R 201519Z APR 26 MARADMIN 181/26 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM// SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2028 (FY28) HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGNMENT CAMPAIGN// REF/A/MSGID: MCO/CMC/YMD: 2021MAY11// REF/B/MSGID: MSG/CMC/DTG: 101434ZDEC25// REF/C/MSGID: MCO/CMC/DTG: 2013AUG06// REF/D/MSGID: MSG/CMC/DTG: 211824ZOCT20// REF/E/MSGID: MSG/CMC/DTG: 231500ZFEB26// REF/F/MSGID: MSG/CMC/DTG: 041701ZMAR25// NARR/REF (A) IS MCO 1326.6 CHANGE-1, SELECTING, SCREENING, AND PREPARING ENLISTED MARINES FOR SCREENABLE BILLETS AND INDEPENDENT DUTY ASSIGNMENTS (SCREENMAN).  REF (B) IS MARADMIN 590/25, FISCAL YEAR 2027 ENLISTED RETENTION CAMPAIGN.  REF (C) IS MCO 7220.12R, SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGNMENT PAY, ASSIGNMENT INCENTIVE PAY, AND VOLUNTEER SUPPLEMENTAL INCENTIVE.  REF (D) IS MARADMIN 628/20  SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGNMENT PAY, ASSIGNMENT INCENTIVE PAY, AND VOLUNTEER SUPPLEMENTAL INCENTIVE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.  REF (E) IS  MARADMIN 060/26 NONCOMPETITIVE ACTIVE-DUTY CORPORAL TO SERGEANT  DRILL INSTRUCTOR PROMOTIONS.  REF (F) IS MARADMIN 103/25  NONCOMPETITIVE ACTIVE DUTY CORPORAL TO SERGEANT RECRUITER  PROMOTIONS// POC/P. N. DELACRUZ/MAJ/MMEA-25 UNIT HEAD/TEL: 703-784-9257/ EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/E. J. SERWAS/SSGT/SDA RETENTION CHIEF/TEL: 703-432-9745/ EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/B. J. WALKER/GYSGT/RECRUITING MONITOR/TEL: 703-432-9474/ EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/Y. A. HENDERSON/GYSGT/DRILL INSTRUCTOR MONITOR/TEL:  703-432-9472/EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/D. A. HAMRICK/GYSGT/MSG MONITOR/TEL: 703-432-9476/ EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/B. S. WILKINS/GYSGT/COMBAT INSTRUCTOR MONITOR/TEL: 703-432-9473/ EMAIL: [email protected]// POC/C. SANTUARIO/SSGT/ASSISTANT SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGNMENTS MONITOR/ TEL: 703-432-9474/EMAIL: [email protected]// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  This message announces the FY28 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 FY28 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 FY28 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.  The FY28 SDA Campaign will be executed via voluntary and (if required) involuntary assignment periods.  Marines approved for an FY28 SDA will have a class report date between 1 October 2027 and 30 September 2028. 4.  Concept of Operations 4.a.  Phase I: Voluntary Assignment Period (VAP) 4.a.1.  The VAP begins on 1 May 2026 and ends 12 February 2027. During this phase, HQMC will accept and review volunteer packages for potential assignment to an SDA of the Marine’s choice.  The intent of this phase is to fulfill as many FY28 SDA openings as possible and minimize the requirement for involuntary assignments. See paragraph 5 for eligibility information. 4.a.2.  From 29 July 2026 to 3 September 2026, the SDA monitors will conduct the SDA Opportunities Brief to promote SDA and screenable duty opportunities.  4.a.3.  Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs) may request monitor visits for an execution date after the SDA Opportunities Brief by completing the Manpower Management Enlisted Assignments (MMEA) Retention Assist Visit Request Form on the MMEA Manpower and Reserve Affairs website. 4.a.4.  The SDA Monitors will conduct a second roadshow beginning in December 2026 to encourage Marines to volunteer before the involuntary assignment period.  The details of this roadshow will be published in a separate MARADMIN.  MSC career counselors can expect to receive a list of SDA-eligible Marines via the Total Force Retention System (TFRS) in November 2026 to assist with volunteer solicitation prior to the Involuntary Assignment Period (IVAP). 4.b.  Phase II:  IVAP 4.b.1.  The IVAP, commonly known as the HQMC SDA Screening Team (HSST) assignment period, will begin 1 March 2027.  The intent of this period is to assign only the minimum number of Marines needed to fulfill the remaining FY28 SDA openings.  Eligible Marines will be screened for involuntary assignment via the HSST.  The IVAP will end on 31 July 2027. 4.b.2.  After 1 March 2027, 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 will have a minimum of 24 months time of station  prior to their FY28 class report date are eligible to volunteer and encouraged to contact their career counselors 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 FY28 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 Reenlistment, Extension, Lateral Move (RELM)” via TFRS to HQMC with the assistance of the unit career counselor. Career counselors 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 completed "SDA RELM" submitted in TFRS with a "Submitted Date" of 12 February 2027 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 screenable duty (i.e. MSG Watch Stander) that are still pending in TFRS after 13 February 2027 will be considered SDA volunteers, but may still be required to submit HSST screening materials if initial request is disapproved.  Marines submitting for these duties should plan to  submit early to receive prompt adjudication or submit these requests with an SDA duty 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 an assignment early in the volunteer period 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 the volunteer period to secure their assignment as these billets will likely not be available near or during the IVAP. 6.  Volunteer Cancellations and Modifications 6.a.  To increase the reliability of volunteer assignments, volunteer cancellation and modification requests prior to the IVAP 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 future SDA assignment. 7.  Financial Incentives.  Per reference (d), all Marines who earn the additional MOS for their SDA and are assigned to the corresponding SDA billet MOS will receive SDA Pay (SDAP) and Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP).  In addition to SDAP and AIP, volunteers for Recruiting, Drill Instructor, and MSG DC duty will receive a Voluntary Supplemental Incentive (VSI) of $10,000.00 paid in monthly payments of $278.00 or in lump sum.  Note, Combat Instructors will not receive VSI. 7.a.  Lump Sum AIP Agreement.  Commanders will ensure proper documentation via NAVMC 118 (11) for all Marines electing single lump sum payment in accordance with reference (d). 7.b.  Current volunteer financial incentives per reference (d): Duty                 Total (monthly VSI)    Total (lump sum VSI) Recruiter            $703 per month         $425 monthly and $10,000 Drill Instructor     $578 per month         $300 monthly and $10,000 MSG DC               $578 per month         $300 monthly and $10,000 7.c.  Current non-volunteer financial incentives per reference (d): Duty                 Total (SDAP and AIP only) Recruiter            $425.00 per month Drill Instructor     $300.00 per month MSG DC               $300.00 per month 7.d.  Financial incentives for all Combat Instructors per reference (d): Duty                 Total (SDAP and AIP only) Combat Instructor    $300.00 per month 8.  Volunteers seeking assignment to Recruiting Duty will be eligible to apply for a recruiting station (RS) of their choice via the Recruiting Station Incentive (RSI) program pending RS availability, as outlined in a future MARADMIN publication. 8.a.  Marines that submitted for an FY28 recruiting assignment prior to the release of the FY28 Recruiting Station Preference Incentive for Recruiting Duty SDA Volunteers MARADMIN will  need to submit an "SDA ONLY" RELM requesting an RSI. RSIs are first come, first serve. 9.  Questions regarding the FY28 SDA Campaign should be referred to the POCs listed above. 10.  Release authorized by BGen Fridrik Fridriksson, Director, Manpower Management Division.//