FY27 Active Reserve Alignment Plan is open for submissions

HQMC Reserve Affairs just opened the FY27 Active Reserve Alignment Plan (ARAP). This is the annual process that determines which AR Marines stay on the program. If your EAS falls between 1 October 2026 and 30 September 2027, you are in the cohort and you have deadlines to hit now.

Do this: Submit your retention request in TFRS by 31 January 2027. Miss the deadline and you will be treated as electing to separate.

Who it affects

AR Marines only, career-designated and non-career-designated, with an EAS between 1 October 2026 and 30 September 2027. This MARADMIN does not apply to SMCR or IMA Marines.

What you need to do

1. Talk to your unit career counselor now. Confirm your eligibility and what documents you need before you touch TFRS.
2. Complete your ARAP interview with your commanding officer and career counselor inside TFRS using the Interview Management Module.
3. Have your career counselor record your reenlistment intent in MCTFS using diary transaction 788 000 RER FLAG⧉ by 1 December 2026. (Exception: if your full request reaches HQMC RA on or before 1 December 2026, this step is not required first.)
4. Submit your Reserve Reenlistment Extension Lateral Move (RRELM) request in TFRS by 31 January 2027. If you need a Commanding General endorsement, include it with the initial submission.
5. Once HQMC approves your request, accept or decline it in TFRS within 30 days. Sitting on an approval past 30 days can get it revoked.

A few other situations:

• Conditional release: If you want to transfer to the Active Component or apply for an AC officer program, you can request a conditional release from the AR Program. Submit through 31 January 2027. The effective release date is up to RAM based on Service needs. Extensions beyond 30 September 2027 will not be granted just to process a conditional release.
• LCA extensions: Your command can approve a Local Command Authority (LCA) extension up to 31 May 2027 to keep you in place while your ARAP request is processed. Career counselors process these in TFRS. The NAVMC 321A must cite the TFRS reference number and state: To await a response to a submitted FY27 ARAP retention request.⧉
• Early reenlistment: If your End of Current Contract (ECC) is in FY27 but your EAS runs past 30 September 2027, you may still voluntarily submit early. RAM-2 can approve early reenlistments to get you the obligated service needed for permanent change of station orders (PCSO), Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB), SDA, or promotion.
• Late submissions: If you miss the deadline without a qualifying excuse (medical, legal, enlisted career force controls), you need a signed endorsement from your first O-6 in the chain of command explaining why.

Key dates

The official version

This is MARADMIN 499/26.

Referenced orders: MCO 1040R.31 (Reserve Enlisted Retention and Career Development Program) and MCO 1001.52K (Management of the Active Reserve Support to the USMC Reserve). URLs for those orders are not included in the MARADMIN.

POC for retention questions: SMB_RA_RETENTION@USMC.MIL⧉

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.