STA 21 graduating class of June 23, 2005. STA-21 or Seaman to Admiral - 21 is the U.S. Navy's commissioning program for the 21st century and is designed to enable active-duty sailors to get a college degree and become commissioned officers. HistoryPreviously there were over a dozen different paths for active-duty U.S. Marines and sailors to become commissioned officers, "Seaman to Admiral" being just one of them. This wide array of programs lacked uniformity in benefits, selection procedures, educational opportunities, and program requirements. This created a very confusing web of program applications, deadlines, and choices for fleet applicants and was very cumbersome for the Navy to manage and administer. For all of these reasons and more, the Navy combined most of these current commissioning paths into one consolidated program that preserves the "Seaman to Admiral" name made popular by Admiral Jeremy Boorda: Seaman to Admiral-21 (STA-21). CurrentThe STA-21 commissioning program is designed to meet the goals of the Navy in the 21st century, while at the same time creating a fair and equitable system for outstanding active-duty sailors to receive a college education and become commissioned officers in the unrestricted line (URL), special duty officer (intelligence), special duty officer (information warfare - formerly cryptologist), nurse corps (CEC), supply corps (SC), civil engineer corps (CEC), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), or SEALs. It is extremely competitive for sailors selected from the fleet; the average selection rate has ranged from 10% to 24% since 2001. All STA-21 report to the Naval Science Institute before going to their assigned college. External links
Seaman to Admiral-21 (STA-21) is a full-time undergraduate education and commissioning program open to enlisted personnel of all paygrades and ratings who meet the eligibility requirements specified OPNAVINST 1420.1B, the Enlisted to Officer Commissioning Programs Application Administrative Manual. NAVADMIN 116/22 formally announced submission deadlines for FY-2022. Use this Webpage for an informational overview of program application requirements only! Navy STA-21 Application SubmissionDeadline for submission of applications for the FY-2023 STA-21 program is 1 July 2022. Application packages must be postmarked on or before the deadline date. It is recommended that applications be mailed prior to the deadline as early submission allows timely feedback to the Sailor for submission of missing or illegible documents. Deadline for submission of additional documentation to the package of an applicant is 1 August 2022. No additional documents can be added after this date. The selection board is scheduled to convene between late August and early September 2022 and the selectees will be announced via NAVADMIN. The following target options and core are open for application for the FY-2023 selection board: Surface Warfare (SWO), Surface Warfare Engineering Duty (SWO/ED), Nuclear (Surface/Sub), Special Warfare, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Naval Flight Officer, Aviator Pilot, Civil Engineering Corps, Nurse Corps, and Information Professional. The following target options have zero select opportunity for FY-2023: Human Resources, Intelligence, Information Warfare, Medical Corps, Supply Corps, Surface Warfare Officer/Information Professional (SWO/IP), Oceanography (OCEANO) and SWO/OCEANO. The Nuclear (Surface/Sub) target option is now open to Sailors who are serving in the Fleet and hold an active nuclear Navy enlisted classification (NEC) (N1XO, N1XS, N2XO, N2XS) and to those Sailors who are in the nuclear training pipeline with the N91T NEC. Applicants holding a nuclear NEC must receive conditional release, in line with NAVADMIN 177/17 (NUCLEAR TRAINED SAILOR APPLICATIONS TO OFFICER COMMISSIONING PROGRAMS), if applying for an option outside the Nuclear community, from the Nuclear Enlisted Community Manager (OPNAV N133D). All applicants for STA-21 nuclear option (STA-21(N)) must be able to begin their first day of class in the first semester of their course work prior to commencing their eighth year of service. See the STA-21(N) Program Authorization (PA 150A) dated May 2019 for more specific information and all other requirements to apply for the STA-21(N) program. Additionally, supplementary information applicable to this years STA-21(N) application is as follows:
The following information addresses lessons learned from the FY-21 STA-21 selection process and board. This information is provided to preclude common errors:
The Navy needs innovative and bold men and women to lead, think creatively, challenge assumptions, and take well-calculated risks. Today's Navy is composed of men and women representing dozens of different ethnic groups and literally hundreds of cultural backgrounds. The Navy's ability to meet leadership challenges relies on having leaders from our entire Navy who reflect our very best. Applications should be mailed to:
For questions, specific details, eligibility criteria, application requirements and selection procedures, refer to OPNAVINST 1420.1B or contact your command career counselor for the most up-to-date information. |