R 251521Z AUG 25 MARADMIN 395/25     MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM//     SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2026 NAVAL RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS PROFESSOR OF NAVAL SCIENCE SELECTION BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT// REF/A/MSGID: MCO/CMC/20210307// REF/B/MSGID: MCO/CMC/20210203// NARR/REF A IS MCO 1300.8 CH-2, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT POLICY. REF B IS MCO 1001.65A, ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER RETENTION AND PRIOR SERVICE ACCESSIONS.// POC/R. J. AYER/MAJ/MMOA/TEL: 703-784-9276/ EMAIL: [email protected]// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  This message announces Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Professor of Naval Science (PNS) assignments available in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), eligibility criteria, and the application process for interested officers. 2.  Major timeline milestones are below: Date                Milestone 10 October 2025     NROTC PNS application deadline 29 October 2025     FY26 NROTC PNS board convenes 3.  Background.  NROTC units are an essential component in the training of prospective naval officers.  Officers serving at NROTC units mentor, develop, and shape the future officer corps and must therefore be of the highest caliber.  Officers aspiring to serve on NROTC duty must possess superlative leadership and academic qualities, be of sound moral character, and demonstrate superior physical fitness. 4.  Eligibility 4.a.  Eligibility Criteria.  Colonels and Selected Colonels from the Calendar Year (CY) 2024/Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 promotion board who will satisfy their prescribed Tour Control Factor (TCF) by 31 July 2026. 4.b.  Ineligibility Criteria 4.b.1.  Colonels selected on the CY25/FY27 promotion board. 4.b.2.  Limited duty officers. 4.b.3.  Officers with an approved separation or retirement date. 4.b.4.  Officers with a mandatory separation or retirement date prior to 30 April 2029. 4.b.5.  Officers who previously declined command. 4.b.6.  Officers in receipt of orders to report in FY26. 4.c.  All interested officers must receive approval to apply from their Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS) monitor who will ensure officers meet all eligibility criteria.  This correspondence must be included as an attachment in the application package submission. 4.d.  Officers that do not meet the eligibility criteria who wish to become eligible should reach out to their PMOS monitor to discuss the Exception to Policy (ETP) process. 5.  Recommended applicant attributes 5.a.  Academics.  Minimum requirement is a master’s degree and a 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (GPA).  Select schools waive this requirement to 2.5 undergraduate GPA if the applicant's record is otherwise outstanding. 5.b.  Physical fitness.  High first class Physical Fitness Test and Combat Fitness Test. 6.  Assignment Considerations 6.a.  MMOA makes every effort to match selected officers with their preferences.  By applying for PNS, officers volunteer and agree to be assigned to any available NROTC billet.  Requests for declination by officers who applied and were selected will not normally receive favorable consideration. 6.b.  Assignments to PNS are for a TCF of 36 months.  Requests to retire prior to the completion of the 36-month tour will not normally receive favorable endorsement.  Final authority for requests to resign or retire is the Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. 7.  Application process 7.a.  Officers interested in NROTC duty who meet the above eligibility criteria must complete the FY26 NROTC application questionnaire by submitting the documents listed below no later than 2359 on 10 October 2025.  The questionnaire is located at: https:(slash)(slash)www2.manpower.usmc.mil/application_cac/edu/index .jsp 7.b.  Electronic packages must be submitted in a single portable document format (.pdf) file with the following naming convention: “EDIPI_LASTNAME_FY26NROTC.pdf”.  The document must be less than 800KB in size. 7.c.  The applications must include: 7.c.1.  Document 1 - Personal statement.  Submit this letter in standard naval letter format from the Marine to MMOA-3.  Applicants are encouraged to submit personal statements of two pages or less. This is the officer’s opportunity to express in writing their desire to serve on NROTC duty and elaborate on relevant personal strengths and experiences. 7.c.2.  Document 2 - Command endorsement.  Submit this letter in standard naval letter format from the first General Officer or Flag Officer in the chain of command. 7.c.3.  Document 3 – Letter of Recommendation.  At least one but no more than three letters of recommendation. 7.c.4.  Document 4 - Official college transcripts.  Official college transcripts are to be sent directly from the university or officer and be uploaded to the officer's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).  Officers should submit OMPF update requests via OMPF- Records Management Application (O-RMA) which can be accessed through Marine Online (MOL).  If assistance is required, contact your unit S-1 or local Instillation Personnel Administration Center.  Officers are responsible for ensuring their OMPF is accurate.  If legible college transcripts are already included in the officer's OMPF, a duplicate submission is not required. 8.  Billet vacancies.  Below are the billets available in FY26 (read in four columns): MCC     University                      Location                Note H07     The Citadel                     Charleston, SC          1 H19     Norwich University              Northfield, VT          1 H89     Texas A&M University            College Station, TX     1 Note 1:  Master’s degree required.  If an applicant does not possess a graduate degree, an enrollment, or an accepted status, into a graduate degree program is required. Note 2:  Waives GPA requirement to 2.5. Note 3:  This university is associated with a consortium.  Local travel will be required between the university locations. 9.  MMOA will release a selection MARADMIN as soon as feasible after the conclusion of the board.  MMOA will not issue permanent change of station orders until they receive approval by the NROTC units or universities of selected officers. 10.  Points of contact: 10.a.  MMOA Company Grade Center Desk       Maj R. J. Ayer       Email:  [email protected]       Comm:  703-784-9276 10.b.  MMOA-1 Ground Colonels Monitor       Col M. D. Simon       Email:  [email protected]       Comm:  703-432-9012 10.c.  MMOA-2 Aviation Colonels Monitor       Col R. B. Tompkins       Email: [email protected]        Comm:  703-432-9011 11.  This message is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve. 12.  Release authorized by BGen Fridrik Fridriksson, Director, Manpower Management Division.//