MCO 1700.23 - Request Mast Procedures

Scope

MCO 1700.23 promulgates request mast policy and procedures for the Marine Corps. The current revision is MCO 1700.23G, signed 2019-06-21 and listed as Current on the MCPEL. The order governs how commands receive, process, and document request mast applications. Processing centers on NAVMC 11296, the Marine Corps Request Mast Application. The document's opening section states.

This Order promulgates request mast policy and procedures for the Marine Corps.

Audience

• Commanders. Process NAVMC 11296 personally and document unit policy familiarity.
• S-1 and adjutant personnel who stage request mast applications and retain the supporting records.
• Inspectors and unit self-assessment teams working the IGMC Request Mast functional area checklist.
• Marines exercising the request mast channel, including as the first step of an Article 138 complaint.

Content scope

The order covers request mast policy and the application procedure built on NAVMC 11296. The commander oversight matrix anchors its Request Mast row to this order. The IGMC inspection program carries Request Mast Procedures as functional area 1700.23 in the CoRE category.

Operative content

• The commander processes NAVMC 11296 personally, per the commander oversight matrix row anchored to this order.
• The commander documents unit policy familiarity through Read Boards or training rosters, per the same oversight matrix row.
• The Article 138 complaint procedure runs in sequence, request mast, refusal, then written complaint, per the Marine-facing Article 138 and IG complaints page.
• Page 11 counseling is not a forum for issues better handled at request mast or through Article 138 Complaints of Wrongs, per the leader counseling page.

Connection to higher policy

Article 138, UCMJ, Complaints of Wrongs. The portal presents request mast as the entry step of the Article 138 procedure, so this order operates alongside the statutory complaint channel.

Connection to Marine Corps doctrine and lower policy

• NAVMC 11296 (EF), Marine Corps Request Mast Application. Electronic form, three pages, revision date 2019-05-01, stock number NONSN00004542.
• IGMC functional area checklist 1700.23, Request Mast Procedures. Category CoRE, sponsor IGMC, effective 2024-07-29.
• Commander oversight matrix. Pairs the Request Mast row with the other command-level program orders.

Status

Signed 2019-06-21. The MCPEL lists MCO 1700.23G as Current with publication date 2019-06-21. Source PDF on file from the 2026-04-28 archive snapshot. The external link opens the official landing page for the current version. The IGMC checklist effective date of 2024-07-29 postdates the 2019 order, so verify checklist items against the order text before treating either as the sole authority.