UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 252135Z MAY 21 MID200000887015U FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 104/21 PASS TO OFFICE CODES: FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/MAY// SUBJ/SEPTEMBER 2021 (CYCLE 252) ACTIVE-DUTY AND FULL-TIME SUPPORT E-4 THROUGH E-6 PETTY OFFICER NAVY-WIDE ADVANCEMENT EXAMINATIONS// REF/A/DOC/BUPERS/19SEP18// REF/B/MSG/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/052044ZMAR13// REF/C/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/201449ZDEC18// REF/D/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/161157ZJUL20// REF/E/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/272057ZDEC18// NARR/REF A IS BUPERSINST 1430.16G, ADVANCEMENT MANUAL FOR ENLISTED PERSONNEL OF THE U.S. NAVY AND U.S. NAVY RESERVE. REF B IS ALNAV 015/13, PERSONNEL SECURITY INVESTIGATION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS. REF C IS NAVADMIN 312/18, ADVANCEMENT POLICY UPDATE. REF D IS NAVADMIN 201/20, PROFESSIONAL MILITARY KNOWLEDGE ELIGIBILITY EXAM REVISED BUSINESS RULES. REF E IS NAVADMIN 316/18, ENLISTED ADVANCEMENT WORKSHEET.// RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces the guidance for the administration of the September 2021 (cycle 252) Navy-Wide Advancement Exam (NWAE) for advancement-in-rate of Active Duty (AD) and Full-Time Support (FTS) Sailors to paygrades E-5 and E-6 and the use of an alternative final multiple score (FMS) rank-order method, without an exam, for E-4 advancement candidates. a. As a continued safety measure due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, E-4 advancement candidates will not participate in the NWAE, but will be given the opportunity for advancement using an alternative FMS rank-order method, without the inclusion of an exam score from a proctored exam. E-5 and E-6 advancement candidates will be administered the NWAE utilizing testing windows vice single-day testing. These expanded testing windows will allow for smaller groups of test takers to ensure adequate social distancing can be maintained between testers at testing facilities, while maintaining the high standards and continued culture of learning that drive our enlisted advancement system. This is identical to the advancement policy used in the 2021 spring NWAE cycle, and is a change from reference (a). b. In addition to the requirements in this NAVADMIN and chapter 6 of reference (a), educational services officers (ESO) must follow the pre-exam preparation requirements in the exam verbatim, which can be found on the navy enlisted advancement system (NEAS) website via MyNavy Portal (MNP) at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and-promotion/command- information. 2. Timeline a. 31 July 2021: Professional military knowledge - eligibility exam (PMK-EE) completion date. b. 1-16 September 2021: E-6 exam administration. Enlisted advancement worksheets (EAW) will close one week after the exam date on the worksheet. c. 17-30 September 2021: E-5 exam administration. EAWs will close one week after the exam date on the worksheet. d. E-4 exams are cancelled, but E-4 EAWs must be completed by 30 September 2021. 3. Eligibility requirements are found in chapter 2 of reference (a). The following information is specific only to cycle 252: a. The terminal eligibility date used to compute time-in-rate (TIR) is 1 January 2022. b. The minimum TIR date must be on or before: E-6 - 1 January 2019 E-5 - 1 January 2021 E-4 - 1 July 2021 c. E-6 candidate TIR requirements for early promote Sailors can be waived by one year with the commanding officer (CO)/officer-in- charge (OIC) approval, in line with paragraph 214.e of reference (a). d. High-year tenure (HYT) date must be effective 1 January 2022 or later. All HYT waivers must be approved prior to 1 September 2021 to be able to participate in cycle 252. e. Candidates in a rating requiring a security clearance must have a favorable investigation adjudication by the Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facility reflected properly in the Defense Information System for Security (DISS) prior to 1 September 2021. If the CO of the candidate grants an interim clearance, it must be entered in DISS prior to 1 September 2021. Candidates must maintain security clearance eligibility throughout the advancement cycle to be eligible for advancement. If, for any reason, a clearance is denied, revoked or not reflected in DISS, an exam is not authorized and commands will not allow candidates to take the exam until the discrepancy is corrected or a new clearance is granted and is properly reflected in the EAW of the candidate. Ratings requiring a security clearance are AC, AE, AG, AO, ATI, ATO, AWF, AWO, AWR, AWS, AWV, AZ, CTI, CTM, CTN, CTR, CTT, EOD, ET, FC, FCA, GM, HT, IC, IS, IT, LN, MA, MC, MN, ND, OS, QM, SB, SO, STG, YN, and all nuclear and submarine ratings. Refer to references (a) and (b) for additional guidance. f. Candidates for advancement to E-4 and E-5 must compute performance mark average (PMA) using all applicable evaluations in the current pay grade with an ending date that falls within the following time periods: E-4 - 1 January 2021 to 31 August 2021 E-5 - 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2021 g. Candidates for advancement to E-6 must compute the reporting senior cumulative average (RSCA) PMA, as outlined in reference (c), using all applicable evaluations in the current pay grade with the ending date that falls within the time period: E-6 - 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2021 h. Refer to reference (c) and paragraph 308.b. of reference (a) for additional guidance on RSCA PMA and PMA, including guidance on establishing PMA for new accessions that have graduated from *A* school and do not have a current evaluation. i. PMK-EE is mandatory for candidates to participate in the cycle 252 advancement cycle, even if no exam is being administered, and must be successfully completed once for the administration paygrade, in accordance with reference (d). The completion deadline is 31 July 2021 and no Sailor should be permitted to participate in the advancement cycle without having a completed PMK-EE for the administration paygrade captured in EAW. j. For guidance on establishing EAW user roles and completing worksheets, refer to reference (e). EAW is mandatory for cycle 252 and will be the authority for PMA, RSCA PMA, and awards. k. Commands must accurately validate, complete and finalize all E-4 EAWs in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System in a timely manner. EAW accuracy is critical since NEAS will be reprogrammed to use finalized EAWs rather than the candidate exam answer sheets to create E-4 candidate records. The success of this process will be dependent upon the accurate completion of E-4 EAWs to establish advancement cycle participation. Cycle 252 E-4 EAWs must be completed by 30 September 2021. 4. Exam Ordering. Order exams in line with chapter 4 of reference (a). a. Deploying commands and candidates departing to Congressionally-designated combat zones and approved contingency operations 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 (a). b. Regular Exams: (1) Sensitive compartmented information (SCI) Exams. Cryptologic-technician interpretive (CTI)/cryptologic-technician network (CTN)/cryptologic technician-collection (CTR) SCI exam ordering dates can be found on the NEAS website via MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and-promotion/my- advancement. ESOs must verify initial Active TIR eligibility lists on the NEAS website for exam ordering. Supplemental TIR SCI exams are ordered via preferred message formatted e-mail to sfly_cryptologic.products(at)navy.mil or naval message following the guidelines in chapter 4 of reference (a). The deadline for ordering additional TIR SCI exams is 9 June 2021. (2) Non-SCI Exams. ESOs must verify TIR eligibility lists on the NEAS website during the following time periods: (a) Initial TIR lists will be available: E-6 - 8 June 2021 to 6 July 2021 E-5 - 8 June 2021 to 18 July 2021 (b) Supplemental TIR lists will be available: E-6 - 7 July 2021 to 8 August 2021 E-5 - 19 July 2021 to 15 August 2021 (3) Exams ordered after the TIR lists have closed shall be ordered using preferred message formatted e-mail to sfly_N321_exam_order(at)navy.mil or naval message following guidelines in chapter 4 of reference (a). Ensure a point of contact is included in the submitted e-mail or message. Orders submitted after supplemental TIR list closure will result in a substitute exam being sent. c. Substitute Exams: (1) The deadline for ordering both SCI and non-SCI substitute exams is 30 September 2021. (2) Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center (NETPDC (N321)) is the approval authority for all substitute exams. (3) Recent graduates of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program training pipeline, who are on transfer leave in route to their first at-sea assignment during the E-5 examination dates, 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 (a). d. ESOs must verify examination orders at the *View Previous Exam Orders* link via the