FISCAL YEAR 2026 ACTIVE AND RESERVE MARINE ATTACHÉ SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT

MARADMINS : 171/24

R 101930Z APR 24 MARADMIN 171/24 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM// SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2026 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: 20150219// NARR/REF A IS MCO 3821.2, USMC PARTICIPATION IN THE DEFENSE ATTACHÉ SERVICE. REF B IS MCO 1300.8 CH-1, PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY. REF C IS MCO 1900.16 CH 2, SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT MANUAL (MARCORSEPMAN).// POC/M. D. SCOTTO/MAJ/MMOA-3/TEL: 703-784-9284/EMAIL: MICHAEL.D.SCOTTO@USMC.MIL// POC/T. D. STOKES/GYSGT/MMEA-25/TEL: 703-432-9473/EMAIL: TYLER.D.STOKES@USMC>MIL// POC/S. A. WESTERFIELD/CIV/DCI IID/TEL: 703-693-5421/EMAIL: SCOTT.WESTERFIELD@USMC.MIL// POC/R. W. DAWSON/LTCOL/IMA/EMAIL: RICHARD.DAWSON@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 2026 (FY26) MARA program. The board selects Marines based on Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) experience and performance, and slates Marines 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 Applications open 15 July 2024 MARA applications due 26 August 2024 FY26 MARA board convenes Nov 2024 - Jan 2025 FY26 MARA results released 1 Note 1: Following approval of primary selectees by the Secretary of the Navy, M&RA releases the results of the FY26 MARA Selection Board anytime from November 2024 to January 2025. 2. MARAs fill influential, strategic-level positions within embassy country teams. 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. 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. 2.a. Reserve attaché program. Reserve attachés’ primary purpose is to augment the DAS utilizing drills and annual training periods (30-60 continuous days in the NCR or abroad per year), but they may also have opportunities to support while on longer term Active-Duty Operational Support (ADOS) orders for periods of three months to two years based on operational MARA gaps. Reserve attaché program selectees will be utilized based on DAS priorities, Marine availability, suitability, and funding availability. 3. Eligibility criteria. Active Component (AC) and Reserve Component (RC) Marines who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply. 3.a. Grade and career timing 3.a.1. Officers must meet the grade criterion (or be selected to or in-zone for promotion to that grade) of the associated duty for which they are applying. HQMC Intelligence Division and M&RA 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. E-5s must have two years TIG. 3.a.3. AC 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. 3.a.4. RC 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 FY24. 3.a.5. AC Marines must be a FY25 mover based upon current prescribed tour length. If selected, Marines will depart their current duty station in FY25 to attend training prior to reporting to their assigned country in FY26. 3.a.6. AC Marines may request via AA form to screen if they are scheduled to complete their prescribed tour length in FY26 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. 3.a.7. All applicants must include email correspondence from their PMOS monitor (AC) or RAM (RC) confirming their eligibility for this program. The board will not consider applications without PMOS monitor or RAM confirmation. Service requirements and other manpower considerations may preclude eligibility IAW ref (b). 3.a.8. Per references (a) and (b), AC 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 for active duty applicants. 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 HQMC SSO at 703-693-6005 or hqmc_sso@usmc.mil. 3.a.9. RC Marines without TS/SCI eligibility may apply; however, if a reserve primary selectee does not have TS/SCI eligibility, the Marine will be submitted for and must obtain a TS/SCI clearance before transferring to the IMA and subsequently pass a counterintelligence-scope polygraph before starting Reserve Support Course. 3.a.10. RC Marines must have had four satisfactory years of service (50 points minimum each year) during the last five years. 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. Marines affiliated with the Active Reserve Program. 4.e. RC Marines above 5840 Active Duty Points on their Career Retirement Credit Report. RC Marines with less than 5040 Career Retirement Credit Report points are preferred. 4.f. AC officers and Marines in receipt of permanent change of station (PCS) or permanent change of assignment (PCA) orders. 4.g. Officers and Marines selected for or currently attending programs that have a designated utilization assignment. Examples include, Commandant’s Education Board, and School of Advanced Warfighting. 4.h. AC naval aviators completing two or more consecutive years in Duties Involving Flying - Denied (DIFDEN) status during FY25 will not normally be screened. These officers may request consideration by contacting their primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) monitor. 4.i. Captains and majors in the above-zone (AZ) for promotion to the next grade and not selected for continuation. Lieutenant colonels in the AZ for promotion to colonel may apply on a case-by-case basis. 4.j. AC Marines without TS/SCI clearance eligibility. 5. Additional considerations 5.a. Language, regional expertise, and culture (LREC) skills are highly desirable but are not prerequisites. 5.b. 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.c. Foreign-born Marines are not eligible for assignment to the country in which they were born. 5.d. Spouses of applicants must be naturalized US citizens. Applicants will not be eligible for assignment to the country in which the spouse was born. 5.e. Applicants will not be eligible for assignment to a country in which immediate family members still maintain citizenship. Applicants should identify in their application letter whether any of their immediate family are not US citizens or dual citizens. Immediate family members includes parents, step-parents, siblings, and children. 6. Training 6.a. AC Training. AC Marines selected for the program will attend the Joint Military Attaché School (JMAS). 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 for most billets. The length of language training will be based on the language and proficiency level required. Training start dates are dependent upon language training (up to 64 weeks in duration), JMAS (13 weeks), and the country to which selected. In some cases, this training may start as early as Spring 2025. 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. 6.b. RC Training. Reserve Attachés selected for the program must complete both Reserve Support Course (RSC) and Geographic Division Training before serving overseas. RSC is a resident one-week reserve introductory course taught by the JMAS annually, usually in December aboard Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC. Geographic Division Training is separate from RSC and consists of a minimum of 10 working days supporting the DAS geographic division to which the RC Marine is assigned. 7. AC vacancies. The FY26 board will screen AC applicants for the below assignments. This list is subject to change before the selection board based on DIA requirements. For the most current list, visit the website listed in paragraph 8.b. All are 36-month accompanied tours unless noted otherwise. 7.a. Officers. (Read in four columns) Country Language Rank Notes Australia English LtCol Dominican Republic Spanish LtCol SDO/DATT Georgia Russian LtCol 24-month tour Ghana French LtCol SDO/DATT (C-12 Pilot) Iraq Arabic Capt-Maj 12-month unaccompanied Israel Hebrew Maj Italy Italian Maj Jordan Arabic Maj Liberia English Maj 24-month tour Papua New Guinea Tok Pisan LtCol SDO DATT, 24-month tour. Note: School limitations for school age children Singapore English LtCol Spain Spanish Maj 7.b. Enlisted. (Read in four columns) Country Language Rank Notes Armenia Armenian Sgt-MSgt 24-month tour Egypt Arabic Sgt-MSgt 24-month tour Ethiopia English Sgt-MSgt 24-month tour Ghana French Sgt-MSgt Jamaica English GySgt-MSgt Libya Arabic GySgt-MSgt Nepal English Sgt-MSgt 24-month tour 8. Reserve attaché program 8.a. The FY26 board will screen three primary and two alternate reserve component O-3 to O-5 billets, and one primary and one alternate reserve component E-6 and E-7. 8.b. Reserve IMA billets are three to five years in duration. 8.c. Selectees will be transferred to the HQMC Intelligence Department’s Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) unit (RUC 88600) prior to the start of RSC once the required clearance has been adjudicated. RC selectees will attend RSC as soon as able, per paragraph (6.b.). Drill attendance sheets, orders requests, and other administrative requirements associated with this duty will be processed by HQMC Deputy Commandant for Information. Drills and Annual Training will likely occur in the National Capitol Region for the first year in support of this program’s substantial onboarding process. 8.d. Reserve Marines selected as Alternates on the FY25 Marine Attaché Board are encouraged to reapply. 9. Application process 9.a. All applicants will follow guidelines posted to the HQMC Intelligence Division MARA website (link below). Applications must include a command endorsement from the first O-6 commander in the applicant’s chain of command. Applicants will list assignments 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.intelligence.marines.mil/OCC-Field-Foreign-Language/Defense-Attache-Program/ 9.b.1. Every document within the application must be a separate file in portable document format (.pdf) and saved with the naming convention EDIPI_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_MI_RANK_ACTIVE(or reserve)_MOS_ ENCLOSURENUMBER_DOCUMENTNA (e.g. 1234567890_SMITH_JOHN_A_MAJ_RESERVE_0302_ENCL1_O6_COMMAND_ENDORSMENT). 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 15 July 2024 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 prevent delayed processing. 9.b.5. Enlisted Marines applying will also 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. Results. M&RA will publish results following Secretary of the Navy approval of all primary selectees. The results MARADMIN will contain information on the process for acceptance of the assignment and basic reporting information. 11. This message is applicable to the Marine Corps Total Force. 12. Release authorized by BGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director, Manpower Management, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.//