level Education Board (CCLEB)
convening on 05 August 2025 as part of the Commandant’s Education
Board (CEB). The purpose of this message is to announce the
available programs, eligibility criteria, and timelines for the
CCLEB execution. Major milestone timeline (read in two columns):
Date Milestone
Release of this message Eligibility roster published
Release of this message CEB questionnaire opens
16 July All Exceptions to Policy (ETP) due
16 July CEB questionnaire closes
16 July Applications/board correspondence due
16 July Remove by Requests (RBR) due
23 July Non-compliance list published
01 August Final eligibility list published
05 August CEB convenes
2. Background. The CCLEB, as part of the CEB, is the premier
Professional Military Education (PME) opportunity provided to
company grade officers. The board will convene for approximately
four weeks to select the best and fully qualified officers for
resident PME programs, graduate education programs, and special duty
assignments.
3. Eligibility criteria
3.a. All company grade officers who will complete their current
tour control factor (TCF) by 30 September 2026. Officers whose TCF
is complete by 31 December 2026 may be considered with PMOS monitor
approval. Direct questions regarding tour lengths and dates of
departure to the appropriate PMOS monitor.
3.b. Ineligibility criteria
3.b.1. Officers with a training PMOS or departing PMOS training.
3.b.2. Captains in-zone or above zone for major on the CY25/FY27
Major Promotion Selection Board.
3.b.3. Officers currently enrolled in or who have completed an
education program slated by a previous CEB.
3.b.4. Officers who have not yet fulfilled an obligated utilization
tour for a previously attended program by 30 September 2026.
3.b.5. Officers enrolled in or who have completed the Expeditionary
Warfare School Blended Seminar Program (EWSBSP). Officers enrolled
in or having completed EWSBSP who are interested in CCLEB programs
other than resident PME schools (e.g., NPS, FAO, Olmsted, etc.)
can submit a request for consideration to their PMOS monitor.
3.b.6. Officers with an approved lateral move in CY25 are
ineligible for FY26 CCLEB selection and attendance due to PMOS
training and assignment.
3.b.7. Officers with an approved separation or retirement date.
3.b.8. Restricted officers.
4. CCLEB Available Programs
4.a. CCLEB Resident PME
4.a.1. Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS).
4.a.2. PMOS-specific Captains Career Courses.
4.a.3. Officers interested in a specific PMOS Captains Career
Course will find the available schools listed on the questionnaire
and should rank it according to their preferences.
4.b. Graduate Education Programs
4.b.1. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
4.b.1.a. NPS Curricula: 3006, 8824, 8825, 8826, 8834, 8840, 8844,
8846, 8848, 8850, 8852, 8862, 8866, 8870.
4.b.1.b. Marines holding a PMOS of 4402 are not eligible to apply
to NPS curricula.
4.b.1.c. 8844 is limited to 3404 PMOS. Exceptions made by request
to MMOA-3 for other MOSs.
4.b.1.d. 8870 is limited to 0370 PMOS.
4.b.1.e. NPS Curricula information can be found at https:(slash)
(slash)nps.edu/documents/156841831/156919127/NPS+Marine+Graduate+
Programs+%28Menu%29.pdf/06ec4ce3-ce3c-c4f1-d4c3-28ad424661dd?t=
1747160030257
4.b.2. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT)
4.b.2.a. AFIT Curricula: 8820, 8831.
4.b.2.b. 8820 is restricted to 75XX PMOS.
4.b.2.c. AFIT Curricula information can be found at https:(slash)
(slash)www.afit.edu/EN/
4.b.3. Civilian Institutions
4.b.3.a. Curricula: 8802, 8878, 4505.
4.b.3.b. Education (8802) applicants shall compose a letter to the
board, submitted through the questionnaire, stating previous
education and training experience, the desired focus of education
study and three prospective universities.
4.b.3.c. 8802 selected officers will earn a Master's degree
from a civilian university in 24 months, followed by a utilization
tour at Marine Corps Training and Education Command.
4.b.3.d. History (8878) applicants shall compose a letter to the
board, submitted through the questionnaire, with the preferred area
of historical study and three prospective universities.
