TO AL NAVADMIN(uc) CC CNO WASHINGTON DC(uc) R 310024Z MAY 04 UNCLAS //N01500// NAVADMIN 125/04 MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N00T/-/MAY// SUBJ/FY-05 SEAMAN TO ADMIRAL-21 (STA-21) PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT// REF/A/DOC/OPNAV/02MAY2003// AMPN/REF A IS ENLISTED TO OFFICER COMMISSIONING PROGRAMS APPLICATION ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL (OPNAVINST 1420.1A).// POC/M. PAROS/CIV/NSTC OD2/LOC:PENSACOLA FL/TEL:(850) 452-9563 /TEL:DSN 922-9563/EMAIL:MICHAEL.PAROS@NAVY.MIL// RMKS/1. SUMMARY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS NAVADMIN IS TO SOLICIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE FY-05 SEAMAN TO ADMIRAL-21 (STA-21) COMMISSIONING PROGRAM. STA-21 REPLACED THE ENLISTED COMMISSIONING PROGRAM (ECP), BROADENED OPPORTUNITY FOR OFFICER SELECTION AND TRAINING PROGRAM (BOOST), SEAMAN TO ADMIRAL (STA) PROGRAM, AND FLEET ACCESSIONS TO THE NAVAL RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS (NROTC) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. PARTICIPANTS IN THESE LEGACY PROGRAMS CANNOT TRANSITION TO STA-21. 2. STA-21 CONSISTS OF THE STA-21 CORE OPTION AND STA-21 TARGET OPTION PROGRAMS. THE CORE OPTION ALLOWS OFFICER COMMUNITY ASSIGNMENT TO AN UNRESTRICTED LINE DESIGNATOR WITHIN THE FINAL YEAR OF COLLEGE, BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE NAVY, INDIVIDUAL QUALIFICATIONS, APTITUDE, EXPERIENCE AND PREFERENCES. A LIMITED NUMBER OF STA-21 TARGET OPTION BILLETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES UPON ENTRY TO STA-21: NUCLEAR (SURFACE OR SUBMARINE), AVIATION (PILOT), AVIATION (NAVAL FLIGHT OFFICER (NFO)), SURFACE WARFARE (SWO), SPECIAL OPERATIONS (SPECOPS), SPECIAL WARFARE (SPECWAR), NURSE CORPS (NC), SUPPLY CORPS (SC), SPECIAL DUTY OFFICER (INTELLIGENCE), SPECIAL DUTY OFFICER (CRYPTOLOGIC) AND CIVIL ENGINEER CORPS (CEC). THOSE WHO ARE NOT SELECTED FOR THESE TARGET OPTIONS WILL, IF DESIRED, BE CONSIDERED FOR THE STA-21 CORE OPTION. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SUBMARINES AND SPECIAL WARFARE TARGET OPTIONS, STA-21 IS OPEN TO BOTH GENDERS. DETAILS OF ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES CAN BE FOUND IN REF A. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE FY-05 STA-21 PROGRAM IS 1 JUL 04. THE SELECTION BOARD WILL MEET DURING SEP 04. NAMES OF SELECTEES WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY NAVADMIN IN OCT 04. 3. PER REF A, STA-21 IS A FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND COMMISSIONING PROGRAM OPEN TO ENLISTED PERSONNEL OF ALL PAYGRADES AND RATINGS WHO MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. STA-21 IS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE SUPPORT FOR SAILORS INTERESTED IN EARNING A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE AND A COMMISSION AS A NAVAL OFFICER. SELECTEES ARE PROVIDED UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 36 MONTHS OF FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND STUDY TO COMPLETE A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE; HOWEVER, PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE APPLICANTS REQUIRING 24 OR LESS MONTHS OF FULL TIME STUDY. PARTICIPANTS WILL REMAIN ON ACTIVE DUTY WHILE ATTENDING COLLEGE AND BENEFIT FROM AN EDUCATION VOUCHER VALUED AT UP TO $10,000 PER YEAR TO COVER TUITION, FEES AND BOOK COSTS. STA-21 PARTICIPANTS WILL BECOME MEMBERS OF AND DRILL WITH A LOCAL NROTC UNIT. FOLLOWING DEGREE COMPLETION, STA-21 PARTICIPANTS WILL BE APPOINTED AS AN ENSIGN, USNR, ON THE ACTIVE-DUTY LIST. 4. A LIMITED NUMBER OF SELECTEES WILL BE CHOSEN TO ATTEND A 3- OR 6-MONTH INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAM OF STUDY AT BOOST SCHOOL IN NEWPORT, RI TO ASSIST IN THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE. FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF BOOST, THEY WILL ATTEND THE NAVAL SCIENCE INSTITUTE (NSI) EN ROUTE TO THEIR UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT. 5. ALL STA-21 OFFICER CANDIDATES WILL ATTEND THE NSI COURSE AT OFFICER TRAINING COMMAND NEWPORT (OTCN), RI PRIOR TO BEGINNING COLLEGE STUDIES AT AN NROTC-AFFILIATED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY. NSI IS AN 8-WEEK COURSE OF INTENSIVE OFFICER PREPARATION AND INDOCTRINATION ATTENDED BY ALL SELECTEES EN ROUTE TO THEIR UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT. NSI WILL BE CONDUCTED PERIODICALLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND TIMED TO ALLOW COLLEGE ENTRANCE DURING FALL, SPRING, OR SUMMER SEMESTERS/QUARTERS. 