Number of captains in Corps to rise

[unhappycamper]

Number of captains in Corps to rise
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 2, 2008 6:43:33 EDT

This year’s captain selection board picked more than 1,900 Marines for promotion — almost twice the typical number — passing over only 32 first lieutenants getting a look.

The fiscal year 2009 selection board looked at an exceptionally large pool of junior officers, including some with less than a year as first lieutenants. The board selected 1,910 Marines, or more than 98 percent of all in-zone officers, according to a May 20 message released by the Navy. Of the 1,942 Marines who received a look, only four above-zone and 28 in-zone officers were passed over.

The massive number of captains selected for promotion this year — up 73 percent from the 1,104 selected the year before — reflects the long-term plans to grow the Corps to 202,000 Marines by the end of fiscal year 2011, said Maj. Don Maraska, the Corps’ officer promotion planner.

“We’re good. We feel very confident,” Maraska said. “This is not going to be a less capable crop. It doesn’t reflect a shortage of captains.”

On average, those selected for captain this year have been first lieutenants for 1.6 years and spent a total of five years in the Corps. That’s the lowest amount of time in-grade since 2005, when Marines selected to captain averaged 1.1 years in grade, Marine Corps data shows.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/06/marine_captains_060108w/