4.b.3.e. 8878 selected officers will earn a master's degree
from a civilian university in 24 months, followed by a utilization
tour as a History Instructor at the US Naval Academy.
4.b.3.f. 4505 selected officers will earn a master's degree from
San Diego State University (SDSU). Applications to SDSU are
submitted after board selection.
4.b.3.g. Tuition. Marine Corps University will provide funding
for 8802 and 8878 officers up to $19,500 per year for public or
private institutions for up to two years. Any tuition cost exceeding
these amounts will be paid by the officer. There is no cap amount
at SDSU.
4.b.4. Advanced Civilian Schools Program (ACSP)
4.b.4.a. ACSP provides officers the ability to devote a year as a
resident student to complete a master's degree of their choice while
maintaining career progression. Participants are highly encouraged
to pursue areas of study and research topics of interest to the
Marine Corps.
4.b.4.b. Limited to no longer than 12 months and qualifies as
partially funded education per reference (a).
4.b.4.c. Selected officers will receive their regular pay and
allowances, but application fees, tuition, and matriculation fees,
cost of textbooks and materials, and all similar fees and expenses
will be borne by the officer.
4.b.4.d. No utilization tour is required. The officer's follow-on
assignment will be based on the needs of the Marine Corps and the
participant's career progression.
4.b.4.e. Interested officers are required to have current GRE
scores unless proof is provided the GRE is waived.
4.b.5. Foreign Area Officer Program (FAO)
4.b.5.a. Officers interested in the FAO program must have less
than 11 years of commissioned service by June 2026.
4.b.5.b. Interested officers must submit proof of current Defense
Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) score, and must submit a letter to
the board including: Defense Language Proficiency Test score if
applicable and a statement highlighting interest in the FAO program,
to include international experience, foreign language exposure,
desire to serve as a FAO, and clarification on region preference via
the questionnaire as a file titled “edipi_FAO_lastname”.
4.b.5.c. See reference (c) for more information.
4.b.6. Olmsted Scholar Program (OSP)
4.b.6.a. Limited to officers with no more than 13 years and 6
months of total Federal service as of 1 April 2026. Time at service
academies does not count.
4.b.6.b. Limited to the following PMOSs, as determined by the
Foundation: 02xx, 03xx, 0402, 0602, 0802, 1302, 17xx, 1803, 3002,
4502, 5803, 60xx, 66xx, 7204, 7208, 7210, 7315, 75xx.
4.b.6.c. The selection process involves two steps: (Phase 1) The
board nominates up to 8 applicants for further consideration;
(Phase 2) the Olmsted Foundation evaluates those nominated, conducts
interviews in January 2026 and makes selections in March 2026.
4.b.6.d. Nominees not selected by the Olmsted Foundation in the
second phase will be slated to other PME or graduate education
opportunities.
4.b.6.e. For more information on the Olmsted Foundation:
https:(slash)(slash)olmstedfoundation.org/what-we-do/career-fields-
eligible-to-apply/.
4.b.6.f. Interested officers should submit an initial application
to the board questionnaire using the naming protocol:
“edipi_OSP_lastname”.
4.b.6.g. Phase 2 requirements are timely and applicants are
recommended to start the process immediately. Further application
instructions can be found at https:(slash)(slash)manpower.usmc.
afpims.mil/Manpower-Management/Officer-Assignments/Plans-and-
Programs-MMOA-3/#tab/graduate-education-boards/.
4.b.7. Junior Officer Strategic Intelligence Program (JOSIP).
Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program (JOCCP). Junior Officer
Geographic Geospatial Intelligence Program (JOGP).
4.b.7.a. JOSIP and JOGP are limited to 02XX PMOS.
4.b.7.b. JOCCP is available to 02XX PMOS and 1702 PMOS.
4.b.7.c. Interested officers should submit completed applications
to the questionnaire, naming the file such as “edipi_JOSIP_lastname”
by the questionnaire deadline.
4.b.7.d. Officers can apply to one or all the programs as
eligible.
4.c. Program and further curricula information can be found at
https:(slash)(slash)manpower.usmc.afpims.mil/Manpower-Management/
Officer-Assignments/Plans-and-Programs-MMOA-3/#tab/graduate-
education-boards/.
