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AEE5

Aviation Electrician's Mate

E-5 (Sergeant) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

AE2 (E-5) is the working senior AE — the one the section depends on and the one the LCPO is building the Chief board narrative around whether you know it yet or not. The AE3s under you are watching whether the standard you enforce matches the standard you demonstrate, and the LCPO is watching whether the section you run produces AE3s who can certify work and brief status without you standing next to them. Your eEVAL ranking against peer AE2s in the command is the FMS lever you can most directly influence right now. The NWAE for AE1, the Aircraft Warfare Specialist device, and the Chief board on the horizon are all live.

The Honest MOS Read
Aviation Electrician's Mate Second Class (AE2, E-5, Petty Officer Second Class) is the rate's working senior tier — the section lead who either owns the maintenance production or reviews the work the AE3s produce before it goes to QA and onto the aircraft. At AE2 you carry the technical and documentation authority the LCPO delegates because he cannot personally close every work order, train every AE3, and brief every maintenance status simultaneously. That delegation is the trust the LCPO invests in you, and it shows on your eEVAL, on the section's QA record, and on the maintenance posture the Maintenance Officer reads every week. In a VFA squadron the maintenance chief calls the AE2 when there is a complex avionics fault or a systems functional check that needs the section's qualified senior petty officer to own the evolution. You are the technician who runs the wiring harness repair to NAVAIR 01-1A-22 standard, interprets the bench test results without going back to the LPO for the limits, and briefs the work center supervisor with a clear technical assessment and a timeline — not 'I'm still looking at it' but a specific call with the maintenance posture stated plainly. In an HSM or HSC helicopter squadron the AE2 is the senior avionics voice on the H-60 platform for the section. In a VAW or VP squadron you are the section standard for whatever platform the command flies. The section either runs to standard because you set it or it drifts because you let it. The section training role is new at AE2 and it is harder than the technical role. You build the section's training plan — PQS progression for the AEANs and AE3s, MRC qualification tracking, annual aviation safety training scheduling, the NWAE study structure for the AE3s working toward AE2 advancement. The LCPO does not write the plan for you; you bring it to him for review and approval. The AE3 who cannot run an independent maintenance action or brief an avionics system status is the AE3 whose qualification gap follows the AE2's training record. The AE3 who advances ahead of schedule and holds the documentation standard cleanly is the AE3 whose name the LCPO mentions when a C-school NEC slot comes open — and that reflects on the AE2 who trained him. The NEC stack matures at AE2 in a way that changes your post-service value profile. A type-specific NEC-coded AE2 — NEC 6320 for the F/A-18 pipeline, NEC 6362 for the H-60, or the platform-specific equivalent — is presenting to the defense and federal civilian market as a verified avionics professional with documented aircraft-specific expertise, not just a military title. Navy COOL funds the credentials that translate this experience to the civilian market; the AE2 who has not started the credential process should start this cycle. The LCPO notes credentialing progress on the eEVAL input, and the AE2 with credentials already documented is the AE2 the LPO can build a strong specific bullet around. The NWAE for AE1 is not abstract anymore at AE2, and the Chief board is on the horizon beyond it. The Navy Enlisted Advancement System Final Multiple Score at AE2 combines exam score, eEVAL marks and ranking, time-in-rate, awards, and education. The eEVAL ranking against your peer AE2s at the command is the FMS lever you can most directly influence — section maintenance production quality, QA record, documentation standard, training plan execution, NEC pipeline mentoring, and zero integrity incidents are the levers. Pull the current AE1 BIB from MyNavyHR/NETC and build a study plan with weekly milestones. The AE2 who enters the AE1 NWAE cycle with a documented study log, a competitive eEVAL profile, and a clean maintenance record is the AE2 who closes the slate and starts the conversation about the Chief board.
Career Arc
  • 01AE2 advancement — first eEVAL cycle at E-5; the trait average and ranking against peer AE2s in the command is the FMS driver for the AE1 slate.
  • 02Type-specific NEC awarded (NEC 6320, 6362, or platform equivalent) — the credential that defines which section lead and advanced billet pipeline opens; the AE2 without a type NEC is visible at the ranking.
  • 03Section lead role: AE3 training plan ownership, work order review authority, section maintenance production accountability to the LPO.
  • 04Aircraft Warfare Specialist (AWS) or applicable warfare device pinned — the eEVAL bullet the ranking board reads as above-expectation performance at this tier.
  • 05Navy COOL credentials completed or in progress for the AE rate and applicable NEC path — funded, documented, on the service record.
