MARCH 2025 (CYCLE 267) AD & TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE RESERVE (TAR) E5 & E6 ADVANCEMENT EXAM & RATING KNOWLEDGE EXAMS FOR AD BILLET-BASED ADVANCEMENT (CORRECTED COPY)

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SUBJ/MARCH 2025 (CYCLE 267) ACTIVE DUTY AND TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION OF 
THE RESERVE (TAR) E5 AND E6 NAVY-WIDE ADVANCEMENT EXAMINATIONS AND RATING 
KNOWLEDGE EXAMS FOR ACTIVE DUTY BILLET-BASED ADVANCEMENT (BBA) (CORRECTED 
COPY)//

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NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 255/24, BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENTS 2025.   
REF B IS BUPERSINST 1430.16G, ADVANCEMENT MANUAL FOR ENLISTED PERSONNEL OF 
THE U.S. NAVY AND U.S. NAVY RESERVE, CHANGE 1.   
REF C NAVADMIN 316/18, ENLISTED ADVANCEMENT WORKSHEET.   
REF D IS NAVADMIN 201/20, PROFESSIONAL MILITARY KNOWLEDGE ELIGIBILITY EXAM 
REVISED BUSINESS RULES.   
REF E IS OPS ALERT 011-21, PMK-EE REQUIREMENTS FOR E4 NEW ACCESSIONS.   
REF F IS NAVADMIN 237/23, UPDATES TO THE ENLISTED LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.  
REF G IS NAVADMIN 288/22, HIGH YEAR TENURE PLUS PILOT.   
REF H IS NAVADMIN 277/23, HIGH YEAR TENURE PLUS PILOT INDEFINITE EXTENSION.  
REF I IS NAVADMIN 312/18, ADVANCEMENT POLICY UPDATE.

RMKS/1.  This NAVADMIN provides guidance for the March 2025 (Cycle 267) Navy-
Wide Advancement Exams (NWAEs) and Rating Knowledge Exams (RKEs) for Active 
Duty and Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR) E5 and E6 Sailors.
    a.  In line with reference (a), all Active Duty Sailors in the ABE, ABF, 
ABH, AME, AO, CS, DC, EM, IC, GM, GSM, MM, QM, and RS ratings will be 
administered the RKE, which is executed through the NWAE process.  However, 
advancement will be conducted via Advance to Position (A2P) and Command 
Advance to Position (CA2P).  Reference (a), Billet-Based Advancement (BBA) 
policy, should be read in its entirety for more information.
    b.  In line with reference (b), all other Active Duty and TAR Sailors 
will take NWAEs to compete for advancement via NWAE cycle- based legacy 
advancements.

2.  In line with references (b) and (c), the Enlisted Advancement Worksheet 
(EAW) is the authoritative source of data used to determine Cycle 267 E5 and 
E6 eligibility.
    a.  Commands are to accurately validate, complete, and finalize all EAWs 
in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS).
    b.  For some Sailors in BBA ratings, Educational Services Officers (ESOs) 
may be required to wait until the effective advancement date for the 
applicable paygrade to be updated before an EAW can be created manually.
    c.  EAW discrepancies may be addressed via the Post-exam Administration 
Comment (PAC) process after worksheets are locked for the cycle.

3.  Cycle 267 timeline:
    a.  31 January 2025:  Professional Military Knowledge - Eligibility Exam 
(PMK-EE) completion.
    b.  28 February 2025:  Enlisted Leader Development (ELD) course 
completion deadline.
    c.  6 March 2025:  E6 exam administration.  EAW will close one week after 
the exam date on the worksheet.
    d.  13 March 2025:  E5 exam administration.  EAW will close one week 
after the exam date on the worksheet.
    e.  Deviation from administration dates.  In line with reference (b), 
commands that require rescheduling of NWAE or RKE administration date(s) 
(with valid reason) may request this deviation from Navy Personnel Command 
(PERS-803).  If authorized, administration will be completed by 31 March 
2025.

4.  Eligibility requirements are found in chapter 2 of reference (b).  The 
following information is specific to Cycle 267:
    a.  Terminal Eligibility Date (TED):  1 July 2025.
    b.  In line with reference (a), there is no minimum Time-in-Rate (TIR) 
requirement for Sailors in the Active Duty BBA ratings.
However, E4 and E5 Sailors are required to have an in-grade Commanding 
Officer (CO) or Officer in Charge (OIC) recommendation for advancement 
periodic evaluation to participate in an RKE.
    c.  Minimum Time-In-Rate for all other Active Duty and TAR Sailors:
        (1)  E6 - 1 July 2022
        (2)  E5 - 1 July 2024
        (3)  E6 candidate TIR requirements for early promote (EP) can be 
waived by one year with CO/OIC approval.  EAW must be created manually for 
all who receive that waiver.  EP candidates are still bound by the same PMK-
EE deadline as regular TIR candidates.
    d.  In line with reference (d), PMK-EE remains mandatory once per 
paygrade for all E5 and E6 candidates to be eligible for exam cycle 
participation.  Refer to reference (e) regarding special exceptions for E4 
new accessions, including EP candidates.  Waivers are normally not approved 
without extraordinary circumstances.
    e.  In line with reference (f), Intermediate Leader Development Course 
(ILDC) completion is mandatory for all E6 candidates to be eligible for exam 
cycle participation; however, ELD course completion is not mandatory for E-5 
candidates.
    f.  High-year tenure (HYT) date:  In line with references (g) and (h), 
the HYT Plus Pilot program allows for Sailors to continue their Navy careers 
beyond the HYT limits.  References (g) and (h) should be read in their 
entirety.  In the EAW, the "HYT Exceeded" entry may reflect "Yes" - when 
applicable, select "Yes" for "HYT Waived".
    g.  Security/Interim clearance (if required):  Ratings requiring a 
security clearance are AC, AE, AG, AO, AT, AWF, AWO, AWR, AWS, AWV, AZ, CTI, 
CTM, CWT, CTR, CTT, EOD, ET, FC, FCA, GM, HT, IC, IS, IT, LN, MA, MC, MN, ND, 
OS, QM, RW, SB, SO, STG and YN, as well as all nuclear and submarine ratings.   
All E-5 and E-6 exam cycle candidates must have applicable adjudication (Top 
Secret or Secret) or CO/OIC Interim clearance dated prior to 1 March 2025.  
If clearance is revoked, an exam is not authorized until the discrepancy is 
corrected.  An eligibility determination of "No Determination Made" 
constitutes an unfavorable adjudication.
    h.  Performance Mark Average (PMA).  Compute PMA for E5 candidates and 
Reporting Senior's Cumulative Average (RSCA) PMA for E-6 candidates in line 
with references (b) and (i).  Use all applicable evaluations in current 
paygrade with an ending date that falls within the following periods:
        E6 - 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2025
        E5 - 1 December 2023 to 28 February 2025
    i.  In line with reference (b), for E4 new accession Sailors who have 
graduated from "A" School and are eligible for the upcoming E5 NWAE, a one-
time PMA of 3.60 will be assigned on their EAW and transposed to their answer 
sheet.  This does not apply for participation in the RKE.
    j.  Use of EAW is mandatory, in line with reference (c).

