Senior Enlisted Marketplace

A Message to the Chief's Mess: Introducing Senior Enlisted Marketplace

The Navy announced changes to the enlisted advancement system. NAVADMIN 305/23 announced the expansion of the Senior Enlisted Marketplace (SEM) to include Chief Petty Officer's eligible for advancement via the selection board process in the Spring 2025. The benefits of the policy include:

• A fundamental shift in how enlisted Sailors will be advanced, using a billet-based advancement system.
•   Better aligns Sailor talent with unit job requirements and seeks to advance Sailors who are committed to staying Navy.
•   Aims to reduce disruption to Sailors, families, and commands due to realignment to positions that match their paygrade outside of their normal permanent change of station timelines.
•   Additionally, SEM will correct paygrade misalignments in Senior Enlisted paygrades along with the Senior Enlisted Assignment Optimization process.

Successfully screened Sailors will start negotiating for orders in the next higher paygrade in August 2025. Over the next several years will see incremental changes in policy and information technology systems to support the Navy's eventual transition to a fully billet-based advancement system.

Command Senior Enlisted Program, Nuclear, Musicians and Navy Special Warfare (Special Warfare Operators (SOs) and Special Warfare Boat Operators (SBs)) Sailors are not affected by this change and will remain under their respective legacy board and distribution processes.

More Information

NAVADMIN 261/22 SEM - E-9 BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENT
NAVADMIN 305/23 SEM - E-8 BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENT
NAVADMIN 112/25 SEM - ADVANCEMENT REQUEST ALIGNMENT (ARA)/E-7 BILLET BASED ADVANCEMENT
Press Release
Senior Enlisted Marketplace FAQs
SEM Sailor Scoring Criteria

Other Billet Based Advancement Programs