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0671E4

Data Systems Administrator

E-4 (Specialist/Corporal) · Marines

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

The GCSS-MC data your section manages is the S4's logistics picture. When your section's SQL Server replication fails at 0200 and nobody catches it before the 0800 supply review, the stale data in the S4's briefing is your section's fault — not the database's. Own the monitoring rhythm. The failure that nobody catches before the brief is worse than the failure that gets reported and corrected before the brief.

The Honest MOS Read
Cpl in the 0671 community is where accountability becomes personal and systematic. You are the team lead for two to four junior data systems techs, and the section chief's read of your section's ACAS compliance percentage, your team's Active Directory audit results, and the GCSS-MC replication health is his read of you — not of the junior techs beneath you. They are Pvts and LCpls. Their technical mistakes are your teaching opportunities. Your technical mistakes are your accountability. The technical load at Cpl is the same baseline you built at the junior enlisted tier, but the accountability picture has expanded. You now brief the server build or maintenance task to your team, not receive it. You run the PCC/PCI before a field operation, not walk through it while someone else checks your work. You read the ACAS scan output and identify the highest-severity findings before the section chief asks what the remediation timeline looks like. Active Directory management at the Cpl tier moves from individual account management to domain-level administration — group policy object design, organizational unit structure, privileged account inventory and quarterly audit, and the group membership audit that catches orphaned accounts and excess-privilege assignments before the ISSM's quarterly review does. The ISSM's quarterly Active Directory audit is a known event with a known scope — every privileged account, every domain admin account, every service account — and the Cpl who manages the domain clean produces an audit report that needs no follow-up action items. GCSS-MC monitoring at the Cpl tier means building the monitoring rhythm for the team — daily SQL Server Agent job history review, weekly replication latency checks, monthly backup restore tests — and training the junior techs to run the checks without prompting. The section chief's confidence in the Cpl's data systems section is built on whether the section chief finds out about GCSS-MC problems from the Cpl's morning report or from the S4's call. The ACAS scan triage is the Cpl's primary compliance responsibility. You receive the scan output, sort by severity, triage by operational impact, and build the remediation priority list the section chief can brief to the S6. The CAT I finding on a production server is the finding that goes to the section chief on the same business day it appears on the scan — not the finding that sits in the queue until the POA&M deadline approaches. The composite score is the Cpl's parallel career responsibility. The SSgt board for 0671 runs through the centralized SNCO selection board — but the Cpl-to-Sgt cutting score runs through MCO P1400.32's composite score system. Pull the current cutting score monthly, track your inputs, and close the gap actively. Every 1st-Class PFT, every MCMAP belt, every college credit, every award packet — these are composite score inputs. The Cpl who tracks the math is the Cpl who pins Sgt on timeline.
Career Arc
  • 01Pin Cpl via cutting score — Corporals Course complete, composite above the current cut.
  • 02First team lead assignment: two to four junior techs, full ownership of the team's ACAS findings and GCSS-MC replication monitoring posture.
  • 03First independent server build or maintenance cycle as the primary NCO — section chief reviews the build checklist and ACAS scan after, not during.
  • 04Proficiency and conduct marks monthly on each junior Marine — the section chief reviews the entries and teaches you what 'specific' means.
  • 05Active Directory privileged account audit managed independently and presented to the ISSM on the quarterly schedule without the section chief prompting.
  • 06Sgt board composite score tracked monthly — cutting score for 0671 to Sgt pulled from TFRS / MARADMIN before asking the section chief where you stand.
Common Screwups
  • ×Promoting a service account to Domain Admin because it was the fastest fix. An undocumented Domain Admin account on the ACAS scan is a CAT I finding with your name on it and a written explanation owed to the ISSM — and 'it was easier' is not a justification that survives the ISSM's quarterly review.
  • ×NJP for conduct off-duty. A Cpl with an Article 15 has a Sgt board timeline that just extended by at least a promotion cycle — conduct marks that reflect NJP torpedo the composite score and the section chief's recommendation in the same quarter.
  • ×Fraternization with junior Marines in the section. The NCO-enlisted boundary is an institutional expectation and a command climate issue when it is blurred — a Cpl who blurs the line with his own techs creates a situation the platoon sergeant and company gunny manage at the Cpl's expense.
  • ×Restoring from a backup that has never been tested. A backup set that fails during a production restore at 0300 — because nobody ever ran a test restore from the backup media — is a data-loss event, not a recovery event. The Cpl who manages the backup monitoring cycle includes monthly test restores in the schedule.
  • ×Falsifying a CARP or signing off a task evaluation the Marine did not execute to the standard. Fraud in the training record is a UCMJ-eligible offense and a clearance-relevant finding — the section chief does not hand it back for correction.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500Wake. Phone check — any GCSS-MC replication alerts from overnight monitoring, any messages from the duty tech. None? PT uniform on.
  • 0530PT formation. You take accountability for your team — two to four junior techs — and report to the section chief (Sgt) or platoon sergeant (SSgt). Missing Marine is your call before you report accountability.
  • 0545-0700Unit PT — same schedule as the communications company. You set the pace for your team on run days. The junior tech who cannot keep pace with the Cpl has a fitness counseling coming.
  • 0700-0830Hygiene, chow, change into utilities. Before morning formation: pull the SQL Server Agent job history from overnight, confirm GCSS-MC replication jobs completed, review any ACAS scan output from the automated weekly run.
  • 0830Morning formation. Section chief gives the day's tasking. You confirm the team's task assignment and brief it to your junior techs before they touch gear.
  • 0900-1130Work period. In garrison: server patching with approved change requests, Active Directory management, SQL Server monitoring, SharePoint administration, ACAS remediation oversight, maintenance log entries. You are supervising and running the more complex tasks — privileged account audit, ACAS triage, GCSS-MC replication diagnostic — that the junior techs are not yet signed off on.
  • 1130-1300Chow. As an NCO you sit with the section's Cpls. The mid-day NCO conversation surfaces what the section chief and platoon sergeant are focused on this week.
  • 1300-1500Afternoon work. Pro/con marks on junior Marines, CARP documentation, formal counseling if warranted — written, signed, on file. NAVMC 3500.44 individual task evaluations when scheduled.
  • 1500-1600Final formation. Section chief gives tomorrow's schedule. Sensitive items accountability. Server health check final round — event log, backup job confirmation — before locking the server room.
  • 1600Liberty call on garrison schedule. Pre-deployment preparation cycles and field operations break this.
  • 1700-2000Personal time. Security+ or Microsoft certification study, MCMAP progression, college course through Tuition Assistance. The composite-score inputs that feed the Sgt board are built during this window.
  • 2000-2200If a junior Marine calls with a problem — financial, legal, personal — you route it. CFS for financial issues, legal assistance for lease disputes, section chief for anything requiring senior intervention. The Cpl who picks up the phone is the Cpl whose Marines call before the problem becomes a command climate issue.
  • 2200Lights out.

