CAPT Mike Yurina, USN
michael.yurina@dhs.gov
NDU Joint Reserve Affairs Center
October 2005

One must look no further than the NAVADMIN message lists for a line of true bearing on Joint Professional Military Education (JPME). Since November 2004, no less than nine NAVADMINs address JPME Phase I, advanced education, or other key elements of the PME continuum approved by CNO in July 2004. Considering that 2003 passed without a single instance of “JPME” in a NAVADMIN subject line, a trend emerges: the 2004 announcement of a new PME strategy was a major milestone with far-reaching implications. Just as the announcement prescribed, several key measures are now in place to anchor professional military education to career progression and assignment. Most significantly, per NAVADMIN 093/05, JPME Phase I will be a prerequisite for URL O-5 command selection beginning in FY09.

One Navy, One Standard

A year ago, one could only imagine the policy impact on the Navy Reserve. That’s because, as weighty as the initial announcement and succeeding messages may have seemed, no provision of the PME continuum cited applicability beyond the active component. In fact, the first two message announcements for the Naval War College CD ROM-based JPME Phase I program listed enrollment priority as active duty URL officers at sea. Some saw that as a sign of exclusion; for others, a sign of hope. Yet, there should have been no confusion at all. Our senior leaders have been working for years to eliminate barriers between active and reserve components. In any case, NAVADMIN 093/05 leaves little room for doubt, stating explicitly that JPME Phase I is “now a requirement for URL officers screening to URL commander command (active duty and reserve commands).” Eclipsing any active-reserve debate and faithful to the tenets of inclusion, the breadth of the PME continuum is evident in NAVADMIN 203/05, which announced the Associate’s Degree initiative for eligible E-8s.

What About the Billets?

Some are quick to point out that the specific reserve command billets, competed for via the APPLY process, will be subject to the JPME Phase I requirement are still under review and have not been announced. Such observations are correct, with the determination of reserve command billets on-going and being addressed by no less than OPNAV, CNRFC, and NETC staffs as well as the SECNAV National Navy Reserve Policy Board. Attendant issues of drill credit and retirement points – raised through lower echelon policy boards in the past year – are included in the discussion, as is the topic of Restricted Line Officer commands and JPME. (Shipmates among the staff corps and restricted line communities are just as quick to point out that their expeditionary activities in the Global War on Terrorism typically involve Joint settings, often at higher rates than for URL counterparts.) Meanwhile, the Office of the Chief of Navy Reserve (OCNR) Navy Training Alignment Working Group is addressing JPME issues with the results expected in January. Meanwhile, in considering whether to pursue JPME, candidates might do well to look beyond any specific billet requirements or forecasts. In context, the JPME prerequisite to URL O-5 command is just one among several incentives built into the PME strategy. A more telling forecast is contained in the basis of the PME continuum itself, which describes a continuous path of learning and education throughout a career. It’s the thrust of the policy that’s important, not the implementation details.

Enhanced Opportunity

JPME opportunities continue to increase. Enrollment capacity for the Naval War College (NWC) CD ROM-based JPME Phase I program, for example, recently tripled and expanded to include reserve officers and O-3s. As of 1 October, there are now 800 quotas for JPME Phase I through the NWC programs (CD-ROM, Web-enabled Correspondence, and Fleet Seminar) for the reservists. The Fleet Seminar program now includes the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and it will soon expand to Atlanta. Beyond the NWC offerings, many other avenues are available for JPME completion as shown in the attached matrix.

Reserve Advanced JPME

Unlike its Phase I prerequisite, JPME Phase II has traditionally been beyond the reach of most reservists. Accordingly, Congress directed DoD to develop a course of instruction that would be similar, but not identical to the in-residence Phase II course at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC). The reserve component advanced JPME program was developed as a means to provide reserve officers the means to achieve JPME requirements outlined in Title 10 and DoDI 1215.20. The primary course of instruction for the program, Advanced Joint Professional Military Education (AJPME) is an approximately 40-week program consisting of distance education with two face-to-face periods in Norfolk. CNRFC selects attendees competitively in accordance with periodic message announcements. AJPME throughput is currently 280 students and ramping to 500 annually. There have been 175 graduates to date, including 60 Navy Reservists… ranking tops among the Services.

Conclusion

All indicators point toward JPME and the broader PME continuum becoming an institutional part of Navy culture. Granted, individual plans must strike a delicate balance among family, civilian employment, and Navy priorities – including contributions to the supported commands – and mentors can provide invaluable assistance in charting a course. However, the practical navigator should at least give due regard to options that include PME continuum elements on the track.