5. General instructions for the eligible population
5.a. The list of eligible officers being considered for CCLEB
is posted on the USMC Manpower, MMOA-3 Plans and Programs webpage:
https:(slash)(slash)manpower.usmc.afpims.mil/Manpower-Management/
Officer-Assignments/Plans-and-Programs-MMOA-3/#tab/graduate-
education-boards/. Questions regarding eligibility should be
directed to the appropriate PMOS monitor.
5.b. All eligible officers are required to complete the FY26
CEB Questionnaire no later than 2359 EST on
16 July 2025. The questionnaire is located at:
https:(slash)(slash)www2.manpower.usmc.mil/application_cac/
5.c. Note 1, Note 2 and No Note
5.c.1. Note 1. Within the eligibility list, officers with
sufficient career timing to participate in programs ranging up to
five years (i.e., NPS, AFIT) have a note 1 next to their name.
Officers with a note 1 beside their name are required to apply and
submit undergraduate transcripts to NPS no later than 2359 EST on
16 July 2025. NPS Admissions website is located at:
https:(slash)(slash)nps.edu/web/admissions/apply/.
5.c.1.a. After submitting the NPS application, applicants must
order official transcripts from all attended undergraduate and
graduate institutions for delivery from the institution(s) directly
to NPS Admissions. Transcripts must come directly from the
institution or their designated transcript exchange service. NPS
does not accept transcripts submitted by the applicant.
5.c.1.b. Officers that have previously applied to NPS must submit
an additional application but are not required to resubmit
transcripts. Officers can submit up to three applications for those
curricula listed in paragraph 4.b.1.
5.c.1.c. NPS will notify MMOA-3 of an officer’s acceptance to NPS
with the curricula for which the individual may or may not qualify.
NPS does not provide an acceptance letter or status of acceptance to
individual officers.
5.c.1.d. Officers with a note 1 beside their name who are
interested in AFIT should apply and submit undergraduate transcripts
to AFIT no later than 2359 EST on 16 July 2025.
5.c.1.e. The AFIT admissions website is located at: https:(slash)
(slash)www.afit.edu/ADMISSIONS/AFITApplicationProcess/.
5.c.1.f. All officers must verify that a copy of their
undergraduate transcripts is in their OMPF. Officers must upload
all higher learning institutional transcripts to their OMPF.
Officers should submit OMPF update requests via OMPF-Records
Management Application (O-RMA). If assistance is required, contact
your unit S-1 or local IPAC. Officers are responsible for ensuring
their OMPF is accurate at all times.
5.c.2. Note 2. Officers with sufficient career timing to
participate in programs ranging up to three years have a note 2
beside their name.
5.c.3. No Note. Officers without a note beside their name only
possess the career timing to attend a one-year program. Officers
without a note beside their name who believe they have the career
timing to be considered for a note 1 or 2 program should contact
their PMOS monitor.
5.c.4. Officers outside the FY26 consideration window or EWSBSP
enrolled/ or completed officers who are interested in CCLEB
programs, must submit an Administrative Action (AA) Form endorsed by
the first O-6 in the Marine’s chain of command NLT 16 July 2025 via
the online questionnaire.
5.c.5. Marines wanting to change their Note 1, 2 or No Note status
must reach out to their PMOS monitor.
5.c.6. All members requesting an ETP should also fill out the
questionnaire NLT 16 July 2025 regardless of ETP status.
5.d. Removal by Requests
5.d.1. Officers who are listed on the eligibility roster, but do
not want to be considered must submit an AA Form positively or
negatively endorsed by the first O-6 in the Marine’s chain of
command NLT 16 July 2025 via the online questionnaire.
5.d.2. All requests must be labeled "edipi_RBR_lastname” via the
online questionnaire and members requesting an RBR should also fill
out the questionnaire NLT 16 July 2025 regardless of pending RBR.
6. Coordinating Instructions
6.a. Graduate education programs are not a service equivalent for
PME. Marines participating in a graduate education program are
required to complete a PME program commensurate with their grade on
their own initiative to be considered PME complete for their grade.
6.b. Obligation
6.b.1. All service PME schools are 12 months or less in length and
incur a 24-month service obligation.