Weekly Cadence

The Cpl's week runs on the section's work order and the team's output. Monday is the planning and assessment day — SQL Server job history from the weekend automated runs is reviewed before the morning update brief, any ACAS findings from the weekly scan are triaged, and task assignments are confirmed against the section chief's priorities for the week. The Cpl who shows up to Monday morning formation having already reviewed the weekend scan output is the Cpl the section chief stops double-checking. Tuesday through Thursday is the execution and development rhythm. Server patching against the approved maintenance schedule, Active Directory account audits and group membership reviews, SQL Server monitoring and GCSS-MC replication checks, NAVMC 3500.44 individual task evaluations when the section chief has them scheduled. The administrative layer runs in parallel — pro/con marks, CARPs, formal counseling documentation. The Cpl who can run both the technical work and the administrative layer without either slipping is the Cpl the section chief names for the next field op. Friday is accountability day — close the week's trouble tickets with verification, update the system inventory documentation, confirm the weekend duty roster, run the server health check round before liberty call. The section that leaves Friday with clean documentation and a confirmed duty roster is the section that starts Monday without catching up from Friday's deferred work.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Brief a server build or maintenance tasking to a two-to-four person team — hardware specs, OS build procedure, patch baseline, STIG checklist, account provisioning plan — from the communications plan without the section chief in the room.
    The brief is built from the section's standard build procedure for each server type the section deploys. Walk the team through the build sequence — hardware verification, OS install, STIG checklist execution, patch application, application installation, connectivity verification — and assign each step to a specific person with a documented checkpoint. The STIG checklist is run before the server is connected to the MCEN — not after. When the section chief reviews the build checklist after the server is deployed, he should be able to confirm that the execution matched the brief.
  2. 02
    Manage an Active Directory domain — group policy objects, organizational unit structure, group membership audits, privileged account inventory — and produce the access-control report the ISSM requests on the quarterly audit cycle.
    The ISSM's quarterly Active Directory audit has a defined scope: every privileged account (Domain Admins, Administrators groups), every service account, every account with delegated permissions. Maintain a running privileged account inventory that is updated every time a privileged account is added, modified, or disabled — not assembled the week before the audit. The quarterly audit report is a document with the current inventory, the changes since the last audit, and the justification for each privileged account. The ISSM who receives the audit report two days early with no outstanding action items is the ISSM who does not come back for a follow-up review.
  3. 03
    Monitor SQL Server database health — job history, replication latency, blocking queries, disk space — and build the maintenance plan the GCSS-MC application requires for data integrity.
    SQL Server monitoring at the Cpl tier is a structured daily discipline, not a reactive troubleshooting function. Every morning: pull the SQL Server Agent job history for the previous 24 hours, check replication latency metrics, review the SQL error log for failed jobs or blocking query events. Build the maintenance plan — index rebuild schedules, statistics updates, GCSS-MC replication monitoring windows — in consultation with the section chief and the S6, and document it in the section's standard operating procedures. The S4 who never calls to ask about logistics data accuracy is the S4 whose section is monitoring the GCSS-MC replication health before the S4 has a reason to ask.
  4. 04
    Analyze an ACAS vulnerability scan on the server inventory, triage findings by STIG severity category, and build a remediation priority list the section chief can brief to the S6.
    ACAS scan output triage at the Cpl tier follows the same sequence at every scan cycle: sort by CAT I first, then CAT II. For CAT I findings: identify the affected server, identify the remediation step from the STIG checklist, document the remediation timeline, and escalate to the section chief the same business day. For CAT II findings: build the remediation priority list by operational impact — servers in the GCSS-MC data path take priority over low-traffic administrative servers. The list you hand the section chief has three columns — finding, affected server, remediation action and timeline — and it is ready to brief before he asks.
  5. 05
    Train junior techs on NAVMC 3500.44 individual data systems tasks, evaluate them against the task standard, and sign the CARP.
