Eligibility

E-7 Requirements (Mandatory)

Navy E-7s desiring to attend the SEA must meet the following requirements:

• Must provide a Commanding Officer’s (CO) endorsement letter that certifies the following:
  1. Member is time-in-rate eligible for E-8.
  2. Member is recommended for advancement by the current CO.
  3. Member is an Early Promote (EP), or is the #1 or #2 Must Promote (MP) on their most recent competitive Chief evaluation.
  4. Member has completed the Chief Petty Officer Leader Development Course.
  5. Additionally, the CO's endorsement must include the statement "I fully support CPO Sailor to attend the SEA and I acknowledge he/she meets all eligibility requirements or explain the reason for not meeting any of the above requirements".
• Email CO’s endorsement letter to the SEA registrar at registration.sea@us.navy.mil the same day when registering for an Empower account.

• For a sample CO's endorsement letter for E-7s, click here.

E-8/E-9 of Any Service

The SEA course is for E-8/E-9s. Thus, pay grades E-8/E-9 of any service, including our international service partners, are fully eligible (to include ‘frocked’ E-8s). Army, Air Force, National Guard, Marine, and Coast Guard personnel should refer to their respective service’s procedures for funding to attend at the Navy SEA.