  • 06NWAE for AE1 cycle: BIB study plan running with documented milestones; LCPO briefed on study progression at each quarterly counseling.
  • 07eEVAL ranking building toward the AE1 slate: section QA record clean, training plan under execution, AE3 NEC pipeline mentoring documented, Chief board narrative starting to build.
Common Screwups
  • ×Rubber-stamping AE3 documentation and work without actually verifying it — initialing the yellow-sheet or the NALCOMIS entry to clear the queue without reading the corrective action description. Your sign-off is the quality standard. When the QA inspector returns the entry with your initials on it, the finding is on the AE2's record, not just the AE3's, and the LCPO at the weekly production sync does not separate which AE3 wrote it from which AE2 approved it. Far worse: if what you skipped verifying was a safety-critical maintenance step on an avionics system, the consequence is not a QA finding — it is an aircraft with an unverified configuration flying the next sortie.
  • ×Going around the LCPO to the Maintenance Officer or the Avionics Officer on a section technical call or a personnel issue. The maintenance chain runs through the chief. The LPO and the LCPO hear about it the same day, and the next Chief selection board reads the pattern in the counseling record three years later. The AE2 who routes every issue through the correct chain — even when the chain is slower than going around it — is the AE2 the LCPO trusts with the section. The AE2 who routes around the chain is the AE2 the LCPO stops delegating to.
  • ×Tolerating a section documentation or qualification gap because the maintenance production schedule is heavy. NALCOMIS entries that do not meet the standard, AE3 PQS sign-offs that were never actually witnessed, training records that are months behind — these are the gaps the command inspection finds under the section senior's name. They are also the gaps that become mishap investigation evidence if the unclosed training item was the procedure the AE3 executed incorrectly on the day something went wrong. The AE2 who lets the documentation standard slip during surge is the AE2 whose section fails the readiness inspection.
  • ×Missing the AE1 NWAE study cycle because the maintenance ops tempo is constant. The NWAE calendar is fixed; the flight schedule does not pause for BIB study. The AE2 who misses the first viable AE1 NWAE cycle falls behind the advancement curve in a structural way — the FMS gap compounds across cycles and pushes the Chief board further and further out. Thirty to forty-five minutes of documented BIB study daily from the cycle opening is not a luxury; it is the work the LPO cannot do for you and that no ops tempo justifies skipping.
  • ×An integrity incident — falsified maintenance record, false NALCOMIS entry, materially inaccurate equipment logbook entry — at the section senior level. At AE2 you review and certify maintenance work. A deliberately falsified entry or a materially inaccurate record that traces to your certification is a career-ending event: UCMJ charges, possible federal prosecution for falsification of government records, administrative separation, and a Federal record that closes every subsequent aviation maintenance career in the civil sector. No end-of-shift time pressure, no maintenance officer impatience, and no repair parts shortage justifies it. Write the honest discrepancy and get the right signature.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0600Wake up. If section lead on duty rotation, check overnight maintenance call log, any work orders that opened on the watch being relieved, aircraft systems status changes that need AE2 action before quarters.
  • 0600-0700Command or squadron PT. AE2 section lead often sets the PT pace for the AE3s and AEANs in the section. Aviation squadron PT on the hangar deck or flight line apron. No falling out absent a documented profile.
  • 0700-0800Hygiene, chow, working uniform. Pre-quarters: review the day's maintenance plan and the flight schedule, check qualification currency status for any items due this week, review overnight work orders, confirm AE3 maintenance assignments for the morning block.
  • 0800-0830Quarters. LPO puts out plan-of-the-day priorities. The AE2 section lead has 90 seconds to brief the section's tasking, the avionics evolutions on the board, and any training blocks for the afternoon. Own the read-out — do not let the LPO ask what your section is doing today.
  • 0830-1130Section production. Complex avionics troubleshoot, wiring harness repair, bench test on grounded-aircraft LRU, supervision of AE3 phase inspection tasks. Review AE3 NALCOMIS entries before they route to QA — read the corrective action description, verify it contains the required elements. If an AEAN PQS line item is on the board for today, witness and sign it during the production block when the pace allows.
  • 1130-1230Tool sub-account reconciliation before leaving the work center. NALCOMIS queue checked — no open work orders in ambiguous status. Chow.
  • 1230-1430Afternoon production continuance or section training block. Training block: AE3 NWAE study guidance, AEAN PQS item demonstrated and witnessed, MRC qualification hands-on event, annual aviation safety refresher if scheduled for this week. Training plan execution documented for the LPO's weekly review.
