FISCAL YEAR 2026 ACTIVE RESERVE OFFICER ACCESSION AND CAREER DESIGNATION PLAN

R 031800Z OCT 25
MARADMIN 470/25
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA RA//
SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2026 ACTIVE RESERVE OFFICER ACCESSION AND CAREER
DESIGNATION PLAN//
REF/A/DOC/MCO 1001.52K/YMD: 20190215//
REF/B/ MSGID: MSG/MARADMIN 169/24//
REF/C/DOC/DODI 1205.18/YMD: 20200605//
REF/D/ MSGID: MSG/MARADMIN 229/24 //
NARR/REFERENCE (A) IS THE MARINE CORPS ACTIVE RESERVE PROGRAM ORDER.
REFERENCE (B) IS MARADMIN 169/24 ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ACTIVE RESERVE
DIRECT HIRE PROCESS FOR MARINE CORPS OFFICERS. REFERENCE (C) IS DOD
INSTRUCTION FOR FULL-TIME SUPPORT TO THE RESERVE COMPONENTS.
REFERENCE (D) IS MARADMIN 229/24 CALENDAR YEAR 2025 CONTINUATION PAY
PROGRAM FOR BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
POC 1/STEPHEN D. GRODEK/LTCOL/RAM-2 OIC - AR GROUND MONITOR/TEL:
703-784-0531/DSN: 278-0531/EMAIL: [email protected]//
POC 2/ANDREW R. WING/LTCOL/RAM DEPUTY - AVIATION MONITOR/TEL:
703-784-0530/DSN:278-0530/EMAIL: [email protected]//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. This MARADMIN announces the Reserve Affairs
Active Reserve (AR) Officer Accession and Career Designation Plan
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. Reserve Affairs Manpower Management (RAM)
will join officers into the AR Program through a single Officer
Accession Board (OAB) and the Direct Hire Process (DHP) in FY26.
The FY26 Career Designation (CD) Board for eligible AR officers will
coincide with the FY26 OAB.
2. AR Program, Accession Tours, and Component Assignments
2.a. The AR Program provides well-trained and experienced Reserve
Component (RC) officers serving on active duty as full-time support
(FTS) to integrate the Marine Corps Reserve into the Total Force
Marine Corps. The AR Program is structured to facilitate the
mobilization of Reserve Forces by administering policy, conducting
training, instruction, recruitment, and performing other functions
as required by reference (a). Officers within the AR Program are
assigned one of two component codes: component B1 (full accession,
pending career designation) or component B4 (probationary or limited
tour). Officers within component B1 are in a promotion category
shared only with other component B1 officers, while officers within
component B4 share a promotion category with Selected Marine Corps
Reserve (SMCR), Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA), and
Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) officers.
2.b. Accession Orders. Officers selected for accession into the AR
Program will be joined to a component based on grade:
2.b.1. Company Grade Officers (O-2 to O-3): Company grade officers
selected for accession will be assigned to a probationary accession
tour in component B4. Upon selection to the grade of O-4, these
officers will be eligible for reassignment to component B1. Per
reference (b), probationary periods shall not exceed six years.
2.b.2. Field Grade Officers (O-4 to O-5): Field grade officers
selected for accession will be assigned to an accession tour in
component B1.
2.c. Probationary and Accession Tour Length: Probationary and
accession tours are between 36 and 48 months in length to support an
EAS date of 30 September 2029. Accession timelines, billet
assignments, and tour length will be coordinated between AR monitors
and the selected officer.
2.d. Limited Tour: AR orders and assignments of less than 36
months, regardless of grade, will be considered Limited Tours.
Officer selected for such tours will be restricted to component B4.
3. AR Officer Eligibility Criteria and Accession Opportunities
3.a. Eligibility Criteria
3.a.1. Applicants must meet all qualifications listed on pages 2-2
through 2-3 of reference (a).
3.a.2. Officers serving in the Active Component (AC), SMCR, IMA,
IRR, or on AR Limited Tours are eligible to apply.
3.a.3. Grade and Time-in-Grade (TIG) Eligibility
3.a.3.a. Ground Officers: Grades O-2 and O-3 are eligible with no
TIG limitations. O-4 must have less than two years TIG as of 30
September 2026.
3.a.3.b. Aviators (75XX): Grades O-3 through O-5 are eligible with
no TIG limitations.
