QUANTICO, Va. — The Marines have released an update to a years-long talent management effort aimed at building and retaining the best personnel by offering them a host of work, stationing and service options.
The 25-page document outlines results of select personnel programs the service has initiated and hints at some retainment-focused steps the service is considering in the coming years.
Those measures include technological upgrades that allow Marines to start the reenlistment process on a mobile device; executive-level coaching for senior enlisted personnel and officers; more duty station options, as well as job-specific move opportunities; and a more personal, tailored approach to career development across the force.
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“We must invest in and retain talent across the Marine Corps to support Force Design, increase our lethality, and enhance the Corps’ warfighting capabilities,” said Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, deputy commandant of Manpower and Reserve Affairs and the service’s talent management officer.
“We will continue to listen to feedback from those we serve, adapt to an ever-evolving environment and analyze the progress we’ve made so far,” he added.
A series of pilot programs launched under the service’s Talent Management 2030 initiative have already yielded fruit. In recent years, the Corps has seen historic retention numbers, hitting 114% of its annual retention goal in Fiscal Year 2024.
Exceeding that goal meant that nearly 8,000 first-term enlisted Marines stayed in the Corps, which was 1,000 more than the service’s goal. That total also marks the highest number of retained first-term Marines since fiscal 2010, Marine Corps Times previously reported.
As of Oct. 1, the service had already signed more than 4,100 first-term enlisted Marines on for another tour, putting the Corps at 35% of its goal as FY25 began. That number mirrors those from fiscal 2024 at the same point.
But retaining one out of every three first-term Marines isn’t the norm. Historically, the Corps has only kept about one in four first-term enlistees, according to data provided by Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The Corps is also retaining higher quality Marines, increasing their “Tier 1″ first-term reenlistments steadily from 20% in FY21 to nearly 31% in FY24.
Part of why the Marine Corps has been able to ratchet up retention is by adjusting existing policies and kicking off a host of new programs, one of which includes giving Marines the option to enlist before their current contract ends.
Marines eligible for reenlistment in fiscal 2026 and 2027, for example, can now reenlist one to two years earlier.
Marines ranked E-8 or E-9 with 15 years or more in service, meanwhile, will be eligible to reenlist up to their service limit — 27 years for E-8s, 30 years for E-9s — instead of submitting the same burdensome packet of administrative paperwork every four years.
These approaches have been highly successful, Maj. Mark McGee, of the Manpower Plans and Policy Division, said during a Dec. 19 media roundtable at Quantico.
Still, an extended reenlistment period does not mean Marines sporting the first sergeant diamond or sergeant major star on their sleeves are locked in to another 15 years in uniform without the option to leave.
The Marines would be able to approach their time in service the same way as commissioned officers: once they’ve fulfilled their obligation, they can “resign” at any time.
The move seeks to eliminate the bureaucratic administrative work of re-enlisting for those who stay in. It also gives families more predictability and allows the Marine Corps to better predict staffing.
The report notes that the pilot program for E-8 and E-9 pay grades may expand to include Marines at the E-7 pay grade with 12 years of service.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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