    The task evaluation is not a quiz. Walk the junior tech through the task standard from the T&R Manual before the evaluation — what 'complete' looks like, what the documentation step requires, what the escalation step looks like for anomalies. Then observe the execution without coaching. If the Marine fails a step, document which step, what the error was, and what the correct action is. Sign the CARP with a pass only when the task is executed to standard. A CARP with your signature on a task the Marine did not execute correctly is a training record fraud.
  6. 06
    Run a PCC/PCI for a field server deployment kit — server hardware, cables, power conditioning, UPS, storage array, backup media — as a real inspection with consequences.
    The PCC is your check before the team packs the kit. The PCI is the team's check with you watching. Both use a printed checklist, both have a signature block, and both happen in sequence before the kit loads the vehicle. The field server kit that arrives at the forward command post missing a power cable or with a UPS that has not been tested since the last deployment is the kit that takes the data center offline before the first staff brief. The checklist is the prevention mechanism — it works when you use it before the truck is loaded, not as you are loading it.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • NAVMC 3500.44 — Communications T&R Manual
    At Cpl you are the primary signer on your team's CARPs — which means you need to know the individual task standards well enough to evaluate them, not just execute them. Pull the 1000-level individual tasks for 0671 and walk each one with your junior techs before the evaluation cycle. The team's T&R readiness percentage is what the section chief reports to the S6 at the monthly readiness review — and your team's percentage has your name on it.
  • DISA STIGs — Security Technical Implementation Guides
    At Cpl you own the remediation cycle on the ACAS findings your team generates. The scan report with CAT I findings on your section's servers has your name on the POA&M the section chief submits to the ISSM. Know the STIG checklists for Windows Server, SQL Server, and any application platform the section deploys well enough to read an ACAS finding and identify the remediation step without looking it up.
  • DoDD 8500.01 — Cybersecurity
    The Cpl who understands the ISSM's authority framework — why an exception to policy for a non-compliant server requires command-level signature, why the risk acceptance process runs up the Authorizing Official chain — is the Cpl who can explain to a junior tech why a verbal workaround is not a valid remediation. The junior tech who understands the policy framework enforces it on instinct. The one who does not understand it enforces it only when supervised.
  • MCO 1610.7 — Performance Evaluation System
    You write proficiency and conduct marks now. Read the policy chapter on how marks are computed and what narrative input means for the FitRep. Your junior techs' composite scores are built on their marks — and the marks you write reflect your ability to observe and assess performance honestly. The section chief who sees a Cpl's pro/con marks that are all the same number every month knows the Cpl is not observing his Marines.
  • MCO 1400.32 — Marine Corps Promotion Manual
    The composite score and cutting score framework for 0671 to Sgt. Read the composite score inputs chapter — PFT/CFT, rifle qual, MCMAP, awards, education, pro/con marks, PME — and track your own composite monthly. Pull the current cutting score from TFRS. The Cpl who tracks his composite score monthly is the Cpl who closes the gap actively instead of discovering the gap at the reenlistment window.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • Corporals Course graduate — required and gated; the Sgt board does not wait for your schedule.
    Pull the Corporals Course slot 90 days before your eligibility window. Do not wait for the section chief to nominate you — ask what the timeline looks like at the 18-month mark and confirm the slot is on the unit's training calendar. In-residence at a regional NCO academy (Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, Camp Foster Okinawa) is the preferred format; CDET is the valid fallback when the deployment calendar makes in-residence impossible. The Cpl who shows up to the Sgt board without Corporals Course complete has a gap that the board finds remarkable.
  • Green Belt MCMAP minimum; Brown Belt is what the section chief notes on the FitRep going to the Sgt board.
    Build the Brown Belt progression timeline at the Cpl pin-on. Schedule mat sessions with the section's senior MCMAP instructor on a fixed weekly day so it does not slip when the training calendar fills. The composite score impact of MCMAP belt progression under MCO 1400.32 is real — and the FitRep narrative impact of 'Brown Belt' before the Sgt board is a visible differentiator in the battalion FitRep board comparison.
  • 1st-Class PFT and CFT — your team runs the same PT schedule you do.
