Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Headquarters Marine Corps Special Duty Assignment Campaign

1.  This message announces the Fiscal Year 2026
(FY26) Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Special Duty Assignment
(SDA) Campaign and provides coordinating instructions for requesting
billets as a Recruiter, Drill Instructor, Combat Instructor, or 
Marine Security Guard Detachment Commander (MSG DC).  The SDA 
Campaign outlines the timelines and procedures of the FY26 voluntary
and involuntary assignment periods.
2.  Background.  A successful SDA tour is a hallmark of a
competitive Marine and makes him or her exceptionally qualified
for promotion.  In addition to opportunities for meritorious 
promotions, financial incentives, and duty station preferences, an
SDA tour is intellectually rewarding and physically and mentally
challenging.
3.  Situation.  The goal of the FY26 SDA Campaign is to fulfill
all SDA requirements with volunteers by building upon the sustained
volunteerism of recent years and improving the reliability and 
quality of assignments.  Marines approved for an FY26 SDA will have
a class report date between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.  
The FY26 SDA Campaign will be executed via voluntary and 
(if required) involuntary assignment periods from 1 July 2024 to
1 July 2025.  
4.  Concept of operations:
4.a.  Phase I: Voluntary Assignment Period (VAP)
4.a.1.  The VAP begins 1 July 2024 and ends 28 February 2025.  
During this phase, HQMC will accept and review volunteer packages 
for potential assignment to an SDA of the Marine's choice.  
FY26 SDA volunteer packages submitted prior to  1 July 2024 will be 
considered on a case-by-case basis.  The intent of this phase is to
fulfill as many FY26 SDA openings as possible and minimize the 
requirement for involuntary assignments.  See paragraph 5 for
eligibility information.  
4.a.2.  From 11 June to 18 July 2024, SDA monitors will conduct the
FY26 SDA Summer Roadshow to promote SDA and screen-able 
duty opportunities.  See reference (d) for details.
4.a.3.  Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs) may request monitor visits
for an execution date after 5 August 2024 by completing the CMC 
(MMEA) Assist Visit Request Form on the MMEA Manpower and Reserve 
Affairs website.  
4.a.4.  In January 2025, SDA Monitors will conduct the first portion
of the 2025 MMEA Roadshow to encourage Marines to volunteer for an 
FY26 SDA before the involuntary assignment period.  The details of 
the MMEA Roadshow will be published in a separate MARADMIN.  MSC 
career planners can expect to receive a list of SDA-eligible 
Marines via the Total Force Retention System (TFRS) in January to 
assist with volunteer solicitation.  
4.b.  Phase II:  Involuntary Assignment Period (IVAP)
4.b.1.  The IVAP, commonly known as the HQMC SDA Screening Team 
(HSST) assignment period, will begin on 1 March 2025.  The intent of
this period is to assign only the minimum number of Marines needed 
to fulfill the remaining FY26 SDA openings.  Eligible Marines will 
be screened for involuntary assignment via the HSST.  The IVAP will
end 1 July 2025.
4.b.2.  During the IVAP, Marines not identified for screening via
the HSST may request assignment to an SDA as a volunteer.  However,
these volunteers will no longer have priority for assignment and
may be restricted by Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS)
requirements.
5.  Eligibility
5.a.  Reference (a) contains the complete listing of eligibility
and screening criteria.
5.b.  Marines who currently have six or more months time on station
(based on geographical location) are eligible to serve on an 
FY26 SDA and may be screened by the HSST.  These Marines are 
encouraged to volunteer and contact their career planners and 
monitors for more information.
5.c.  Marines who have executed a lateral move into their present
MOS are not eligible to submit for voluntary assignment unless they
have completed a minimum of 24 months in that MOS prior to the class
start date.
5.d.  Marines who have previously completed an SDA are eligible to
serve on a second tour.  Marines must have been in the Fleet Marine
Forces for a minimum of 24 months prior to their class start date.
