Solicitation of Marines for PMOS 0321, Reconnaissance Marine

1. THE CMC (MMEA) CONTINUES TO SEEK MARINES FOR
LATERAL MOVE TO PMOS 0321, RECONNAISSANCE MARINE. NEW FORCE
STRUCTURE REVIEW GROUP (FSRG) INITIATIVES REQUIRE CHANGES, FOR
ADDITIONAL 0321 RECON MARINES TO MEET OUR CORPS' STRUCTURE. TO 
ADDRESS FUTURE SHORTFALLS, CMC (MMEA) IS ENCOURAGING ALL INTERESTED 
MARINES WHO MEET MARINE CORPS REQUIREMENTS, TO REQUEST A LATERAL 
MOVE INTO PMOS 0321, RECONNAISSANCE MARINE.
2. PROCESS:
 A. MARINES IN ANY MOS, IN THE GRADES OF E1 TO E5, CAN APPLY FOR
A LATERAL MOVE TO MOS 0321. FIRST TERM MARINES WITH UP TO THREE 
YEARS OF REMAINING OBLIGATED SERVICE MUST SUBMIT LATERAL MOVE 
REQUESTS TO CMC (MMEA-6)THROUGH THEIR CAREER RETENTION SPECIALIST.
FTAP MARINES ARE REQUIRED TO REENLIST IN THEIR RESPECTIVE FY. FTAP 
MARINES WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO THE 0321 SRB UNTIL COMPLETION OF THE 
BAISIC RECONNAISSANCE COURSE (BRC). CAREER MARINES IN THE PAY GRADES 
OF E4-E5 WITH THREE THROUGH EIGHT YEARS OF SERVICE, THAT DESIRE TO
LATERAL MOVE, MUST ALSO SUBMIT REQUESTS THROUGH THEIR CAREER 
RETENTION SPECIALIST. CAREER MARINES SRB PAYMENT WILL NOT BE MADE AT 
TIME OF REENLISTMENT BUT UPON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF BRC AND 
SUBSEQUENT AWARD OF PRIMARY MOS 0321. AT THIS TIME THE 0321 MOS IS 
CLOSED TO LATERAL MOVES FOR SSGTS AND ABOVE.
 B. ALL MARINES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR
OBLIGATED SERVICE REMAINING ON THEIR CONTRACT FROM THE DATE THEY 
FINISH BRC AND RECEIVE THE PMOS 0321.
 C. CMC (MMEA)WILL CONSIDER LATERAL MOVE REQUESTS FROM FIRST
TERM MARINES ASSIGNED TO INFANTRY BATTALIONS AFTER A MINIMUM OF ONE 
UNIT DEPLOYMENT. 
 C. APPLICANTS' RECORDS WILL BE REVIEWED AT CMC (MMEA) AND FINAL 
APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL WILL BE PROVIDED BY SEPARATE CORRESPONDENCE.
 D. MARINES APPROVED FOR A LATERAL MOVE WILL RECEIVE ORDERS TO A
RECON UNIT FOR FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS TO ATTEND THE RECONNAISSANCE 
MARINES AWAITING TRAINING PLATOON (RMAT) AND WILL BE ASSIGNED THE 
IMOS OF 0321. RMAT IS DESIGNED TO PREPARE MARINES FOR THE BASIC 
RECONNAISSANCE COURSE. RMAT CORE SUBJECTS INCLUDE PHYSICAL 
FITNESS, SWIMMING, LAND NAVIGATION, COMMUNICATIONS, PATROLLING, AND
AMPHIBIOUS TRAINING. MARINES WILL BE ASSIGNED THE 0321 PMOS UPON 
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF BRC. FAILURE OF RMAT OR BRC WILL RESULT 
IN RECLASSIFICATION OF MARINES BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL PMOS. 
3. ELIGIBILITY PREREQUISITES:
 A. GT SCORE OF 105 OR HIGHER
 B. CWS-1 SWIM QUALIFICATION OR HIGHER
 C. SCORE 225 OR HIGHER ON THE PFT
 D. NORMAL COLOR VISION, AND NEAR VISUAL ACUITY
 E. MUST BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SECRET CLEARANCE
 F. FREE OF ALL UPPER RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS AND EAR, NOSE, AND
SKIN DISORDERS WHICH MIGHT PRECLUDE A MARINE FROM PARTICIPATING IN 
PROLONGED TRAINING IN SALT WATER. 
 G. FREE FROM INJURIES TO THE ANKLES, KNEES, BACK, AND SHOULDERS
WHICH MIGHT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATING IN FIELD OPERATIONS AND NORMAL 
PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING.
4. MARINES BEING CONSIDERED MUST PASS A RECON SCREENING, CONDUCTED
BY A RECON UNIT. A COMPLETE RECON SCREENING WILL CONSIST OF A 
REVIEW OF THE MARINE'S SRB AND MEDICAL RECORDS, TO ENSURE HE MEETS 
THE PREREQUISITES CONTAINED IN THE MOS MANUAL. ADDITIONALLY, EACH 
MARINE WILL COMPLETE A PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST AND COMPLETE A SWIM 
TEST. DURING THE SWIM TEST MARINES WILL WEAR FULL UTILITIES MINUS 
COVER AND BOOTS. THE SWIM TEST CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING: 25M 
UNDERWATER CROSSOVER, RUBBER RIFLE RETRIEVAL FROM A MINIMUM DEPTH 
OF 10 FEET, 3M TOWER ENTRY, 30 MINUTE WATER TREAD, UTILITY LIFE 
PRESERVER INFLATION, AND 500M SWIM DEMONSTRATING PROPER STROKE 
TECHNIQUES (BREAST AND SIDE STROKE ONLY) IN A TIME LIMIT OF 30 
MINUTES.
5. THIS HEADQUARTERS RECOGNIZES THAT LIMITED SWIM TRAINING AND
TESTING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE OPERATING FORCES MAY PREVENT SOME 
MARINES FROM ACHIEVING A CWS1 QUALIFICATION, AS REQUIRED BY THE MOS 
MANUAL. MARINES WHO CURRENTLY HAVE A CWS2 OR LESS, BUT PASS THE 
RECON SWIM TEST, WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR 
SWIM PROFICIENCY TO CWS1 IN RMAT.
6. MARINES NOT MEETING THE PREREQUISITE GT OF 105 ARE ENCOURAGED TO
RETAKE THE ASVAB IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO INCREASE THEIR GT SCORE. 
MARINES WHO DO NOT POSSESS A 105 GT, BUT ARE OTHERWISE QUALIFIED, 
CAN REQUEST A WAIVER FROM CMC (MMEA) ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS (NOT 
TO EXCEED 5 POINTS).
7. COMMANDERS AND UNIT LEADERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO DISSEMINATE THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MARADMIN.