  • 1430-1530NWAE study block for the AE1 cycle. Forty-five minutes of BIB-directed study — documented. The AE2 section lead who builds this into the schedule five days a week enters the AE1 cycle with hundreds of hours of verified preparation. The LCPO defends this at the advancement worksheet review.
  • 1530-1600Verification and documentation: AE3 work orders reviewed and routed, section training log updated, tool sub-account current, any eEVAL input draft started for open items from the current evaluation period.
  • 1600-1630End-of-day. Section status brief to the LPO: open work orders, tool and equipment accountability, qualification currency items due this week, training plan execution status. The brief takes three minutes if the AE2 has been tracking it all day.
  • 1630-1800Released most garrison days absent duty section rotation or a maintenance surge. Carrier workup and deployment surge collapse this significantly — 12-hour shifts are the baseline, and the personal and study time moves to the off-shift.
  • 1800-2100Personal time. Navy COOL portal check for funded credentials applicable to the AE rate and NEC pipeline. NWAE BIB continuation. Service record review to verify qualifications and NEC status are correctly documented.
  • 2100-2200AE3 counseling touch-points if any sailor in the section had an issue during the day. Prep the next day's section training plan entry if the weekly block is not already written. Lights out.
  • Carrier deployment / surge opsExtended hours on high-sortie-rate days, avionics troubleshoot and repair windows measured against the next launch cycle, the LCPO relying on the AE2 to run the section's maintenance production during continuous operations. Documentation quality, tool accountability, and the maintenance standard under time pressure are the visible test. The AE2 who holds the standard during surge is the AE2 the LCPO describes as the AE1 candidate at the next quarterly ranking.
  • Forward detachment (shipboard det or expeditionary)On a two- or three-person det, the AE2 may be the senior or sole avionics petty officer — every NALCOMIS entry is yours, every work order is your name, every maintenance decision is your call with reach-back to the home shop. Detachment accountability is the most formative experience available at AE2 for building the independent technical authority and the documentation discipline the AE1 rank requires.

Weekly Cadence

The AE2 section lead week runs on two simultaneous tracks: maintenance production and training administration. Monday opens after weekend stand-down with the LPO's week plan — which aircraft have open grounding discrepancies, which phase inspection cards are due, which LRU bench tests are queued. The AE2 who arrives at Monday quarters with the section's training plan for the week already drafted and the AE3 maintenance assignments pre-sorted from the production plan is the AE2 the LPO trusts to run the section during his absence on a workup det. The AE2 who figures out the week at quarters is already behind the LPO's expectation. Tuesday and Wednesday are the core production days. Complex troubleshoot actions run, wiring repairs execute, bench tests produce results, and the QA office is reviewing completed work orders from the prior week. The AE2's most visible contribution in these two days is the verification before QA submission — the section's QA return rate is set by what the AE2 catches before the QA inspector sees it, and Tuesday and Wednesday are the highest-volume window. The LPO walks the section on Wednesday afternoon to check the documentation queue and the training log. The AE2 with a clean log and a training plan under execution gets a Wednesday that ends at normal time. Thursday and Friday carry the administrative and training load. Thursday often has a maintenance department sync — the AE2 is not presenting unless the LPO is unavailable, but the section's avionics-attributed discrepancy count, open grounding status, and qualification currency numbers are in the brief, and the AE2 should be able to speak to them if asked. eEVAL input draft work falls on Thursday if the cycle is open. Friday is close-out: training record current to the day, open work orders in a documented status the weekend duty section can act on without calling, tool sub-account reconciled, NWAE study log current. The AE2 who brings a documented section progress summary to the Friday LCPO counseling touch-point — training plan execution, QA record, AEAN PQS milestone hits, AE3 NWAE study status, credential progress — is the AE2 the LCPO describes as 'manages himself' on the eEVAL draft.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Run the work center's daily maintenance production as the senior AE on shift: yellow-sheet accountability, active work order status, FOD check results, tool inventory sign-out/sign-in — clean turnover to the LPO.
    The senior AE on shift owns the status of every open work order in the section throughout the shift — not at turnover time, continuously. Build the habit of knowing which AE3 is on which aircraft, which actions are at hold points, which tool sub-accounts are open, and what the current FOD discrepancy status is at all times. The turnover brief to the LPO at end of shift is not a 15-minute reconstruction — it is a 3-minute read-out of the status you have been tracking. The LPO who receives an accurate, complete turnover without asking follow-up questions is the LPO who trusts the AE2 with the section the following morning. The LPO who has to ask three questions to get the actual status is the LPO who starts thinking about whether the AE2 is ready for a section lead billet.