    As an NCO your PFT and CFT scores are visible on the unit health-of-the-force report. A Cpl who misses 1st-Class has a fitness counseling conversation with the section chief before the Sgt board conversation. Run with your team on unit PT days and supplement with personal PT during the week to maintain the 1st-Class threshold. The Cpl who hits 275+ PFT and maxes the CFT is the Cpl the platoon sergeant has already mentioned to the company gunny.
  • Composite score tracked monthly in TFRS; pull the current cutting score for 0671 to Sgt before asking the section chief where you stand.
    Log into TFRS monthly, pull your current composite, and compare it to the published cutting score for 0671 to Sgt. Identify which inputs can move this quarter — a new MCMAP belt, a college course, an award packet that has been sitting on the section chief's desk — and move them this quarter. The Cpl who tracks his own score monthly is the Cpl who closes the gap before it becomes a conversation about why he is still waiting.
  • Zero open CAT I STIG findings on any server in your section's inventory through the full patch and ACAS cycle.
    Zero open CAT I findings means remediating them on the same business-day cycle they appear, not when the POA&M deadline approaches. The remediation rhythm: ACAS scan runs, findings land on the section chief's dashboard the next morning, you brief the CAT I list with remediation timeline before he asks. The section that consistently shows zero open CAT I at inspection time is the section that treated every scan cycle as pre-inspection standard.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Promoting a service account to Domain Admin because it was the easy fix.
    Every privileged account in the domain is documented, justified, and audited on the ISSM's quarterly review. An undocumented Domain Admin account on the ACAS scan is a CAT I finding that requires a written explanation of when the account was created, why it was granted Domain Admin, and what the plan is to reduce the privilege to least-privilege. The ISSM's explanation request goes through the section chief. 'I needed to fix something quickly' is not a written justification that survives the quarterly review.
  • Skipping the GCSS-MC replication status check because 'the system was fine yesterday.'
    A replication failure that posts stale logistics data to the S4's 0800 supply review — because nobody checked the SQL Server job history since the previous morning's check — is a supply chain problem that starts with a DBA who did not run the daily monitoring cycle. The S4 discovers stale data when he briefs it to the battalion S3 and the numbers do not match the logistics officer's manual count. That discovery conversation starts with the S6, who starts with the section chief.
  • Building a SQL Server instance without running the DISA STIG checklist before connecting it to the MCEN.
    The ACAS scan runs automatically on new hosts connected to the MCEN. A SQL Server instance with 40 open STIG findings on its first scan is a section-chief conversation that includes the ISSM's call that afternoon. The STIG checklist is run before the server is connected to the MCEN — not as a remediation step after the scan identifies the gap. The section that hardened the server before connection never has the 40-finding conversation.
  • Restoring from a backup that has never been tested.
    A backup job that completes successfully every night but whose backup set has never been validated through a test restore is not a backup — it is a hope. When the production GCSS-MC database needs to be restored from backup at 0300 because of a failed update, and the test restore procedure was last run eighteen months ago on a different server configuration, the recovery takes three hours instead of forty-five minutes. The section chief who required monthly test restores on a documented test procedure does not have this conversation.
  • Approving an Active Directory account change verbally without a written change request.
    The ISSM change-management process exists because an undocumented group membership change that escalates a user's privileges has no audit trail. When the ISSM's quarterly audit identifies an account with elevated permissions that cannot be traced to a written change request, the finding goes up to the S6 and the section chief provides the explanation. A verbal approval is invisible in the audit trail.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Pursue enterprise IT certification (Security+, Microsoft Azure, SQL Server certification) or prioritize composite-score inputs for the Sgt board?
    The honest answer at the Cpl tier is: both, if you are managing your time. Security+ feeds the DoD 8570 baseline and adds composite-score inputs through some educational credit pathways — verify with the base education center. Microsoft Azure fundamentals and SQL Server certifications add civilian market value that compounds with the Sgt rank and a clearance into a post-EAS profile that starts at $80K-$120K in cleared enterprise IT. The Sgt board runs on composite score inputs that you can also be building simultaneously. The Cpl who earns both a competitive composite and a civilian certification is not choosing between the board and the post-service market.