6. COMMANDING OFFICERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO IDENTIFY THEIR BEST AND BRIGHTEST SAILORS NOW AND COUNSEL THEM TO BEGIN PREPARATIONS FOR STA-21. FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, URGE THESE SAILORS TO EXCEL IN THEIR NAVY JOBS. SECOND, HELP THEM EARN COLLEGE CREDITS THROUGH THE NAVY COLLEGE PROGRAM. THIRD, ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE COLLEGE COURSES, ESPECIALLY MATHEMATICS COURSES THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR CALCULUS AND CALCULUS-BASED PHYSICS. FINALLY, AS IT USUALLY TAKES AT LEAST 4 TO 6 WEEKS TO OBTAIN SAT/ACT TEST RESULTS, EARLY REGISTRATION AND TESTING IS ESSENTIAL. SAILORS SHOULD ALSO BE ENCOURAGED TO USE ALL STUDY MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO OBTAIN MORE COMPETITIVE SCORES. ALTHOUGH SCORES ARE ACCEPTED FROM TESTS UP TO 3 YEARS PRIOR TO THE 1 JUL 04 DEADLINE, RETAKING THE TESTS TO ACHIEVE HIGHER SCORES IS RECOMMENDED. 7. OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL IS PARAMOUNT FOR SELECTION TO STA-21. IT IS EXPECTED THAT EXPERIENCED SAILORS WHO APPLY TO STA-21 WILL HAVE A RECORD OF SUPERB FLEET PERFORMANCE. HOWEVER, EVEN THE MOST JUNIOR SAILORS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR SELECTION BASED UPON THEIR PERFORMANCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE, INCLUDING THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS OUTSIDE OF THE NAVY THAT INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS AS OFFICERS. APPLICANTS MUST ALSO DEMONSTRATE ACADEMIC POTENTIAL TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE. 8. AS THE NAVY CONTINUES TO INCORPORATE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY INTO ITS SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES, MORE TECHNICALLY SKILLED OFFICERS WILL BE REQUIRED. PURSUIT OF A TECHNICAL MAJOR BY STA-21 PARTICIPANTS IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED IN ORDER TO ENHANCE FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. ALL STA-21 OFFICER CANDIDATES, EXCEPT NC OPTION, MUST COMPLETE TWO SEMESTERS EACH OF CALCULUS AND CALCULUS-BASED PHYSICS. APPLICANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT SAT OR ACT ASSESSMENT SCORES AND ALL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS WITH THEIR APPLICATIONS. MINIMUM SAT SCORE FOR STA-21 ELIGIBILITY IS 1000 (MATH - 500 AND VERBAL - 500) OR 41 ON THE ACT ASSESSMENT (MATH - 21 AND ENGLISH - 20). NUCLEAR OPTION APPLICANTS MUST HAVE A MINIMUM OF 1140 SAT (COMBINED) OR 50 ACT (COMBINED). APPROVAL OF EACH INDIVIDUAL'S ACADEMIC MAJOR AND DEGREE PLAN WILL BE MADE FOLLOWING SELECTION NOTIFICATION AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT. 9. CHANGES TO THE FY-05 STA-21 APPLICATION ARE: APPLICATION SHALL INCLUDE APPLICANT'S LAST THREE PHYSICAL FITNESS ASSESSMENT (PFA) RESULTS. RESULTS MUST INCLUDE RAW SCORES FOR EACH PORTION OF THE TEST AS WELL AS HEIGHT/WEIGHT AND/OR BODY COMPOSITION ASSESSMENT. ADDITIONALLY, AS PART OF THE OVERALL APPLICATION RECOMMENDATION, COMMANDING OFFICERS SHOULD CLOSELY CONSIDER THE INDIVIDUAL'S HEIGHT/WEIGHT/BODY COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL FITNESS AS BOTH ARE CLOSELY MONITORED DURING THE TRAINING REGIMEN (BOOST, NSI AND COLLEGE STUDIES). 