Are You a GySgt in the Active Reserve? The Marine Corps Is Looking for Total Force Integrators Right Now.

Seven GySgt billets. A selection board convening April 1. And a deadline in about five weeks.

If you are an Active Reserve (AR) enlisted Marine at the GySgt rank, this is worth reading carefully.

Here is what was just published and why it matters to you.

Reference: MARADMIN 055/26, signed 19 February 2026. Underlying authorities include MCO 1553.4B (PME), MCO 1610.7B (Performance Evaluation System), and MCO 1900.16 CH 2 (Separation and Retirement Manual).

The old problem

The Marine Corps has been working through how to actually integrate Reserve capabilities into Active Component operations at the planning level.

Not just on paper. In real commands, real staff sections, during real mobilizations.

The gap was structural. Reserve Marines with the experience and knowledge to do this work were not systematically placed into the billets where that integration happens.

TFI is the answer to that gap.

The new rule (in one line)

The FY2027 TFI FMOS Enlisted Selection Board will convene April 1, 2026, and it is looking for seven GySgts to fill integration billets at major Marine commands worldwide.

What TFI actually is

Total Force Integrators are AR Marines placed inside major commands to do one specific thing: plan and execute the integration of Reserve forces into Active Component operations, exercises, and deployments.

Think large-scale mobilization planning. Global Force Management. Training and exercise coordination across both components.

These are not drill weekend jobs. These are full-time AR billets embedded at the command level.

The seven billets up for grabs

All billets are at the GySgt level. Here is where they are:

✦ DC M&RA (MMIB-2) ✦ MARFOREUR/AF ✦ MARFORSOUTH ✦ MARFORCOM ✦ MARFORK ✦ MARFORCYBER ✦ MARCENT

You will rank your billet preferences inside the application portal. Use the remarks field. The board wants to know your reasoning.

Who is eligible

You must be a GySgt in the Active Reserve program. Marines selected for GySgt may also apply.

Beyond that, here is the eligibility checklist:

✦ Currently serving in the AR Program ✦ No approved retirement, resignation, or pending conditional release ✦ Not passed over for promotion more than once in your current grade and component ✦ Will have completed your 24-month time on station requirement by August 1, 2027 ✦ Have completed required resident PME for your current grade ✦ Registered in, or have previously completed, the enlisted Total Force Integration Staff Training course ✦ Currently hold a Secret clearance or higher ✦ Not selected for MSgt

(If you are waiting on your GySgt selection, you can still apply. Check with your S-1 on timing.)

If none of those boxes stop you, read on.

What disqualifies you automatically

✦ You are not in the AR Program ✦ You have retirement or separation paperwork in the pipeline ✦ You have been passed over twice in your current grade ✦ Your current orders will not allow you to hit the 24-month TOS mark by August 2027 ✦ You hold no security clearance ✦ You are already selected for MSgt

Exceptions exist. They require an O-6 endorsement and go to the Director of Reserve Affairs for a decision.

The training pipeline

You do not need to have completed any courses before you apply.

But if you are selected, you are committing to completing all of them before you report to your billet.

The required courses are:

Global Force Management Overview (GF1101) — prerequisite
JOPES Overview (JD1101) — prerequisite
Joint Capabilities Requirements Manager Course (GF1102)
JOPES Support Personnel Course (JD1102)
JOPES Action Officer Course (JD2101)
Joint Operational Contract Support Planning and Execution Course Lite
Joint Logistics Course (SC 907)

Prerequisites are completed first. The rest follow in sequence after selection.

Specific course details will come out in the board results MARADMIN.

The program timeline

Here is how the calendar runs from application to reporting:

| Date | Milestone | |---|---| | Now through March 20, 2026 | Applications open and close | | April 1, 2026 | FY27 Enlisted TFI Selection Board convenes | | June 15, 2026 | FY27 enlisted selectees enrolled in required courses | | December 1, 2026 | FY27 Officer TFI Selection Board convenes | | February 1, 2027 | FY27 officer selectees enrolled in courses | | June 1, 2027 | All FY27 TFI selectees complete required courses | | August 15, 2027 | FY27 TFI Marines report to their billets |

The application deadline is the sharpest cliff here.

20 March 2026, 2359 EST. That is your deadline.

How to apply: step by step

Go to the M&RA portal: https://www2.manpower.usmc.mil/application_cac/
Log in with your CAC. The system will check your basic eligibility automatically.
If you get a 404 error, follow the instructions inside that error message to register for a portal account.
Read the full instructions before filling anything out. (Yes, all of them.)
Rank every billet you are eligible for, from most to least desired. Use the remarks field to explain your priorities.
Upload everything as a single PDF titled exactly: EDIPI_TFI_LastName

If the portal is broken or you cannot access it, email your complete package to joinar@usmc.mil and copy the POCs listed at the end of this article.

Hard copies will not be accepted. No exceptions listed.

