24th Enlisted Retention Task Force (ERTF) Conference

1. THE 24TH ENLISTED RETENTION TASK FORCE (ERTF)
CONFERENCE WAS HELD ON 25 SEPT 2003. THIS MESSAGE REVIEWS TOPICS
DISCUSSED AND ANNOUNCES THE DATE FOR THE NEXT CONFERENCE.
2. TOPICS DISCUSSED:
A. FY03 FTAP SUMMARY: AS OF 25 SEPT 2003, ALL APPROVED FY03
FIRST TERM MARINES HAVE EXECUTED REENLISTMENT, ACCOUNTING FOR 101.6%
OF THE ANNUAL REENLISTMENT GOAL. THE FY03 FTAP MOS MATCH IS 99.6%,
THE HIGHEST MOS MATCH EVER. ONLY 5 MOS'S DID NOT REACH THEIR FTAP
REENLISTMENT GOAL OUT OF 195 MOS'S. THE SUBSEQUENT TERM 
ALIGNMENT PLAN (STAP) REACHED ITS GOAL OF 6,172 REENLISTMENTS BY
EXECUTING OVER 7,059 REENLISTMENTS. COMMANDERS AND CAREER RETENTION
SPECIALISTS (CRS) HAVE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB DURING FY03. MMEA
HAS NOW SHIFTED IT'S EFFORTS TO FY04. 
B. FY04 FAST FILLING MOS (FFM) BOARD AFTER ACTION: THE 
GOAL OF THE FFM BOARDS WAS TO SELECT THE MOST HIGHLY QUALIFIED FIRST
TERM MARINES PER MOS BASED ON THE PERSONAL AND TRAINING DATA 
FOUND IN MCTFS AND COMMANDING OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS. PER THE
REFERENCES THE FFM BOARD WAS HELD DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST. 
1,241 MARINES WERE SELECTED OUT OF 1,722 APPLICANTS FROM 63 MOS'S. 
OVERALL COMPETITIVENESS VARIED BY MOS. MARINES NOT SELECTED ON 
THE FFM BOARD STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A LATERAL MOVE TO 
ANOTHER MOS.
C. FY04 FTAP STATUS: THE FY04 FTAP REENLISTMENT GOAL IS 5,962 
REENLISTMENTS. AS OF 25 SEPT 2003 THERE ARE 4,421 RELMS SUBMITTED
WHICH ARE APPROVED FOR REENLISTMENT OR ARE AWAITING PROCESSING BY 
HQMC (MMEA). FIRST TERM MARINES ARE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE DECISIONS ON
THEIR CAREER EARLY SO THEY WILL NOT RISK MISSING OUT ON THE 
OPPORTUNITY FOR A BOATSPACE DURING FY04. 
3. MMEA COMMAND VISIT UPDATE: MMEA BEGINS THE ANNUAL "ROADSHOW"
SEASON IN MID-OCTOBER. COMMAND VISIT DATES WERE PUBLISHED VIA
MARADMIN 330/03. MMEA HAS A VARIETY OF BRIEFS WHICH PERTAIN
TO OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MARINES OF ALL RANKS. COMMANDERS
SHOULD ENSURE THAT THEIR MARINES ARE AVAILABLE TO ATTEND THE
BRIEFS AND VISIT WITH THEIR MONITORS AND CAREER COUNSELORS
DURING THE PERIOD THAT MMEA IS IN THEIR AREA.
4. THE NEXT ERTF CONFERENCE WILL BE 20 NOVEMBER 2003 AT 1530.
5. A DETAILED AGENDA FOR THE 25TH ERTF CONFERENCE WILL BE
FORWARDED TO CONFERENCE ATTENDEES BY SEPARATE CORRESPONDENCE.
6. INFORMATION CONCERNING ERTF BRIEFS, TIME, AND LOCATION ARE
AVAILABLE ON THE ENLISTED ASSIGNMENT BRANCH'S INTERNET WEB PAGE AT
WWW.USMC.MIL. SELECT "CAREER," "ENLISTED ASSIGNMENTS," "ENLISTED
CAREER COUNSELING AND RETENTION," "THEN" ENLISTED RETENTION TASK
FORCE." UNITS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VISIT THE WEB PAGE.
7. POC IS CAPT A. H. SNOWDEN AT DSN 278-9240 OR COMMERCIAL (703)
784-9240.