The Marine Corps Career Retention Specialist is an enlisted Marine who is responsible to the immediate Commanding Officer for all aspects of retention of enlisted personnel in the United States Marine Corps.
Military occupational specialty designators
The current military occupational specialty (MOS) designator for Career Retention Specialist is 4821. This MOS designator has been changed a couple of times in the first decade of the 21st century and was formerly 0143 and 8421 before that.
Other titles
Other titles for the Career Retention Specialist include Career Planner or as the acronym CRS. A derogatory term for the unit Career Retention Specialist is Career Jammer, or just Jammer.
Title change
As of May 11, 2010, the Career Retention Specialist title was officially changed to "Career Planner." All official correspondence in relation to MOS 4821, enlisted Career Planning, and designation letters will reflect this title change. The authority for this change is TFRS Message M0099.
Primary duties
The primary duties of the Career Retention Specialist include assisting enlisted Marines with reenlistments, lateral movements, extensions, and special duty assignments such as Recruiting Duty, Drill Instructor Duty, Marine Security Guard, Marine Corps Security Forces, and Marine Combat Instructor. The Career Retention Specialist is responsible for identifying, screening, and interviewing Marines for retention and special duties listed above. A large part of the Career Retention Specialist's job is to advise and counsel Marines on how they can become more competitive for promotion and retention. A good Career Retention Specialist is to be considered an expert on all matters pertaining to enlisted retention in the Marine Corps.
Publications governing career retention
The Career Retention Specialist is guided in the performance of his duties by Marine Corps Order P1040.31: Enlisted Retention and Career Development Manual. Becoming familiar with this Marine Corps publication makes the Career Retention Specialist effective at his work. Marine Corps Order P1326.6D is the Special Duty Assignment Manual and is also heavily utilized by the Career Retention Specialist to screen applicants for special duty assignments.
Unique characteristics
The Career Retention Specialist is considered a special staff officer within Marine Corps units who works directly with the unit commander. The Career Retention Specialist receives Special Duty Assignment Pay, technically called SDA Type I. While in garrison, the Career Retention Specialist is encouraged to wear the dress blue delta or dress blue charlie uniform, season appropriate. The Career Retention Specialist is responsible to three entities: the Commanding Officer, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, and the individual Marine. Career Retention Specialist is not an entry level MOS. Marines in this position range from Sergeant through Master Gunnery Sergeant, and must have completed at least one enlistment before selection as a Career Retention Specialist. The CRS is the liaison between the command and Headquarters Marine Corps. The Career Retention Specialist cannot be assigned additional duties that either require a large amount of their time, or any that would compromise their position in the unit. The Career Retention Specialist must be self-motivated and work well on their own since they do not have an Officer in Charge directly overseeing their performance, and most of the time they are the only ones in the unit who hold their MOS designator.
Formal training
The MOS granting school for Career Planners is the Basic Career Planners Course (BCPC) which is a part of Recruiters School, and located at MCRD San Diego, California. It is a seven-week course that familiarizes the Career Planners with many aspects of the job. At this school, the student is normally issued a medium dress blue allowance and after graduation becomes eligible to receive special duty assignment pay. There is also an Collateral Duty Career Planner Course which is significantly shorter than the MOS granting course and is usually conducted by a mobile training team by experienced, senior Career Planners and instructors from BCPC. Orders to attend the seven-week course are issued only by Commandant of the Marine Corps, Manpower Management Enlisted Assignments 6. Formal orders are not necessary for the additional duty course, and can be granted by a Marine's command through permissive temporary assigned duty (PTAD).