Effective immediately, the Marine Corps is replacing the "Prohibited Activities and Conduct" (PAC) label with "Military Equal Opportunity" (MEO) across all policies, training, reporting, and communications. This is a terminology realignment to match Department of the Navy and Department of War standards. The underlying rules are unchanged. Nothing that was prohibited before is now allowed, and nothing new is prohibited.
Bottom line: The name changed. The rules did not.
Who it affects
Every Marine, every component. Total Force. If you have a brief, a local directive, a training slide, or any document that says "PAC," it needs to be updated to say "MEO."
What you need to do
For most reservists, this is awareness only. Know the term changed so you are not confused when you see MEO in official materials where PAC used to be.
If you are an Equal Opportunity Advisor (EOA) or you own any unit-level training materials, briefs, or local directives that reference PAC, update them to use MEO. HQMC's Manpower Equal Opportunity Branch (MPE) will push a communication plan to EOAs to guide the fleet-wide transition.
Reporting procedures, complaint timelines, and systems of record are all staying the same.
Key dates
- Effective immediately (MARADMIN dated 7 August 2026)
- Guidance stays in effect until a revised MCO 5354.1G supersedes it
The official version
See MARADMIN 357/26 for the full text.
Referenced orders:
- MCO 5354.1G (Marine Corps PAC Prevention and Response Policy, 11 Apr 25)
- DoDI 1020.03 (DoD Harassment Prevention and Response Policy, 10 Dec 25)
- DoDI 1350.02 (DoD Military Equal Opportunity Program Policy, 11 Mar 26)
POC: MPE Branch. Col B. Carter at bryce.w.carter.mil@usmc.mil / 703-784-6276, or MGySgt R. Smith at rodney.d.smith@usmc.mil / 703-432-9164.
This is written by a reservist, for reservists. It is not an official publication of HQMC or MARFORRES. Always verify guidance with your command or unit S-1 before acting on any article or summary.