NEAS website within 7 to 10 days of placing the order. If exam order discrepancies are noted, contact the Fleet Services Branch NETPDC (N321) as listed on the NEAS website on the NETPDC (N321) point of contact table. e. Exceptions to policy for exam orders will continue to be submitted in line with reference (a), and must include endorsement by the immediate superior in command. f. Candidates in the following ratings are separated into the following competitive groups: (1) CTI Group 1 Middle East/North Africa Group 2 East/Far East Group 3 Latin/South America Group 4 Eastern Europe (2) EMN, ETN, and MMN Group 1 Submarine Group 2 Surface Group 3 Training 5. Exam Administration and Answer Sheet Returns a. Administration windows for AD and FTS E-5 and E-6 exams. These exams will be administered utilizing testing windows in the month of September 2021. E-6 exams will take place from 1 through 16 September 2021 and E-5 exams will take place from 17 through 30 September 2021. Every effort should be made to spread the administration of the exams evenly throughout the exam administration period, in order to minimize the number of exam- takers at any one administration to ensure maximum social distancing. Administration for all substitute exams will follow guidelines in references (a) and (c). b. All commands should develop a plan to meet COVID-19 mitigations. Every effort should be made to ensure appropriate COVID-19 mitigation measures are in place, to include, but not limited to, face coverings if not fully immunized (two weeks beyond final dose), adequate social distancing, available hand sanitizer, medical (questionnaire) screenings, and temperature checks. c. To the maximum extent practicable, exams for the same ratings should be administered on the same day. Sailors are directed not to discuss exam content after taking an exam to ensure no advancement candidate is disadvantaged in the advancement process. Unauthorized disclosure of exam content may result in administrative and/or disciplinary action. d. Following the administration of exams, it is critical that ESOs expeditiously mail E-5 and E-6 answer sheet packages to NETPDC (N321). Do not hold exams until the end of the testing window. Prompt return of answer sheets will help ensure results are released in a timely manner. e. For exam administration and answer sheet return instructions refer to chapter 6 of reference (a). f. ESOs must check the exam tote board on the NEAS website often to ensure answer sheets have been received and processed. The tote board can be accessed via MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and-promotion/command- information. Answer sheets that are in error will not be counted until they are processed successfully. 6. Discrepancy Correction a. A detailed discrepancy list can be found at the NEAS website via MNP. For guidance on discrepancy correction requirements, refer to chapters 3 and 7 of reference (a). b. Post-exam administration discrepancy correction correspondence with NETPDC (N321) is to be submitted using the EAW post-exam administration comments (PAC) function, refer to reference (e). All corrections must have a CO/OIC letter and supporting documentation included as attachments. Education point corrections require a submission of a screen shot of the joint service transcript display indicating the degree type and date of completion. c. For guidance on E-4 through E-6 candidates with missed exams due to assignment in CDCZ/ACOA, refer to chapter 6 of reference (a). 7. Examination Results. Refer to chapter 7 of reference (a). 8. Any additional information regarding this cycle will be posted on the NEAS website. 9. Points of Contact. a. MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) is available 24/7 by phone at 1-833-330-6622 or via e-mail at askmncc(at)navy.mil. b. SCI exam questions and orders can be reached at (850) 473- 5867/DSN 753 or via e-mail at sfly_cryptologic.products(at)navy.mil. c. Non-SCI exam questions and orders can be reached at (850) 473-6148/DSN 753 or via e-mail at sfly_N321_exam_order(at)navy.mil. d. NWAE records and discrepancies can be reached at (850) 473- 6148/DSN 753 or via the EAW PAC function. 10. For further NEAS information, to include exam verbatim and other related documents, visit MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and-promotion/command- information. 11. This NAVADMIN will remain in effect until superseded or canceled, whichever occurs first. 12. Released by Rear Admiral James P. Waters, N13.// BT #0001 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED//