Announcement of Available Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Level Education Assignments

1.  Purpose.  This message announces Executive
Level Education (ELE) assignments available during fiscal year 2027
(FY27), eligibility criteria for interested officers, and outlines
the process for requesting assignment to ELE.
1.a.  ELE assignment process.  Director, Manpower Management
approves these high-visibility assignments based on the qualities
of interested officers who meet the eligibility criteria outlined
below.
1.b.  Major timeline milestones are:
Date                        Milestone
Release of this message     Start of application period
9 October 2026              Applications due
2.  Background.  ELE programs are 10-12 month education or
fellowship programs available to post-Top Level School (TLS)
lieutenant colonels and colonels.
3.  Eligibility
3.a.  Eligibility criteria
3.a.1.  Colonels and colonel-selects who will have 24 months
time-on-station (TOS) by 31 July 2027 or are otherwise scheduled
to complete their prescribed tour control factor (TCF) in FY27.
This includes officers selected for colonel on the FY28 Promotion
Screening Board.
3.b.  Ineligibility criteria
3.b.1.  Lieutenant colonels in the above zone for promotion.
3.b.2.  Limited duty officers.
3.b.3.  Officers with an approved voluntary separation or
retirement date.
3.b.4  Officers who have previously declined education program
selection.
3.b.5  Officers in receipt of orders to report in FY27.
3.c.  Contact primary military occupational specialty (PMOS)
monitors with questions regarding eligibility.
4.  Available ELE assignments
4.a.  The below assignments to foreign professional military
education (FPME) and CMC fellowships are available during FY27.
Please see the websites in paragraphs 4.b and 4.c, respectively,
for further information.
(Read in five columns)
Assignment                     Quota    Report    Rotate        Note
NATO Defense College           1        Aug 27    Jun 28        1
(Rome, Italy)
India National Defense College 1        Dec 27    Dec 28        1
(New Delhi, India)
RAND Corporation (Fellowship)  1        Aug 27    Jun 28        2
(Arlington, VA)
Hoover Institution             1        Aug 27    Jun 28        2
(Stanford)
Centre des Hautes Études Militaires (CHEM)
(France)                       1        Aug 27    Jun 28        3
Note 1: See FPME website in paragraph 4.b for more information or
contact the MCU POC listed in paragraph 7.
Note 2: See CMC fellowship website in paragraph 4.c for more
information or contact the MCU POC listed in paragraph 7.
Note 3: Student must have taken the French Defense Language Proficiency
Test (DLPT) in FY26 with a score of 2 in listening, 2 in reading, and
1+ in speaking to be selected for this course.
4.b.  Foreign PME website:  https://www.usmcu.edu/Acad
emic-Programs/CMC-Fellows-Strategists-Foreign-PME-Olmsted-Scholars/F
oreign-Professional-Military-Education/
4.c.  CMC fellowship website: https://www.usmcu.edu/Ac
ademic-Programs/CMC-Fellows-Strategists-Foreign-PME-Olmsted-Scholars
/Commandant-of-the-Marine-Corps-Fellowships/
5.  Application process
5.a.  Officers who meet the eligibility criteria outlined above and
who are interested in ELE assignment shall complete the ELE
application no later than 9 October 2026.  In this application,
officers shall also list, in order of preference, the ELE program(s)
they request assignment to.  Interested officers are not required
to list all available ELE assignments and may request assignment to
a single program.
5.b.  Once responses are submitted via the application
questionnaire, applicants and MMOA-3 will receive an automatic
notification of completion.  Officers can reset their own
application questionnaire to make edits, updates, or upload
additional documents during the application period.  Officers are
required to notify their PMOS monitor via email of their intent to
apply for ELE assignment.  The questionnaire is located at:
https://www2.manpower.usmc.mil/application_cac/edu/index.jsp
5.c.  Following the application window, PMOS monitors will confirm
whether or not an officer is eligible and that the officer is now
under consideration for ELE assignment.
5.d.  Correspondence. The application questionnaire is the
only method MMOA-3 will receive and process correspondence.
Documents submitted via any means other than the application
questionnaire, such as e-mail, will not be processed for inclusion
into an application.  Officers may submit any material not found in
their Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) via the application.
This includes letters of recommendation.  Officers may submit a
letter to Director, Manpower Management, similar to a letter to the
board, but are reminded that such letters should either: (1)
Explain a discrepancy in a Fitness Report or record; (2) Explain
unique circumstances that led to a career path perceived as
significantly different; or (3) Explain a discrepancy not covered
by case (1) and (2).  Any letters should be brief and limited to a
clear explanation of the issue involved.
5.d.1.  Do not submit more than SEVEN documents.
5.d.2.  Each document must not exceed 800 KB and must be in .pdf
format.
5.d.3.  File naming convention is important for correspondence
collection and consolidation.  Name the file appropriately according
to type of correspondence i.e. "EDIPI_LOR_lastname" for a letter of
recommendation.
5.d.4.  If submitting multiple of the same type of document, such
two separate letters of recommendations, label them as such
"EDIPI_LOR_lastname (1), EDIPI_LOR_lastname (2)".
6.  Assignment results.  Applicants will be notified of the results
by their PMOS monitor.
6.a.  Declinations. Officers assigned to an ELE program who decline
must forward their request via AA form, endorsed by the first
general officer in their chain of command, to Headquarters Marine
Corps (HQMC) (MMOA).  Unless otherwise approved by Director,
Manpower Management, officers who decline assignment to an ELE
program will not be considered for any other ELE program during the
slating year and are ineligible for future ELE assignment.
Declinations must be received by MMOA NLT 10 calendar days from the
release of the results MARADMIN.
6.b.  Deferrals
6.b.1.  Officers assigned to ELE who are unable to execute orders
due to extraordinary life or personal circumstances may request a
deferral.  Officers requesting deferral must forward their request
to HQMC (MMOA) via AA form.  Deferrals must be endorsed by the first
general officer in their chain of command.
6.b.2.  If approved, the Director, Manpower Management will defer
officers to a future ELE assignment.
7.  Points of contact.
Col E. J. Smith
  Branch Head, MMOA
  Comm:  (703) 784-9300
  Email:  erik.smith@usmc.mil
Col E. F. Bradley
  Ground Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9300
  Email:  evan.bradley@usmc.mil
Col J. C. Davis
  Aviation Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9300
  Email:  jeffrey.c.davis1@usmc.mil
LtCol B. D. Kelly
  Aviation Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9267
  Email:  brandon.d.kelly@usmc.mil
LtCol B. A. Salter
  Combat Arms Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9274
  Email:  brandon.salter@usmc.mil
LtCol D. C. Walker
  Combat Service Support Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9274
  Email:  daniel.c.walker.mil@usmc.mil
LtCol C. T. Thompson
  Information Lieutenant Colonel Monitor
  Comm:  (703) 784-9274
  Email:  clinton.t.thompson@usmc.mil
LtCol J. D. Pineiro
  Director CMC Fellowships/Foreign PME, MCU
  Comm:  (703) 432-4837
  Email:  Fellows_FPME_Olmsted@usmcu.edu
8.  This message is only applicable to the active component.
9.  Release authorized by MajGen Fridrik Fridriksson, Director,
Manpower Management Division.