5.  Exam Ordering:
    a.  In line with reference (b), ordering dates and TIR listings for all 
NWAE and RKE exams are on the Navy Enlisted Advancement System (NEAS) 
website:  [https://neas.ncdc.navy.mil].  Select the Exam and Ordering Date 
Chart.
    b.  Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) exam orders not included on 
the initial TIR list must be ordered from sfly_cryptologic.products@navy.mil.  
Order exams in line with reference (b).
    c.  Non-SCI exam orders not included on initial TIR list must be ordered 
on the NEAS website using Department of Defense Identification Number.
    d.  ESOs should verify placing exam orders within 7-10 days of ordering 
at *View Previous Exam Orders* link via the NEAS website and should contact 
Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center (NETPDC N321) as 
needed for exam order inquiries and issues.
    e.  Deploying commands and candidates departing to Congressionally-
Designated Combat Zones and Approved Contingency Operation Areas (CDCZ/ACOA) 
can order exams up to six months prior to the scheduled exam date.  For 
additional guidance, refer to chapter 4 and paragraph 614 of reference (b).
    f.  Substitute Exams:
        (1) The deadline for ordering both SCI and non-SCI substitute exams 
is 31 March 2025.
        (2) NETPDC N321 is the approval authority for all substitute exams.
        (3) Naval nuclear propulsion program training graduates who are 
enroute to their first at-sea assignment during the E5 examination date will 
have substitute examinations ordered for them by their ultimate duty station, 
if dates permit exam ordering before the published deadline.
        (4) Substitute examinations may be administered with regular exam 
administration or in line with paragraph 606 of reference (b).
    g.  Submit Exception to Policy requests for candidates per paragraph 104 
of reference (b).
    h.  Below candidates are separated into competitive groups:
        (1) CTI:  Middle East/North Africa (Group 1), East/Far East (Group 
2), Latin/South America (Group 3), Eastern Europe (Group 4)
        (2) EMN, ETN, and MMN: Submarine (Group 1), Surface (Group 2), 
Training (Group 3)

6.  Exam Administration and Answer Sheet Returns.  Administer exams and 
return answer sheets in line with chapter 6 of reference (b).
An exam tote board on the NEAS website displays current status of receiving 
answer sheets.

7.  Forwarding Answer Sheets.  Reference (b), para 611.a. has been changed to 
the following Official Mail Manager (OMM) Consolidated Mail Facility (CMF) 
address:
    OMM CMF PENSACOLA 
    ATTN:  NETPDC N321 
    210 WEST AVE SUITE A 
    NAS PENSACOLA FL 32508

8.  Discrepancy Correction:
    a.  A detailed discrepancy list can be found on the NEAS website.
    b.  Post-exam administration discrepancy correction correspondence with 
NETPDC (N321) is to be submitted using the EAW PAC function, in line with 
reference (c).  All corrections must have a CO/OIC letter and include all 
required supporting documentation as attachments.  Education point 
corrections require a submission of the Joint Service Transcript (JST) 
indicating the degree type and date of completion.

9.  NWAE and RKE results will be available via NEAS profile sheets.
Profile sheets for Sailors in BBA ratings will only reflect Passed Not 
Advanced, Fail, Inval, or discrepancy status, since advancement is conducted 
via A2P and CA2P.

10.  All additional information for this cycle is posted on the MyNavy HR 
advancements site, located at [https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Enlisted-Career-Admin/Advancement/] and the 
NEAS website.

11.  Points of contact:
    a.  For general or PMK-EE mobile questions:  MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) 
is available 24/7 by phone at (833) 330-MNCC or (833)330-6622 or via email at 
askmncc@navy.mil.
    b.  PMK-EE completion score questions:  ntmps.support@navy.mil.
    c.  SCI orders and inquiries:  (850) 473-5867/DSN 753, 
netpdc_cryptologic.products@us.navy.mil.
    d.  Non-SCI orders and inquiries:  (850) 473-6150/DSN 753, 
usn.pensacola.netpdc.mbx.netpdc-n321-exam-orders@us.navy.mil.
    e.  NWAE/RKE records or discrepancies:  EAW PAC submissions.
Pre/post exam administration inquiries:  (850) 473-6148/DSN 753 or 
usn.pensacola.netpdc.mbx.netpdc-n321-discrepancies@us.navy.mil.

12.  This NAVADMIN will remain in effect until superseded or canceled, 
whichever occurs first.

13.  Released by Vice Admiral Richard J. Cheeseman, Jr., N1.//

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