10. SAILORS WHO HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE AND DESIRE A COMMISSION SHOULD APPLY TO OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL (OCS). THE MEDICAL ENLISTED COMMISSIONING PROGRAM (MECP) IS NOT IMPACTED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF STA-21, AND WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE TO INTERESTED PERSONNEL. 11. LESSONS LEARNED. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ADDRESSES LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FY-04 STA-21 SELECTION PROCESS AND BOARD. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO HELP COMMANDS AVOID ERRORS WHEN COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING APPLICATION PACKAGES. FOUR HUNDRED SAILORS WERE ULTIMATELY SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FY-04 STA-21 PROGRAM. THESE SAILORS WERE SELECTED FROM OVER 1,600 APPLICATIONS INITIALLY RECEIVED BY THE FY-04 SELECTION BOARD, HOWEVER, ONLY 1,025 OF THE APPLICANTS WERE ACTUALLY BOARD ELIGIBLE. REGRETTABLY, 600 PLUS OTHER APPLICANTS DID NOT MEET BASIC PROGRAM CRITERIA, AND THEREFORE, WERE NOT CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD. OF THOSE APPLICATIONS NOT MEETING BASIC PROGRAM SELECTION CRITERIA, 358 WERE DUE TO NON-QUALIFYING SAT/ACT TEST SCORES AND 67 WERE SUBMITTED WITHOUT ANY SAT/ACT TEST SCORES INCLUDED AT ALL. OTHERS WERE INELIGIBLE BECAUSE NO COMMANDING OFFICER'S ENDORSEMENT WAS PROVIDED OR THE APPLICANT WAS RECENTLY THE SUBJECT OF NON-JUDICIAL PUNISHMENT (NJP). IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS ARE MET BEFORE FORWARDING AN APPLICATION. TO DO OTHERWISE IS NOT FAIR TO THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED AND IT UNNECESSARILY SLOWS DOWN THE SELECTION PROCESS. OFFICER INTERVIEW BOARDS AND THE COMMANDING OFFICER'S PERSONAL INTERVIEW SHOULD ONLY BE CONDUCTED AFTER THE APPLICATION IS COMPLETE, AND APPLICATIONS SHOULD ONLY BE SUBMITTED WHEN FULLY COMPLETE. THE FULL PICTURE OF AN APPLICANT'S ACADEMIC POTENTIAL CAN ONLY BE DETERMINED BY THE SELECTION BOARD FOLLOWING REVIEW OF THE SAT/ACT SCORES AND HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS. ENSURE THAT SAILORS ADDRESS ANY HARDSHIPS OR UNIQUE EXPERIENCES THAT HAVE SHAPED THEIR CHARACTER. FOR JUNIOR SAILORS, ENSURE THEY PROVIDE INFORMATION ON HIGH SCHOOL EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCES. HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPTS RARELY PROVIDE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ON INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS, CLUBS, VOLUNTEER WORK, ETC. THE COMMANDING OFFICER'S ENDORSEMENT AND RECOMMENDATION WERE VIEWED AS A MAJOR PART OF THE SELECTION BOARD DECISION. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE COMMANDING OFFICER'S ENDORSEMENT AND RECOMMENDATION ADDRESS ANY KNOWN DISCREPANCIES IN THE APPLICATION, (I.E., LACK OF TRANSCRIPTS, MISSING OR GAPS IN EVALUATIONS, PRIOR ATTEMPTS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS OR COMMISSIONING PROGRAMS). EVALUATIONS THAT INDICATE "PROMOTABLE" DO NOT REFLECT WELL WHEN THE COMMANDING OFFICER RECOMMENDS A SAILOR FOR A COMMISSION. FOR OUR JUNIOR SAILORS WITH ONLY SCHOOLHOUSE EVALUATIONS, COMMANDING OFFICERS MUST NOTE THIS STATUS IN HIS/HER ENDORSEMENT. BE SPECIFIC IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS. DO NOT PLACE BOARD MEMBERS IN THE POSITION OF MAKING SELECTION DECISIONS BASED UPON INFERENCES CONTAINED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS. AS A MATTER OF NOTE, THE SELECTION PROCESS IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE WITH THE AVERAGE, PRIOR YEAR SELECTEE ACHIEVING AN SAT COMPOSITE SCORE OF 1,200. 12. QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS PROGRAM SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO COMMAND CAREER COUNSELORS OR TO NAVAL SERVICE TRAINING COMMAND (NSTC) CODE OD2, AT DSN 922-9563/9388 OR COMM (850) 452-9563/9388. 13. APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COMMANDER NAVAL SERVICE TRAINING COMMAND (OD2/STA-21) 250 DALLAS ST, STE A PENSACOLA, FL 32508-5268 14. RELEASED BY VADM A. G. HARMS, JR., DIRECTOR OF NAVAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING./// BT NNNN