URLO ISPP

[SailorJerry826]

Regarding endorsements...

For Sailors in FMF units, would a Marine General Officer's endorsement serve the same function as a Flag Officer's?

Also in the OPNAV 1420/1, I noticed there is no flag officer endorsement section. Would this be done in a type of letterhead, or through some other type of correspondence?

Now I didn’t write the requirement so take this with a grain of salt, but I would imagine that a GO endorsement would meet the intent of the “endorsement from the first Flag Officer in your Chain of Command.”

As for the format, yes, it is normally just on their letterhead and would be written in a similar manner to the Letters of Recommendation.

 

[WorldWar33.3]

Regarding endorsements...

For Sailors in FMF units, would a Marine General Officer's endorsement serve the same function as a Flag Officer's?

Also in the OPNAV 1420/1, I noticed there is no flag officer endorsement section. Would this be done in a type of letterhead, or through some other type of correspondence?

Talk to Mr. Paul Celestin by email regarding FMF. He told me it has to be from an O8 or above.

The endorsement would have to be done with the Admiral's (or General's) official letterhead.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Talk to Mr. Paul Celestin by email regarding FMF. He told me it has to be from an O8 or above.

The endorsement would have to be done with the Admiral's (or General's) official letterhead.

I would second asking Paul if you can use the General.

I would question Paul saying O8 or above considering there have been those selected on this site who's first flag was an O7.

 

[NKMess]

I would second asking Paul if you can use the General.

I would question Paul saying O8 or above considering there have been those selected on this site who's first flag was an O7.

Sounds good, I sent him an email earlier today based off some info I saw about getting updated requirements and checklists not featured in the regular pubs. I'll plan on this eventually getting up to the division commander (a 2 star) or deputy commander (1 star). When he emails me back I'll follow up with this question.

 

[WorldWar33.3]

The upcoming board's Fleet application deadline is 20SEP. I read somewhere that it has to be in Paul's possession three weeks in advance (30AUG) or it'll get rolled into the next board. Did I misread that somewhere? Can anyone corroborate the 3-weeks-in-advance bit?

 

[WorldWar33.3]

Also, I emailed my official transcripts to my .mil email so I can send them to Paul. Will he still accept them?

 

[bmm177]

Fleet deadline should be the same as civilian deadline unless you're talking about a different program. I submitted my package 10 days before the board and was fine, I've never heard about it being different.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

The upcoming board's Fleet application deadline is 20SEP. I read somewhere that it has to be in Paul's possession three weeks in advance (30AUG) or it'll get rolled into the next board. Did I misread that somewhere? Can anyone corroborate the 3-weeks-in-advance bit?

Perhaps the 3 weeks is a soft recommendation but there is already an actual one on the board schedule.

Also, where did you read the 3 weeks?

 

[SailorJerry826]

To address some of the confusion:
The new board schedule that was recently updated had a “Fleet Application Deadline” added to it. The soft deadline is what Paul recommends in his email to you. He suggests getting your package in at least 2 weeks early in case there are any errors or additional paperwork needed.

 

[WorldWar33.3]

Also, where did you read the 3 weeks?

I don't remember where I read it. I've read a lot of forms, and am certainly feeling the pressure to get my application sent in ASAP.

To address some of the confusion:
The new board schedule that was recently updated had a “Fleet Application Deadline” added to it. The soft deadline is what Paul recommends in his email to you. He suggests getting your package in at least 2 weeks early in case there are any errors or additional paperwork needed.

I definitely saw that on the schedule, and now it makes more sense.

Fleet deadline should be the same as civilian deadline unless you're talking about a different program. I submitted my package 10 days before the board and was fine, I've never heard about it being different.

On the FY25 schedule, there's a column that says "Fleet Application Deadline", so it would make sense for it to be the deadline to get the application to Paul before the civilians send theirs to NRC so neither get lost in the sauce.

I really appreciate y'all's help!

 

[NKMess]

I've been back and forth with Mr. Celestin quite a bit now. Not sure if I quite have a tenable solution, but right now my understanding is that the O-8 endorsement must be a Naval officer within both my and my CO's CoC. With that in mind I have two COAs; the first is to route to the division commanding general (an O-8), being a Marine officer, there might be some leeway as NRC could interpret him as a Naval officer, with the Marines being a department of the Navy.

The other might be to route to the Medical Officer of the Marine Corps, she's in the service chain of command, and not the operational chain of command so that position is outside of both my CO's and my CoC. Any advise for what I should do? I'm inclined to start with the general and make NRC tell me no.

Ultimately, I cannot accept this administrative requirement being a disqualifier based on the type of unit I'm assigned to - if necessary I'll contact my congressional representative to explore the possibility for an exception to policy or something.

Also, I feel as though this might be a dumb question, but am I allowed to route the same package for future boards? For example, if I do not get a PROREC for the January 25 board, can I just email the same package to NRC for the March board, or would I have to go through the same endorsement cycle before submitting for future boards? I imagine I could just route the same package for the boards within the same fiscal year.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I've been back and forth with Mr. Celestin quite a bit now. Not sure if I quite have a tenable solution, but right now my understanding is that the O-8 endorsement must be a Naval officer within both my and my CO's CoC. With that in mind I have two COAs; the first is to route to the division commanding general (an O-8), being a Marine officer, there might be some leeway as NRC could interpret him as a Naval officer, with the Marines being a department of the Navy.

The other might be to route to the Medical Officer of the Marine Corps, she's in the service chain of command, and not the operational chain of command so that position is outside of both my CO's and my CoC. Any advise for what I should do? I'm inclined to start with the general and make NRC tell me no.

Ultimately, I cannot accept this administrative requirement being a disqualifier based on the type of unit I'm assigned to - if necessary I'll contact my congressional representative to explore the possibility for an exception to policy or something.

Also, I feel as though this might be a dumb question, but am I allowed to route the same package for future boards? For example, if I do not get a PROREC for the January 25 board, can I just email the same package to NRC for the March board, or would I have to go through the same endorsement cycle before submitting for future boards? I imagine I could just route the same package for the boards within the same fiscal year.

Check out the aviation OCS boards. If you have good ASTB scores and don’t have any sort of flags (drug, legal, etc.) why not just submit the regular OCS route? It might be quicker and easier instead of trying to find a Navy Admiral / Flag to endorse your application.

 

[NKMess]

Check out the aviation OCS boards. If you have good ASTB scores and don’t have any sort of flags (drug, legal, etc.) why not just submit the regular OCS route? It might be quicker and easier instead of trying to find a Navy Admiral / Flag to endorse your application.

Is that even an option if I'm active duty? The only path I was tracking on for me was URLO-ISPP. To that end I think I'll be a competitive applicant; I've got a 3.87 college GPA, solid leadership experience, stellar evals, good (excellent) PT scores, my flight physical and waiver is approved by NAMI and am just pending my ASTB and appraisal interviews in a few weeks.

 

[Jacksa71]

Honestly just submit without going the ISPP route. If your package is good, it doesn’t matter what route you take. Both are immediate select. Good luck

 

[NKMess]

Honestly just submit without going the ISPP route. If your package is good, it doesn’t matter what route you take. Both are immediate select. Good luck

I'm embarrassed to ask, but what option is there other than ISPP? Would that just be to get out and apply with an O recruiter?