Fiscal Year 2026 Active Component Enlisted Marine Lateral Move Opportunities

1.  Purpose. To encourage Marines who seek new challenging opportunities to submit for lateral moves. This MARADMIN is an update to reference (d), advertising lateral move opportunities available to active component Marines with an End of Current Contract (ECC) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.

2.  Discussion.  A lateral move allows Marines to stay Marine while changing career tracks and exploring new career opportunities in a high demand Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS). Marines who have yet to submit for reenlistment or whose PMOS is closed are encouraged to submit a lateral move request into one of the PMOSs listed in the below paragraphs.

3.  Every PMOS has unique requirements, which are located in reference (a). Interested Marines and their leadership are encouraged to contact their unit Career Counselor for additional information on the lateral move process, confirm boatspace availability within their desired PMOS, and school seat availability.  The unit Career Counselor will provide updates to the availability of lateral move opportunities throughout the FY.

4.  Bonus Eligibility. Marines who execute lateral move reenlistments may be eligible to receive bonus payments as listed in accordance with reference (b).

5.  Lateral move opportunities exist in the following PMOS for both First Term Alignment Plan (FTAP) and Subsequent Term Alignment Plan (STAP) Marines:
MOS   Title
0211  Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence (CI/HUMINT) Specialist
0321  Reconnaissance Marine
0372  Critical Skills Operator
1751  Influence Specialist
1834  Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Crewmember
2143  ACV Repairer/Technician
2336  Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician
5955  Ground Control Station Technician
5974  Tactical Data Systems Technician
5979  Tactical Air Operations/Air Defense Systems Technician
6214  Unmanned Aircraft Mechanic, MQ-9
6314  Avionics/Maintenance Technician, Unmanned Aircraft
System (UAS)

6.  Lateral move opportunities exist in the following PMOS for only FTAP Marines:
MOS   Title
3044  Operational Contract Support Specialist
4133  Marine Corps Community Services Marine
4821  Career Counselor
5821  Criminal Investigator Agent
7212  Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Gunner

7.  Lateral move opportunities exist in the following PMOS for only STAP Marines:
MOS   Title
0681  Information Security Technician
1721  Cyberspace Warfare Operator
8412  Career Recruiter

8.  STAP Marines applying for a lateral move should ensure they have requisite time in grade to be competitive for promotion to the next grade in the new PMOS in accordance with current enlisted active duty service limits per reference (c).

9.  This message only applies to Marines identified as eligible in reference (e).  All additional guidance within the FY26 Enlisted Retention Campaign remains applicable.

10.  Release authorized by SES Michael R. Strobl, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.