CHANGE 1 TO SOLICITATION FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2025 MARINE CORPS LEAGUE ENLISTED AWARDS
MARADMIN 264/26 · June 9, 2026 · Source
There's an Award Just for Reserve Marines. Does Your Unit Know About It?
The Marine Corps League runs a set of enlisted awards every year.
One of them exists specifically for reservists.
Nominations are open right now, and the deadline is closer than you think.
Reference: MARADMIN 264/26, signed 05 June 2026. This is a change to the original CY2025 solicitation message.
The old problem
These awards exist every year.
Most units never submit anyone.
The Marine Corps League has to pull nominations from I MEF, II MEF, III MEF, MARFORRES, and MCICOM, and historically the pipeline runs thin, especially for reserve units where there's no full-time admin shop keeping an eye on award cycles.
If your command doesn't know this solicitation exists, no one gets nominated. And no one wins.
The new rule (in one line)
MARADMIN 264/26 updates and re-opens the nomination window for six Marine Corps League enlisted awards covering calendar year 2025 performance, with a hard deadline of 31 July 2026.
The six awards
Here's what's on the table.
1. Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II Award For an enlisted Marine who made an outstanding contribution to marksmanship training.
2. Sergeant Major Wilbur Bestwick Award For an enlisted Marine in a Ground Combat Element who contributed to increased combat readiness.
3. Sergeant Harry D. Myers Award For an enlisted Marine in a Combat Service Support Element who contributed to increased combat readiness.
4. Sergeant Major Frederick B. Douglass Award For an enlisted Marine in an Aviation Combat Element who contributed to increased combat readiness.
5. Chief Hospital Corpsman George William "Doc" Piercy Award For a Navy Corpsman or dental technician attached to a ground, logistics, or aviation element who contributed to combat medical readiness.
6. Marine Corps Reservist of the Year Award For an enlisted Reserve Marine who made an outstanding contribution to combat readiness while serving with the Marine Corps Reserve.
(That last one. That's yours.)
What the nomination package needs to include
Every submission has to follow this structure or it will not be considered. No exceptions.
The nomination letter must include:
✦ Full name, rank, and MOS
✦ Current duty station and assignment
✦ Current duty address, work email, and work phone
✦ Time in service
✦ Name and address of the unit where the contribution happened
✦ POC name, phone, and email
✦ Home of record city and state
Required enclosures:
✦ Nominee's biography
✦ Recommended citation, 250 words or fewer
✦ A signed Privacy Act consent statement from the nominee
The consent statement just needs to say something like: "I, [rank and full name], authorize the release of all information in this nomination package to those involved in the selection process."
(Yes, it's that simple. Just get the signature.)
Endorsement requirement:
The first General Officer in the nominee's chain of command must sign off on the nomination.
No additional endorsements are required beyond that.
How to submit
Send everything electronically as PDF files to:
rbrooks@mcleague.org
Use this subject line format:
2025 Enlisted Awards Program [Award Category Name] ICO [Rank and Name]
A sample nomination package is available at the Marine Corps League website.
Use it. It removes the guesswork.
The deadline
31 July 2026.
The MARADMIN is explicit: no extensions, no exceptions.
That is weeks away, not months.
If your unit needs to route this through a General Officer endorsement, start now.
Why this is a big deal
The Reservist of the Year award does not nominate itself.
Reserve units run lean. There's no full-time awards shop. Drill weekends are short. The people who deserve recognition often go unrecognized simply because no one had time to write the package.
This is a named, national-level award from one of the most recognized enlisted advocacy organizations in the Marine Corps community.
It goes to one Marine.
That Marine has to be nominated first.
A smaller note for active-duty Marines
Five of the six awards are open to active-duty enlisted Marines and Sailors across the MAGTF. If you're in a GCE, ACE, or CSS element and you know someone who had a standout CY2025, the same deadline and submission process applies. Route through your chain of command to the first GO endorser and submit by 31 July 2026.
The bottom line
The Marine Corps League is accepting nominations for six CY2025 enlisted awards.
One is specifically for Reserve Marines.
The deadline is 31 July 2026, and no extensions will be granted.
Nominations must be submitted through the proper chain of command and include a signed Privacy Act consent statement, a bio, a citation under 250 words, and a GO endorsement.
Send packages as PDFs to rbrooks@mcleague.org.
What to do with this
If you're a Reserve Marine (SMCR):
Think about who in your unit had a standout year in 2025. Talk to your Staff NCOs. Flag this to your CO. Someone needs to own the package, and it won't happen on its own.
If you're an IMA:
Nominations must go through your operational sponsor's chain of command. Start that conversation now. The routing can take time.
If you're in the IRR:
You are likely not eligible for this cycle unless you were activated and serving in 2025. Check with your supporting command or the nearest RUCAS if you have questions.
If you're a unit S-1 or admin chief:
Pull this MARADMIN. Brief your CO. Identify a nomination candidate and assign someone to write the package this week. The 31 July deadline is not forgiving.
If you're an officer in the chain of command:
If a nomination comes to you for GO endorsement, route it fast. Delay at the staff level is how good Marines miss deadlines.
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 drill weekend brief, or a longer breakdown of how to write a competitive MCL nomination package? Let me know.