What goes in your application package

Your package must include all of the following. Incomplete packages will not be considered.

✦ Letter to the President of the FY27 TFI FMOS Enlisted Selection Board (use the template inside the portal) ✦ PMOS monitor acknowledgment (an email from your monitor is enough) ✦ Proof of security clearance letter from your unit security manager ✦ Certificates for any TFI required courses you have already completed (if applicable)

Your letter format:

From: Rank, First Name, Last Name, EDIPI/MOS, USMCR To: President, FY27 Total Force Integrator FMOS Enlisted Selection Board Subject: LETTER TO BOARD PRESIDENT OF THE FY27 TOTAL FORCE INTEGRATOR ENLISTED SELECTION BOARD

Two things that will not be considered and do not need to be included: Reserve Qualification Summaries and Letters of Recommendation.

Get your record in order before the board convenes

Three record items need attention before April 1:

Official photo. The board will review your official photo from your OMPF. It must have been taken within 365 days of April 1, 2026. That means no earlier than April 1, 2025. Check your OMPF now. Update if needed.

Fitness reports. Submit them through A-PES to CMC (MMPB-23). Do not mail them directly to the board. Mailed reports do not go into your OMPF. Your commander is responsible for timely submission.

Other OMPF documents. Use the OMPF Records Management Application (ORMA) to audit and update your file. Access it through www.manpower.marines.mil, then navigate: Divisions, Manpower Management, Performance Branch, Records and Performance, Records Management, OMPF Records Management Application.

Everything needs to be in your OMPF before the board convenes. The board reads what is in the record. Nothing else.

Why this is a big deal

TFI billets are not a minor program update.

They are a direct response to where the Marine Corps thinks large-scale conflict is heading. If peer adversary competition escalates into a partial or full mobilization, the Reserve Component does not activate smoothly on its own. Someone has to have done the planning. Someone has to sit inside the combatant commands and major commands and make the connective tissue work.

That is TFI.

The Marines selected for these billets will be doing work that shapes how the entire institution responds under pressure. And they will be doing it from inside Active Component headquarters, not from a Reserve center.

For GySgts who want to operate at the enterprise level, have both components tattooed on their brain, and want their work to matter beyond the next drill weekend, this is a legitimate path.

The 24-month utilization tour is a real commitment. Go in with open eyes.

But the experience and visibility that come with it are real too.

A smaller note for active-duty Marines

This board is specifically for Active Reserve (AR) Marines. If you are active duty, there is a parallel officer board convening December 1, 2026. Watch for that MARADMIN. This enlisted cycle does not apply to you.

The bottom line

Seven GySgt billets. Seven commands. One board. One deadline.

If you are a GySgt in the AR Program with a Secret clearance, clean record, and the ability to hit the 24-month TOS requirement by August 2027, you have about five weeks to get your package together.

The board convenes April 1, 2026. Applications close March 20.

What to do with this

If you are a GySgt in the AR Program:

✦ Check your eligibility against the list above right now ✦ Log into the M&RA portal and confirm your account works ✦ Check that your official photo in your OMPF was taken after April 1, 2025 ✦ Log into ORMA and audit your record ✦ Contact your PMOS monitor and get their acknowledgment in writing ✦ Get your security clearance letter from your unit security manager ✦ Submit your complete package as a single PDF by March 20, 2026

If you are a GySgt selectee not yet in the grade:

✦ Talk to your S-1 about whether your selection timeline makes you eligible ✦ Ask for an ETP guidance conversation if there is any question

If you are an AR SNCO below GySgt:

✦ File this away. These billets are not open to you yet, but knowing the program exists matters when you promote.

If you are a unit S-1 or administrative chief:

✦ Push this to your GySgts now ✦ Remind commanders of fitness report submission timelines ✦ Help Marines verify their OMPF is complete before April 1

POC contacts for questions or portal issues:

Maj M. J. Jones: marshall.j.jones@usmc.mil, 703-784-3676 Maj J. F. Dean: jeffrey.f.dean@usmc.mil, 703-784-1275 MSgt G. Bogaczyk: gregory.bogaczyk@usmc.mil, 703-784-1231 MSgt W. R. Maley: william.maley@usmc.mil, 703-784-0526 GySgt K. A. Boateng: kofi.boateng@usmc.mil, 703-784-9011 B. Ford (Civ): brennett.ford@usmc.mil, 703-432-9410

Or email the general inbox: joinar@usmc.mil

This is written by a reservist, for reservists. It is not an official publication of HQMC or MARFORRES. Always verify guidance with your command or unit S-1 before acting on any article or summary.

Need a shorter version of this for a unit brief or a drill weekend announcement? Or a longer version that walks through the ORMA process step by step? Ask and it is done.

CONVENING OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 TOTAL FORCE INTEGRATOR FREE MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY ENLISTED SELECTION BOARD