The Marine Corps has issued its latest Talent Management update, outlining changes intended to bolster readiness and support the service’s Force Design modernization effort through revamped retention, career development, digital tools, and civilian hiring practices.
Building on Talent Management 2030 and the Talent Management Campaign Plan 2023–2025, Manpower and Reserve Affairs says it has notched key gains in retaining, developing, and deploying Marines. “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 & Reserve Affairs and the Marine Corps’ Talent Management Officer.
The update organizes efforts around four lines of effort: rebalancing recruiting and retention; optimizing how talent is employed; creating multiple pathways to career success; and modernizing digital tools that underpin personnel management.
Officials highlight retention as a standout area. The Commandant’s Retention Program exceeded goals in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, aided by expanded reenlistment opportunities and faster, more predictable processes. In fiscal 2025, active component Marines from the fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2027 cohorts will be able to reenlist at the same time, a change designed to enlarge the pool of eligible Marines and give service members more time to make decisions about their next commitment.
On career development, the Marine Corps is advancing the Small Unit Leader Initiative and testing alternate selection pilots aimed at strengthening military occupational specialty health and broadening access to professional military education. Transition programs, including the Direct Affiliation Program and the Return to Active-Duty Program, are intended to make it easier for Marines to continue serving across the active and reserve components.
Digital modernization features prominently. The Talent Management Engagement Platform and Total Force Retention System 2.0 are being used to streamline assignments, career management, and reenlistments while improving transparency and collaboration across the force.
The update also addresses the civilian workforce. The service is moving to standardize recruiting processes and position descriptions to improve clarity and speed, and it is expanding commanders’ authority over overseas assignments to promote equitable access to opportunities and sustain critical staffing.
Marine leaders frame these changes as central to future warfighting demands, arguing that retaining and optimizing talent remains essential to maintaining an edge in contested, multi-domain environments.
The Talent Management Update: November 2024 is available at: https://www.manpower.marines.mil/Talent-Management/
