Classified Ready Employee Workforce Program
The mission of the CREW program is to develop a diverse pool of classified-ready professionals with the necessary technical, professional, and interpersonal skills required to pursue successful careers in support of national security.
Students selected for the program, participate in a series of national security and classification seminars, and are employed through cooperative education experiences in national security research and emerging technology innovation and application.
E-Brochure
CREW Instructor

Joshua L. Moon
Director of Air and Missile Defense Testing
Fort Bliss
Colonel, U.S. Army
Joshua L. Moon is a seasoned educator with a track record of over 15 years in higher education. Presently, he serves as the position of Director of Air and Missile Defense Testing at Fort Bliss, Texas. In addition to his role as director, he continues to teach history and political science as an adjunct instructor at Hawaii Pacific University and Southern New Hampshire University. He has also served as an Assistant Professor of History at West Point.
Dr. Moon has continued to serve in our nation’s Army for the past 29-years. Throughout his service, he has undertaken numerous operational assignments, including deployments in roles supporting both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. His previous posting was as the Defense Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region IX (Pacific), where he led multigovernmental agency planning and disaster response operations for Hawaii and across the Pacific Ocean.
Dr. Moon holds a Ph.D. in History from Florida State University and a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College. Notably, he’s authored “Wellington’s Two-Front War: The Peninsular Campaigns, at Home and Abroad 1808-1814” (University of Oklahoma Press) which won the International Napoleonic Society Literary Award in 2011. Outside of work and education, he is a father of four adult children and a Labrador Retriever. He loves the outdoors and is an avid college football fan, where you can find him cheering on the Army Football Team on Saturday afternoons!
Program Overview
- NMSU students are hired by employer sponsors to complete co-ops during the academic semesters of Fall, Spring and Summer. During the Fall and Spring semesters, CREW students are able to work up to 20 hours a week. During academic breaks and summer sessions they can work up to 40 hours per week.
- CREW employer sponsors can hire students directly or through a negotiated contract with PSL. PSL utilizes Handshake to find and hire qualified NMSU students with the skills and experience needed by employer sponsors.
- During the Fall and Spring semesters, CREW students also participate in the CREW national security seminar series which meets for 90 minutes every other week.
- PSL initiates CREW student’s national security clearance upon hiring by the CREW employer sponsor. Though it can vary, most CREW students are cleared by the end of the Fall semester.
Become a CREW Co-Op Sponsor
Strengthen your cleared workforce pipeline; partner with New Mexico State University and sponsor a CREW Co-Op. We work with your team to match qualified students with your Co-op on the NMSU campus at the Physical Science Laboratory in Anderson Hall, a cleared contractor facility.
The deadline for employers to participate in the 2023-2024 program has been extended to August 4, 2023.
Contact Marcella Shelby at mshelby@psl.nmsu.edu or 575-646-9201.
Employer Flyer
Program Cost
- Program cost per student includes the student’s co-op wage and a program fee.
- An individual or company wishing to partner with PSL, can make a contribution through the NMSU Foundation or negotiate a contract with PSL.
- The program cost for individuals or companies able to use philanthropic funds is $27,000 per student.
- For entities unable to use philanthropic funds, a contract between the company and PSL is required. Under the terms of a contract the program cost per student for FY23/24 CREW Program is $38,000 per student.
PSL’s contract with DoD Chief Digital AI Office in support of the National Security Academic Regional Recruiting Prototype (NSARRP) contract provides funds for a cost share/match for defense industrial base companies. Please contact Marcella Shelby to learn more. ( mshelby@psl.nmsu.edu, 575-646-9201)
Note: A contract with PSL includes fringe and other indirect rates that are reviewed and approved by NMSU’s cognizant federal agency annually (Effective July 1).