R 280800Z APR 23
MARADMIN 225/23
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MP//
SUBJ/ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SMALL-UNIT LEADER INITIATIVE//
REF/A/MSGID: MSG/CMC MRA MM/YMD: 301800ZOCT19//
REF/B/MSGID: DOC/CMC MRA MM/YMD: 081912ZJUN20//
REF/C/MSGID: DOC/CMC MRA MM/YMD: 20120614//
REF/D/MSGID: DOC/CMC MRA MM/YMD: 20100908//
POC/M.E.KILBER/MAJ/MPP-20/CMC MRA/703-784-9361//
POC/S.J.MAXWELL/MAJ/MMPR-2/CMC MRA/703-784-9710//
NARR/REF A IS MARADMIN 612/19, ANNOUNCEMENT OF AUTHORITY FOR EARLY REENLISTMENT, DELEGATION OF REENLISTMENT APPROVAL AUTHORITY, AND CHANGES TO PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS POLICY. REF B IS MARADMIN 334/20, FORTHCOMING CHANGES TO MCO P1400.32D, MARINE CORPS PROMOTION MANUAL, VOLUME 2, ENLISTED PROMOTIONS. REF C IS MCO 1400.32 W/CH 2, MARINE CORPS PROMOTION MANUAL, VOLUME 2, ENLISTED PROMOTIONS. REF D IS MCO 1040.31, ENLISTED RETENTION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. To meet the demands of a more complex future operating environment, the Marine Corps is investing in talent through the early identification, retention, and promotion of our highest-performing, most-committed Marines. This message announces the Small-Unit Leader Initiative (SULI), a new program to support this effort.
2. Background. HQMC created this program in response to the Fleet Marine Force’s need to retain and promote our highest-quality corporals and build upon recent retention campaign success. With this program, the Service will continue to work towards fully resourcing formations with the required Sergeant leadership.   
3.  Initiative Overview. SULI provides high-performing, committed, first-term corporals eligibility for promotion to the rank of Sergeant. Eligible Marines must meet all the following conditions:
3.a. Be recommended by the first O-5 commander in the Marine’s chain of command.
3.b. Have at least 36 months' time-in-service (TIS).
3.c. Have executed a reenlistment.
3.d. Completed all required Professional Military Education (PME).
3.e. Meet the Junior Enlisted Performance Evaluation System (JEPES) promotion cutoff score for the month in which promoted.
4.  Implementation.
4.a. Effective 1 June 2023, Marines who meet the above eligible criteria may be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Commands must manually screen and validate that the Marine meets or exceeds the monthly JEPES cutoff score.
4.a.1. Commands can view the cutoff scores for each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) by typing "JEPA" from the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) main menu and following the instructions at the bottom of the page.  Note that the cutting scores for the current month are not available in MCTFS until after the current month select grades have posted.
4.a.2. Commands can validate the Marine’s JEPES promotion score by typing “JWKS” in MCTFS.  
4.a.3. The cutoff score and the individual Marine’s JEPES score for the current month must be printed from the 1) “projected JWKS” screen BEFORE the current month select grades post (~20th of each month) and 2) the “JEPA” screen AFTER the current month select grades post. These documents must be attached with this MARADMIN and provided to IPAC by the command per paragraph 5.c.  Failure to pull the "projected JWKS" information before the current month select grades post will result in commands pulling the subsequent month's projected JEPES score. Failure to pull ("JEPA" screen) MCTFS information after the current month select grades post will cause commands to retrieve inaccurate JEPES information.
4.b. Examples 4.b.1. A Marine who has executed a reenlistment and has 36 months TIS, is immediately eligible for a SULI promotion, assuming all other promotion requirements (e.g. PME) are met.   
4.b.2. A Marine who has 30 months TIS and executes a reenlistment is not yet eligible for a SULI promotion to sergeant. However, once this Marine reaches 36 months TIS and has met all established SULI promotion requirements, this Marine will be eligible for a SULI promotion.
4.c. SULI promotion authority will be retained at the O-5 command level; additional restrictions or criteria for SULI promotions shall not be levied on Marines.
4.d. SULI promotions will not affect previously-established meritorious promotion allocations. 
5. Administrative Requirements. SULI promotions will be affected using the following administrative processes:
5.a. Upon reenlistment, CMC (MMEA-1) will annotate 36-month TIS eligibility for each Marine in the TFRS RELM and will reference this MARADMIN.
5.b. MMEA-1 will concurrently run a draw case code (DCC) of “ZU” to track all FY24 corporal and below reenlistments to track future SULI eligibility. If a DCC is not present, commands are still authorized to promote the Marine under the SULI program so long as the commander verifies that the Marine has reenlisted prior to completing a SULI promotion.
5.c. Once a Marine meets all SULI requirements as listed above in paragraph 3, O-5 command teams will use the Marine Online (MOL) EPAR module (“SULI Eligible Promotion” on the drop down menu) to submit the following documents to IPAC: 1) current “JEPA” and “projected JWKS” screens that show the Marine’s JEPES score meets or exceeds in-month eligibility; 2) O-5-level command letter stating Marine is recommended for promotion to Sergeant and is SULI eligible; 3) executed reenlistment documents; and 4) command-generated promotion warrant.
5.d. IPAC will report SULI promotions NLT the 5th of each month using the meritorious promotion TTC (052-003) with the effective date of the 1st of the month.
5.e. All Marines should recognize possible divergence between the JEPES scores that are viewed in MOL and the authoritative JEPES score computed in MCTFS. The MOL Marine Reported On (MRO) Dashboard is the portal through which Marines can view their current objective scores, command input marks, and peer comparison by-grade and by-MOS. However, the MCTFS JEPES score is the authority for promotion eligibility.
5.f. Marines’ authoritative JEPES score will be computed in MCTFS using the total of their objective scores and their command input marks (subjective evaluation) as of the command cutoff date (MCTFS cutoff) for each promotion month. For example, the command cutoff for promotion 1 March 2023 is 31 January 2023.  Marines may have a higher or lower score reflecting on the MRO Dashboard than what is computed in MCTFS for a given promotion month because the MCTFS score will only calculate data elements that are prior to the command cutoff.  Late reporting of any data element to include command input marks will cause the MCTFS to automatically recompute the JEPES score.
5.g. Commands should be aware that due to current systems limitations, SULI remedial promotions are not actionable.  Commands should ensure all training data and input marks are submitted in a timely manner to accurately calculate a Marine’s JEPES score. If late training data or command input marks are submitted, the command shall execute a SULI promotion for the next month in which the Marine is eligible.
6.  Reserve applicability. This MARADMIN is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve; however, a complementary reserve component program is forthcoming and will be announced via SEPCOR.
7.  Release authorized by LtGen James F. Glynn, Deputy Commandant, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.//