5.e.  Marines who wish to volunteer for assignment to an SDA must
submit an "SDA RELM" via TFRS to HQMC with the assistance of the 
unit career planner.  Career planners should include a comment in 
the RELM about the Marine's duty and class preference.
5.f.  To be considered an SDA volunteer, Marines must have a 
complete "SDA RELM" submitted in TFRS before 28 February 2025 or 
earlier and be requesting assignment to one of the following duties:
Recruiter, Drill Instructor, Combat Instructor or MSG Detachment 
Commander.  Marines desiring to volunteer should plan accordingly as
package signature dates will not be used to determine a Marine's 
volunteer status.
5.f.1.  Marines with a request for a non-SDA screen-able duty 
(i.e., MSG Watch Stander) that is still pending in TFRS after 
1 March 2025 will not be considered SDA volunteers and may be 
required to submit HSST screening materials if identified for HSST 
screening and if disapproved for the initial request.  Marines 
submitting for these duties should plan to submit early to receive 
prompt adjudication or request an SDA as a secondary preference.
5.f.2.  The majority of Combat Instructor billets are restricted to 
infantry PMOSs.  As such, infantry Marines are more likely to 
receive directed assignments to Combat Instructor duty and should 
request assignment early in Phase I to secure volunteer status.
5.f.3.  Only a small portion of Combat Instructor billets are open 
to Marines of any PMOS and these are regularly filled with 
volunteers.  Marines seeking this duty are encouraged to volunteer 
early in Phase I to secure their assignment as these billets will 
likely not be available near or during the HSST assignment period.
6.  Volunteer Cancellations and Modifications
6.a.  To increase the reliability of volunteer assignments,
volunteer cancellation and modification requests during Phase I will
be considered on a case-by-case basis, based upon the needs of the 
Marine, the PMOS, the SDA, and the Marine's command.  Marines should
provide full justifications for these requests.
6.b.  All cancellation and modification requests, for volunteers and
non-volunteers alike, occurring after publication of the HSST
screening list will be scrutinized.  Marines and commands should
provide thorough justifications, detailing why the Marine is no
longer eligible and/or the risks incurred if the Marine remains in
their current assignment.
7.  Financial Incentives.  Details regarding specific updates to 
financial incentives will be provided in a separate MARADMIN related
to SDA Pay and Assignment Incentive Pay.
8.  Volunteers seeking assignment to Recruiting Duty will be
eligible to apply for a recruiting station of their choice via the
Recruiting Station Incentive (RSI) program pending recruiting
station (RS) availability.  See reference (e) for available 
FY26 RSIs.  RSIs are limited and subject to availability. 
9.  All Marines that are eligible to volunteer for an SDA or 
screenable duty can email the respective SDA monitor listed below if
they have any specific questions regarding that area of assignment.
Marines are strongly encouraged to reach out to their unit Career 
Planner with any initial screening or retention based questions.
9.a.  GySgt Noriega: rolando.noriega@usmc.mil for Recruiting Duty.
9.b.  GySgt Morales: adrian.c.nanez.mil@usmc.mil for Drill 
Instructor Duty, Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy Faculty 
Advisor or Curriculum Developer, Assistant Marine Officer 
Instructor, United States Naval Academy Instructor, Officer 
Candidate School Instructor, Martial Arts and Fitness Center of 
Excellence, and Marine Corps Instructor of Water Survival.
9.c.  GySgt Richardson: jacob.a.richardson.mil@usmc.mil for Marine 
Security Guard Duty, Equal Opportunity Advisor, and Marine Corps 
Shooting Team.
9.d.  GySgt Stokes: tyler.d.stokes@usmc.mil for: Combat Instructor 
Duty, Marine Corps Security Forces Duty, Enlisted Education 
Programs, Congressional Fellowship Program, International Affairs 
Program, and Defense Attaché Program.
10.  Questions regarding the FY26 SDA Campaign should be referred to 
the POCs listed above.
11.  Release authorized by BGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director, 
Manpower Management Division.