  • In-residence Corporals/Sergeants Course versus CDET distance education?
    In-residence Corporals Course and Sergeants Course at a regional NCO academy are materially more rigorous than CDET and build the peer network of NCOs from across the Corps that becomes a career asset at the SSgt and GySgt tiers. Choose CDET only when in-residence is genuinely inaccessible due to deployment calendar constraints. The Cpl who chose CDET because it was convenient explains the choice at the Sgt board.
  • Re-up at first contract or ETS with Cpl rank and cleared IT credentials?
    The 0671 post-service market is competitive for a Cpl with a clean record, an active clearance, and a Security+ or Microsoft certification — cleared enterprise IT administrator roles in the DC metro, Tidewater, and San Diego markets are accessible at entry level and scale quickly with experience. The reenlistment math: SRB varies by year (pull the current MARADMIN), the Sgt board is a genuine possibility for a high-composite Cpl within 18-24 months, and the long-term 0671 career arc — Sgt section chief, SSgt platoon sergeant, GySgt data systems chief — leads to a post-service cleared contractor or GS civilian role with a significantly deeper operational resume than a Cpl ETS.
  • Volunteer for MEU communications element or stay in the garrison-cycle battalion?
    The MEU assignment as a junior NCO compresses operational learning faster than garrison cycles alone. Managing GCSS-MC server infrastructure on amphibious shipping during a MEU deployment, at the MEU S6's operational tempo with less margin for error, produces a different operational FitRep narrative than a garrison cycle produces. The cost: six to seven months unaccompanied with restricted family communication. If the section chief mentions your name for the MEU slate, the right answer is yes.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Communications company, infantry regiment or division (standard billet)
    Most Cpl 0671 billets land in communications companies supporting a regiment or division. The battalion S6 is the primary customer and the S4 is the GCSS-MC data consumer. The garrison training cycle is predictable with ITX and field exercise rotations. The section chief is a Sgt or SSgt close enough to supervise. You own a team of two to four junior techs, the section's server inventory, and the GCSS-MC replication health for your segment.
  • MEU communications element, BLT (afloat cycle)
    The MEU communications Cpl manages server infrastructure on amphibious shipping for six to seven months. Shipboard server rooms are not designed for enterprise IT deployments — space is constrained, cooling is improvised, and the ship's IT systems operate in parallel with the BLT's GCSS-MC stack. GCSS-MC logistics data integrity is directly visible to the BLT supply officer in a forward-deployed context. MEU communications Cpls who return from afloat deployments with clean ACAS records and zero GCSS-MC data integrity incidents have FitRep narratives that read distinctly.
  • Supporting establishment (MCAS, MCRD, MCLB data center division)
    Supporting establishment data center divisions operate larger, more stable server environments with more complex Active Directory architectures and more demanding ISSM requirements than a tactical unit. The technical complexity is genuine; the operational tempo is steadier. A Cpl at a supporting establishment learns enterprise-scale data management at a lower operational tempo. The tradeoff: the FitRep narrative for a supporting-establishment Cpl reads differently to the SSgt board than a MEU or ITX-veteran Cpl's narrative.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good Cpl 0671 is the data systems NCO the section chief sends to build and patch the battalion's forward server environment with two junior techs and trusts to come back with a documented build checklist, zero CAT I STIG findings on the first ACAS scan, and GCSS-MC replication verified before the first S4 review — without a follow-up call during the build. The STIG checklist ran before the server was connected to the MCEN. The test replication cycle ran before the build was declared complete. The build checklist has both techs' names and timestamps. His junior techs are building skills because he evaluates them on tasks rather than coaching them through tasks. The section chief can pull any junior tech in the Cpl's team on a Windows Server task and get an execution that matches the NAVMC 3500.44 individual task standard — not a performance that requires the Cpl to translate. The CARPs are signed when the task is executed to standard, not when the Marine is in the right training block on the calendar. The GCSS-MC replication monitoring rhythm runs itself because the Cpl built the daily check into the team's morning routine and holds the junior techs accountable to it. The S4's logistics review never surfaces stale data as a surprise to the section chief — because the Cpl's team caught the replication failure the night before and escalated it before the 24-hour window closed. That is not luck. That is a Cpl who built the monitoring habit into the section before the failure happened.

