SEPT 2025 (CYCLE 268) ACTIVE DUTY AND TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE RESERVE E5 AND E6 ADVANCEMENT EXAMS & RATING KNOWLEDGE EXAMS FOR ACTIVE DUTY BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENT

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SUBJ/SEPTEMBER 2025 (CYCLE 268) ACTIVE DUTY AND TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION
OF THE RESERVE E5 AND E6 NAVY-WIDE ADVANCEMENT EXAMINATIONS AND RATING
KNOWLEDGE EXAMS FOR ACTIVE DUTY BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENT//
REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/192205ZDEC24//
REF/B/DOC/BUPERS/07FEB22//
REF/C/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/272057ZDEC18//
REF/D/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/161157ZJUL20//
REF/E/OPS ALERT/NPPSC/15MAR21//
REF/F/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/031621ZOCT23//
REF/G/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/221540ZDEC22//
REF/H/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/201421ZNOV23//
REF/I/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/201449ZDEC18//
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
E-4 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 administration of the
September 2025 (Cycle 268) 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 exam process. RKE
advancements will be conducted via Advance to Position (A2P) and Command
Advance to Position (CA2P). Reference (a) should be read in its entirety for
Billet Based Advancement (BBA) policy.
 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 268 E5 and
E6 eligibility.
 a. Commands are to accurately validate, complete, and finalize all EAWs
in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System.
 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 should be addressed via the Post- examination
Administration Comment (PAC) process after Cycle 268 worksheets are locked.
3. Cycle 268 timeline:
 a. 31 July 2025: Professional Military Knowledge - Eligibility Exam
(PMK-EE) completion deadline.
 b. 31 August 2025: Enlisted Leader Development (ELD) course completion
deadline.
 c. 4 September 2025: E6 exam administration. EAW will close one week
after the exam date on the worksheet.
 d. 11 September 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 a deviation of NWAE or RKE administration
from Navy Personnel Command (PERS- 803). If authorized, administration will
be completed by 30 September 2025.
4. Eligibility requirements are found in chapter 2 of reference (b). The
following information is specific to Cycle 268:
 a. Terminal eligibility date: 1 January 2026.
 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 TIR for all other Active Duty and TAR Sailors:
 (1) E6 - 1 January 2023.
 (2) E5 - 1 January 2025.
 (3) E6 candidate TIR requirements for Early Promote (EP) can be
waived by one year with CO/OIC approval, in line with reference (b). An EAW
must be created manually for all who receive an EP waiver. EP candidates are
still bound by the same PMK-EE and ELD 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. Waivers are normally not approved without extraordinary
circumstances.
 e. In line with reference (f), intermediate leader development course
completion is mandatory for all E6 candidates to be eligible for exam cycle
participation. ELD course completion is not mandatory for E5 candidates.
Waivers are normally not approved without extraordinary circumstances.
 f. High-Year Tenure (HYT) and HYT plus: 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 E5 and E6 exam cycle candidates must have applicable adjudication (Top
Secret or Secret) or CO/OIC Interim clearance dated prior to 1 September
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 PMA for E6 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:
 (1) E6 - 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2025.
 (2) E5 - 1 June 2024 to 31 August 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, who do
not have a current evaluation in paygrade, a one-time PMA of 3.60 will be
assigned by the ESO on their EAW and transposed to their answer sheet.
 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
NWAEs and RKEs 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
netpdc_cryptologic_products@us.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, Fleet Services
Branch (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 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 30 September 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 received
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 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/CareerManagement/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.
 f. 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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