6.b.2. Graduate programs vary from one to two years followed by a
three-year utilization tour, unless otherwise noted, and an
additional year of service obligation for a total of four years.
6.b.3. For additional information on program lengths and
descriptions, see reference (a) or contact the program officer in
paragraph 7 below.
6.c. Questionnaire
6.c.1. Eligible officers must submit program preferences,
applications (expect for NPS and AFIT), letters to the board, RBRs
etc. via the questionnaire. The questionnaire is the only method
for MMOA-3 to receive board correspondence. Once responses are
submitted via the questionnaire MMOA-3 will receive an automatic
notification of completion.
6.c.2. Do not submit more than 7 documents.
6.c.3. Each document must not exceed 800 KB and must be in .pdf
format.
6.c.4. File naming convention is very important for board
correspondence collection/consolidation. Name the file
appropriately according to the program you are applying for i.e.
“edipi_OSP_lastname” or “edipi_FAO_lastname”.
Condense all documents for a specific program application into one
scanned PDF. If due to size constraints the application must be
split up, label as such “edipi_JOSIP_lastname (1),
edipi_JOSIP_lastname (2)”. If submitting a supplemental board
correspondence label as such: “edipi_LOR_lastname” and remove by
request "edipi_RBR_lastname".
6.c.5. Direct questionnaire functionality and accessibility
questions and issues to MMOA-3 at SMB_MMOA_GRAD_EDU@USMC.MIL.
6.d. Board Correspondence. All correspondence to the board must
originate from the officer being considered. All submissions
(letters of recommendation, clarifying statements of service, etc.)
must be uploaded into the questionnaire no later than 2359 EST on 16
July 2025.
6.e. Non-Compliance. Officers are considered non-compliant with
the above instructions:
6.e.1. They have a Note 1 next to their name on the eligibility
roster and fail to apply and submit transcripts to NPS.
6.e.2. They have a Note 1 or 2 next to their name and do not
complete the questionnaire and upload a legible copy of their
transcripts to OMPF.
6.e.3. Officers who fail to complete the questionnaire, fail to
apply to NPS, or fail to submit transcripts will still be considered
and may be slated to a program at the board's discretion.
6.e.4. A list of non-compliant officers will be provided to
commands on 23 July 2025 for those officers who have not yet
applied to NPS.
6.f. Subsequent MARADMINs will announce FY26 CCLEB results and FY26
Graduate Education Program Results. The results MARADMINS will
serve as notification of orders for all primary selectees.
7. Program Points of Contact
7.a. Career-Level Schools (CLS)
Contact your PMOS monitor.
7.b. Naval Postgraduate School
Admissions Office
Comm: (831) 521-2190
Email: admissions@nps.edu
7.c. Olmsted Scholar Program
LtCol James Pineiro
DSN: 378-0696, Comm: (703) 432-0696
Email: james.pineiro@usmcu.edu
7.d. International Affairs Program (IAP)
LtCol Brett McCormick
DSN: 222-0322, Comm: (703) 614-0322
Email: brett.mccormick@usmc.mil
7.e. Master’s of Education
LtCol Alex P. McGraw (TECOM)
Comm: (703) 432-2068
Email: alex.mcgraw@usmc.mil
7.f. Engineering Management - 8831 (AFIT)
LtCol Tyson Metlen
Comm: (571) 256-2789
Email: Tyson.metlen@usmc.mil
7.g. Master’s of History
Maj Marc St. Pierre (USNA)
Comm: (410) 293-6260
Email: stpierre@usna.edu
7.h. San Diego State University (SDSU)
Maj Bryan McDonnell
Comm: (703) 693-4906
Email: bryan.mcdonnell@usmc.mil
7.i. JOSIP/JOCCP/JOGP
Capt Joel Lewis
DSN: 278-9277, Comm: (703) 784-9277
Email: joel.s.lewis@usmc.mil
7.j. Graduate Education Manager
Maj Delaney Dumanovsky
Comm: 703-784-9285
Email: SMB_MMOA_GRAD_EDU@USMC.MIL
8. This MARADMIN is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve.
9. Release authorized by MajGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director,
Manpower Management Division.//