More-mature mustangs p1 - Military Career Advancement - Military Times Edge

Enlisted Marines looking to go officer this year, listen up: The Marine Corps just made the rules to go mustang substantially tougher.

Marine officials have adopted new guidelines for its already competitive Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, requiring applicants to be sergeants and up with at least three years in the service and 12 college credits. The new requirements, announced in Marine administrative message 213/10, will be a factor this summer as Marine Corps Recruiting Command considers applications for the fiscal 2011 MECEP selection board. Those applications are due by May 28. The Corps is adopting the changes to produce more experienced, mature junior officers through the program, Marine officials said.

There are seven major requirements changes to MECEP, which selects about 100 Marines per year to attend college fulltime and earn a bachelor’s degree while the Corps pays their full-time wages. The Marine is responsible for paying his tuition. According to Recruiting Command’s summary of the changes, released April 20, the new rules stipulate:

• Minimum rank. Marines must have been pinned with sergeant chevrons before the application deadline. Last year, there was no rank requirement, and a handful of corporals were selected for MECEP in recent years.

• Minimum time in service. Applicants must be in the Corps at least three years. Last year’s requirement was one year.

• College credits. Marines must have at least 12 college credits, including three entry-level credits in math or science and three entry-level English credits. Previously, MECEP applicants had no college requirements.

• Combat Fitness Test scores. Applicants must have completed a first-class CFT and scored at least a 225 on the PFT. Previously, Marines were required to complete a first-class PFT, and the CFT was not a part of the requirements.

• No previous failures. Marines who have failed to complete another commissioning program because of unsatisfactory performance won’t be allowed to apply. The old guidelines had no specific guidelines for previous failures.

• High school education. All applicants must have a high school diploma or two years of high school and a general equivalency diploma. MECEP had no similar requirements.

• Minimum SAT verbal score. Applicants must have scored 1,000 or higher on their SAT test, including at least 400 on the verbal portion. Old guidelines required a score of 1,000, but did not have specific requirements for the verbal test.

No more MECEP prep

The changes are designed to increase the caliber of applicants reviewed for the program, said Maj. Chris Devine, a Recruiting Command spokesman. Marines who planned to apply for the program this year but no longer are eligible are encouraged to apply in future years, he said.

“We think that the guidelines right now are going to produce a much more quality candidate who is going to matriculate into a better Marine Corps officer,” Devine said. “They’ll be a little more mature, a little bit more polished, and obviously a little more educated.”

Last summer, the Corps selected 100 Marines for the fiscal 2010 program, including one lance corporal and eight corporals. More than 400 applied. Most Marines selected for MECEP in recent years have been sergeants, including 62 out of 100 picked last summer and 96 out of 150 the year before.

The MECEP board will likely select between 80 and 100 Marines this summer, Devine said. Typically, about 75 percent make it through the program and earn a commission.

Money is another driving factor behind the new requirements. The Corps will eliminate its MECEP Preparatory School for this year’s selectees, telling them instead to report directly to the universities and colleges in which they plan to enroll, Devine said.

Marine officials believe the six-week preparatory program is no longer necessary because many Marines already have college in their background, or take online classes while they’re in the Corps. The service will save about $250,000 to $300,000 each year by eliminating the program, Devine said.