Preview — The Next Rank

Sgt is the Data Systems Section Chief rank — the section chief the S6 calls when GCSS-MC replication fails the night before the S4 review and he needs to know whether the logistics data in tomorrow's brief is accurate. The jump from Cpl to Sgt is a scope expansion from team leader to section chief — five to fifteen Marines, multiple teams, and the full ACAS compliance posture for the section's entire server inventory. At Sgt you write FitReps on your Cpls under MCO 1610.7. The Section A narrative you write on each Cpl is the document the reporting senior builds attribute rationale from. Write it in specific, observed-behavior terms — what the Cpl did, in what context, with what result — and the reporting senior can defend it at the battalion FitRep board. Write 400 generic words and you get the platoon sergeant's editorial correction. The GCSS-MC data integrity at the Sgt tier is the section's responsibility, not the team's. The section chief who knows the replication status of every server in the section before the ISSM's weekly brief is the section chief who never gets a call from the S4. Build that rhythm at Cpl, and it transfers automatically to the Sgt seat.
FAQ

0671 E4 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E4 0671 (Data Systems Administrator) actually do?
You supervise two to four junior data systems techs and own the server environment from the build through the patch cycle — Windows Server administration, Active Directory management, SQL Server database health, SharePoint administration, and the GCSS-MC server-side configuration that the battalion S4 depends on for logistics data integrity.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E4 0671?
The GCSS-MC data your section manages is the S4's logistics picture.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E4 0671?
Time-blocked day at the E4 0671 rank tier: 0500 Wake. Phone check — any GCSS-MC replication alerts from overnight monitoring, any messages from the duty tech. None? PT uniform on, 0530 PT formation. You take accountability for your team — two to four junior techs — and report to the section chief (Sgt) or platoon sergeant (SSgt). Missing Marine is your call before you report accountability, 0545-0700 Unit PT — same schedule as the communications company. You set the pace for your team on run days. The junior tech who cannot keep pace with the Cpl has a fitness counseling coming,…
Q04What mistakes get E4 0671 soldiers fired or relieved?
Promoting a service account to Domain Admin because it was the fastest fix. An undocumented Domain Admin account on the ACAS scan is a CAT I finding with your name on it and a written explanation owed to the ISSM — and 'it was easier' is not a justification that survives the ISSM's quarterly review; NJP for conduct off-duty.…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E4 0671 rank tier?
Pursue enterprise IT certification (Security+, Microsoft Azure, SQL Server certification) or prioritize composite-score inputs for the Sgt board? — The honest answer at the Cpl tier is: both, if you are managing your time. Security+ feeds the DoD 8570 baseline and adds composite-score inputs through some educational credit pathways — verify with the base education center. Microsoft Azure fundamentals and SQL Server certifications add civilian market value that compounds with the Sgt rank and a clearance into a post-EAS profile that starts at $80K-$120K in cleared enterprise IT.…
Q06What's next after E4 for a 0671 (Data Systems Administrator) in the Marines?
Sgt is the Data Systems Section Chief rank — the section chief the S6 calls when GCSS-MC replication fails the night before the S4 review and he needs to know whether the logistics data in tomorrow's brief is accurate.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E4 0671 need to know cold?
NAVMC 3500.44 — Communications T&R Manual (collective and individual tasks for data systems section NCOs; you run training against this and sign your team's CARPs).; DISA STIGs — you own the remediation cycle on the ACAS findings your team generates; the scan report lands on your section chief's desk with your name on the open findings.; DoDD 8500.01 — Cybersecurity; the ISSM cites this when the S6 asks why a server exception to policy requires command-level signature.

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Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards