UNCLASSIFIED//
ROUTINE
R 171744Z NOV 21 MID600051192468U
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
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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@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@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@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@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@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@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.//
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