3.a.4. Applicants must be cognizant of standing service obligations
(e.g. original service agreement, minimum time on station, bonus or
incentive pay including continuation pay, utilization tours, flight
contracts, etc.) when applying to the AR Program. Officers who have
received or are receiving involuntary or voluntary separations pay,
incentive pay, or continuation pay per reference (d) may be subject
to recoupment upon accession.
3.a.5. Reserve Officer Commissioning Program (ROCP) officers
executing their initial mandatory service obligation may apply if
their Mandatory Drill Participation Stop Date (MDPSD) is 30
September 2026 or earlier. ROCP officers must request a waiver with
endorsement from the first General Officer in their Reserve chain of
command to join earlier than 180 days from their MDPSD.
3.a.6. Eligibility Waiver Process. Officers who do not meet the
eligibility criteria in this MARADMIN or the references may request
a waiver in their application for the specific exception to policy
that is required.
3.b. Accession Opportunities
3.b.1. Accession Board: The FY26 OAB will convene 26-30 January
2026. Board results listing primary selectees will be published via
MARADMIN. Alternate selectees will be notified via SEPCOR.
3.b.2. Direct Hire Process (DHP): The FY26 DHP is open from 1
October 2025 through 30 September 2026. DHP applications have three
possible determinations which will be communicated directly with the
member as follows:
3.b.2.a. Approved: Applicant meets demands of the AR Program and a
rank and MOS match Billet Identification Code (BIC) is available.
3.b.2.b. Deferred: Applicant meets demands of the AR Program and
may be offered accession when a rank and MOS match BIC becomes
available during that FY.
3.b.2.c. Declined: Applicant does not currently meet the needs of
the AR Program. This determination does not preclude officers from
applying to AR accession boards or DHP opportunities in a future FY.
4. Application and Submission Process
4.a. Application Package: The application format is the same for
OAB and DHP. The application template with endorsement requirements
and required enclosures is labeled Active Reserve Officer Accession
Package Templates found under the "Active Reserve Officer Accessions"
drop-down within the "AR Assignments (RAM-2)" tab at: https://www.
manpower.marines.mil/Divisions/Reserve-Affairs-Division/Reserve-
Affairs-Management-RAM/.
4.b. AC Applications: AC officers are encouraged to communicate
their intent to apply to the AR Program with MMOA and MMSR at the
earliest opportunity. The AC to AR transition requirements listed
below are further detailed within the application template.
4.b.1. Reserve Commission: AC officers cannot join the AR without
a reserve commission, which can take up to 120 days. AC officers
may request, via email to the appropriate AR monitor, to be screened
for a reserve commission prior to formal application.
4.b.2. Intra-Service Transfer (IST) and Form DD-368 (Conditional
Release): AC officers without an End of Active Service (EAS) or
those requesting to join prior to their current EAS, must submit
an IST with Form DD-368 as part of their application.
4.b.3. RAM-2 will submit applicants DD-368 and IST to MMSR-2(O)
for determination by MMOA.
4.c. Submission Methods
4.c.1. OAB Submission: OAB applicants will submit their
applications via the Manpower & Reserve Affairs application website
at: www2.manpower.usmc.mil/application_cac/. The submission window
is 1 December 2025 through 9 January 2026.
4.c.2. DHP Submission: Interested officers are encouraged to
contact the appropriate AR monitor prior to submitting a DHP
application in order assess potential Direct Hire opportunities
relevant to their qualifications. All applicants must apply via
NAVMC 10274 Administrative Action (AA) Form addressed to CMC
(RAM-2) and sent directly to the POC listed above. DHP involves
rolling submissions closing at the end of FY26.
4.c.2.a. Upon receipt of a DHP application, RAM-2 will staff the
package with appropriate stakeholders within Reserve Affairs (RA),
Manpower Management Officer Assignments (MMOA), and Manpower Plans
and Policy (MPP). Director, RA maintains DHP decision authority.
4.c.2.b. The appropriate AR monitor will communicate DHP decisions,
requests for information, or coordination directly with applicants.
5. AR Officer Career Designation (CD)
5.a. Competitive CD offers an opportunity for AR officers in
component B1 to continue service in the AR Program beyond their
accession tour. Officers will be screened for CD on the first CD
board held after having served 24-months of their accession tour.
Officers selected for CD will be assigned an indefinite EAS.
5.b. CD eligibility details, application processes, and coordinating
instructions will be provided via SEPCOR from the RAM-2 OIC to the
eligible population.
6. Release authorized by Major General John F. Kelliher III,
Director, Reserve Affairs Division.//