The Marine Corps is now limiting the time Marines can participate in a program intended to provide service members a smooth transition into the civilian workforce, citing years of lost manpower.
In an administrative message posted Monday, the service said that the SkillBridge initiative — a normally six-month program started by the Pentagon more than 10 years ago to address military-to-civilian hiring opportunities after the 2008 financial crisis — is being cut to three or four months for Marines, depending on rank.
Marines with the rank of sergeant and below are limited to 120 days at the end of their service to participate in the program; staff noncommissioned officers, warrant officers and officers are allotted 90 days. The Corps said that its Manpower and Reserve Affairs “conservatively” estimated that more than 3,400 years of manpower were provided “external to the Marine Corps” between fiscal years 2021 and 2024.
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“The impact on the command and needs of the service must be considered and prioritized, and readiness to the force remains paramount,” the Marine Corps message said.
The SkillBridge program gives service members an opportunity to “gain valuable civilian work experience” during their last days of service through training, apprenticeships or internships, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon said the program…