UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 171744Z NOV 21 MID600051192468U FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 260/21 PASS TO OFFICE CODES: FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/NOV// SUBJ/MARCH 2022 (CYCLE 255) 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 March 2022 (cycle 255) 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 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, E-4 advancement candidates will not participate in an exam, 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 fall 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. Select Command Advancement Tools, then NEAS Website. 2. Timeline a. 31 January 2022: Professional military knowledge - eligibility exam (PMK-EE) completion deadline. b. 1-15 March 2022: E-6 exam administration. Enlisted advancement worksheets (EAW) will close one week after the exam date on the worksheet. c. 16-31 March 2022: E-5 exam administration. EAWs will close one week after the exam date on the worksheet. d. 31 March 2022: E-4 exams are cancelled, but E-4 EAWs must still be fully completed by this date. 3. Eligibility requirements are found in chapter 2 of reference (a). The following information is specific only to cycle 255: a. The terminal eligibility date used to compute time-in-rate (TIR) is 1 July 2022. b. The minimum TIR date must be on or before: E-6 - 1 July 2019 E-5 - 1 July 2021 E-4 - 1 January 2022 c. E-6 candidate TIR requirements for early promote (EP) 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). Cycle 255 EAW must be manually created for all E-6 EP TIR waiver authorized candidates. d. High-year tenure (HYT) date must be effective 1 July 2022 or later. All HYT waivers must be approved prior to 1 March 2022 to be able to participate in cycle 255. e. Candidates in a rating requiring a security clearance must have a favorable investigation adjudication by the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudication Facility reflected properly in the Defense Information System for Security (DISS) prior to 1 March 2022. If the CO/OIC of the candidate grants an interim clearance, it must be entered in DISS prior to 1 March 2022. 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 paygrade of the candidate with an ending date that falls within the following time periods: E-4 - 1 June 2021 to 28 February 2022 E-5 - 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2022 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 paygrade of the candidate with the ending date that falls within the time period: E-6 - 1 March 2019 to 28 February 2022. 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 who have graduated from A-school and do not have a current evaluation. i. PMK-EE is mandatory for cycle 255 candidates competing for advancement, even if no NWAE is being administered, and must be successfully completed once for the administration paygrade. The PMK-EE completion deadline is 31 January 2022, in accordance with reference (d). No Sailor competing for advancement shall be permitted to participate in the advancement cycle without having a completed PMK-EE for the administration paygrade. j. For guidance on establishing EAW user roles and completing worksheets, refer to reference (e). EAW is mandatory for cycle 255 and will be the authority for PMA, RSCA PMA, and awards. k. Commands must accurately validate, complete and finalize all EAWs in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System in a timely manner. E-4 EAW accuracy is critical since NEAS will be reprogrammed to use finalized E-4 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 255 E-4 EAWs must be completed by 31 March 2022. 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/command- information. Select Command Advancement Tools, then NEAS Website. ESOs must verify initial Active TIR eligibility lists on the NEAS website for exam ordering. Supplemental TIR SCI exams are ordered via 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 4 January 2022. (2) Non-SCI Exams. Exam ordering dates can be found on the NEAS website via MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and- promotion/command-information. Select Command Advancement Tools, then NEAS Website. ESOs must verify TIR eligibility lists on the NEAS website during the following time periods: (a) Initial TIR lists will be available: E-6 - 26 November 2021 to 19 December 2021 E-5 - 26 November 2021 to 5 January 2022 (b) Supplemental TIR lists will be available: E-6 - 20 December 2021 to 30 January 2022 E-5 - 6 January 2022 to 7 February 2022 (3) Exams ordered after the TIR lists have closed shall be ordered using 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 31 March 2022. (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 enroute 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 paragraph 104 of reference (a) and must include endorsement by the commands immediate superior in command. Submit message formatted e-mail exception to policy directly to Enlisted Plans and Policy Branch (OPNAV N132C) at NXAG_N132C(at)navy.mil, to include any supporting documentation. 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 March 2022. E-6 exams will take place from 1 through 15 March 2022 and E-5 exams will take place from 16 through 31 March 2022. 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 and 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, 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 in 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 toteboard on the NEAS website often to ensure answer sheets have been received and processed. The toteboard can be accessed via MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/advancement-and-promotion/command- information. Select Command Advancement Tools, then Exam Toteboard. Erroneous answer sheets 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) and reference (e). 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 all required supporting documentation included as attachments. Education point corrections require a submission of the Joint Service Transcript 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). Missed exam cycle EAW is required to be completed by selecting *Missed Cycle / Individual Augmentee* entry in the *EAW Special Circumstances* data entry field. 7. NWAE 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-MNCC (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 Vice Admiral John B. Nowell, Jr, N1.// BT #0001 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED//