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NEWS | Jan. 12, 2021

Meritorious Advancement Program Updates for Navy Reserve Sailors

By Lt. Cmdr. Adam Demeter, CNRFC Public Affairs

Navy Reserve Meritorious Advancement Program graphic.
SLIDESHOW | 1 images | Navy Reserve Meritorious Advancement Program Graphic Navy Reserve Meritorious Advancement Program graphic. (U.S. Navy graphic by Commander, Navy Reserve Force Public Affairs)

Commander, Navy Reserve Force (CNRF) has released ALNAVRESFOR 001/21, announcing the latest changes and improvements to the Navy Reserve’s Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP-R).

The changes align MAP-R seasons with the Navy-wide advancement exam (NWAE) cycles, effectively doubling the advancement opportunity for Sailors and further supporting the intent of MAP-R to select and reward the right Sailors for possible advancement.

MAP-R is a Navy Reserve program to meritoriously advance eligible personnel in paygrades E-5 and below to the next higher paygrade. The program is intended to give commanding officers the opportunity to recognize their best Sailors by nominating them for advancement when they are ready for the next level of responsibility.

“We’ve refined and improved the program to further empower command triads the ability to recognize their most talented Sailors through immediate advancement,” said Master Chief Kimberly Cedar, Reserve Force Command Career Counselor. “We’ve also eliminated several manual administrative processes by automatically verifying candidate eligibility and correctly routing the nomination submissions.” 

Beginning in season one of calendar year (CY) 2021 (March 1, 2021 – April 30, 2021), MAP-R will utilize a new automated system in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) to track the process from beginning to end. Commands will no longer be required to manually calculate eligibility, submit nominations, and track their paper trail. Instead, the updated MAP-R system will manage nomination opportunities, determine eligibility, and adjudicate the Sailors approved for advancement in a centralized location. 

The MAP-R initiative aligns with the Navy Reserve’s overall efforts to modernize its administrative processes throughout the Force. Similar to MAP-R, new systems are regularly being released to automate pay processes, orders processing, personnel data, and more.

Prior to this announcement, ALNAVRESFOR 029/20 directed commands and units to set up their MAP-R user roles by February 1, 2021 in preparation for the first advancement season of CY-21. Reserve Component Commands (RCC) and Immediate Supervisors in Command (ISIC) must designate an RCC Approver or ISIC Approver, to include account access in order to support subordinate unit MAP-R nominations as delineated in the MAP-R hierarchy structure in NSIPS.

Click here to read ALNAVRESFOR 001/21 in its entirety:

https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Portals/35/Documents/ALNAVRESFOR%202021/2021%20ALNAVRESFOR%20001%20NAVY%20RESERVE%20FORCE%20MERITORIOUS%20ADVANCEMENT%20PROGRAM%20AND%20ANNOUNCEMENT%20OF%20SEASON%20ONE%20AND%20SEASON%20TWO.pdf?ver=7AaplqwIAT-U05Y-eXXy_g%3d%3d 

Click here to read ALNAVRESFOR 29/20 in its entirety:

https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Portals/35/2020%20ALNAVRESFOR%20029%20SELRES%20MAP-R%20AUTOMATION.pdf?ver=8S-_c8lGAMByvj7dW80pjQ%3d%3d 

Click here to find a “Smart Sheet” that contains a step-by-step guide to help unit approvers set up their role in NSIPS: 

https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Portals/35/MAP_R%20Smart%20Sheet_final.pdf