  2. 02
    Execute an aircraft wiring harness repair to NAVAIR 01-1A-22 standards — splice technique, connector re-termination, insulation and shielding restoration, continuity verified, documentation complete.
    A wiring harness repair at the organizational level is governed by NAVAIR 01-1A-22 and by any applicable technical directive or aircraft-specific service bulletin that supersedes it. Before performing the repair, verify whether a technical directive is in effect for the damaged harness section — working around a TD is the maintenance error that surfaces on the next service bulletin audit. The repair sequence: isolate the circuit, identify the splice method specified by 01-1A-22 for the wire gauge and installation environment, perform the splice to the dimensional and pull-test requirements in the manual, restore insulation and shielding to the original cross-section and covering type, verify continuity and insulation resistance to the original circuit specification, and document the splice location, materials used, reference section, and measured post-repair values in the NALCOMIS entry. The AE2 who can execute a clean wiring repair without asking the LPO which splice to use is the AE2 the section relies on when the schedule is tight.
  3. 03
    Brief the work center supervisor and QA on a complex avionics discrepancy — system affected, fault isolation steps taken, MIM reference, recommended corrective action — without the supervisor having to re-run the isolation.
    The brief format at the AE2 level is: what the system was doing (or not doing) from the flight crew discrepancy, what the fault-isolation steps identified, what reference governed the isolation procedure, what the root cause finding is, and what the recommended corrective action is. Deliver that in under two minutes and state the maintenance posture at the end — 'aircraft is down for this discrepancy; corrective action requires a part order; ETA from supply is four hours; the aircraft can recover the sortie at 1600.' The supervisor who asks 'did you check the connectors on the LRU?' after your brief is the supervisor who did not find the answer in your brief. Build the brief in your head before you walk into the work center office — the AE2 whose briefs are specific, structured, and complete is the AE2 Maintenance Control plans the maintenance cycle around.
  4. 04
    Build and deliver a section training event for AE3s and AEANs — demonstrate, supervise, sign off the qual, document in the TMS training record.
    The section training event at AE2 is a structured program, not an informal demonstration. The monthly training plan identifies which qualification items are due for each AE3 and AEAN. For each event, pull the applicable MIM procedure and MRC, prepare a brief that covers the critical steps and the safety hold points, and demonstrate the procedure before the trainee performs it. Supervise the trainee's performance without touching the aircraft or equipment — intervention is for safety deviations only. Debrief the performance after completion, identify specific items to correct before the next sign-off attempt, and document the event in the TMS training record the same day. The AE3 whose training record shows a new qualification item completed every two weeks is the AE3 the LCPO names at the next NEC discussion. That reflects on the AE2 whose training plan produced it.
  5. 05
    Operate bench test equipment to full capability — AN/APN-194 radar altimeter test set, IFF test set, radio communications test set — and interpret results independently.
    At AE2 the bench test does not require the LPO to stand behind you to interpret the results. Before the test, verify calibration on the test set, select the correct test procedure for the specific LRU model version, and connect the breakout box per the applicable adapter chart in the procedure. During the test, record every fault code and every measured parameter against its tolerance as you go — do not rely on memory for the write-up. After the test, cross-reference the fault codes against the fault isolation tree in the procedure to identify the most probable failed module or component. If the fault isolation tree leads to an intermediate maintenance level repair, the NALCOMIS entry documents the test results, the specific fault codes, and the recommended AIMA action clearly enough that the AIMA shop does not need to call you. The AE2 who can run the full bench test cycle and produce a complete, actionable test record without supervisory input is the AE2 the LCPO sends to support the AIMA on complex diagnostics.
  6. 06
    Write the section's input to the quarterly TMS (Training Management System) update — qualification status by sailor, training milestones hit and missed, open requirements.
    The TMS update is not a summary of what you think you remember about the section's training status — it is a documented record pulled from the training logs and the qualification records. Before writing the update, review each sailor's training record and identify: which PQS line items were signed off this quarter, which qualification milestones are overdue, which annual requirements (aviation safety, FOD prevention, HAZMAT) are current or expired. Write the update in the standard format the LCPO uses for the quarterly review: sailor name, qualification status summary, items completed, items overdue, action plan for overdue items. The LCPO who receives a TMS update that requires no correction is the LCPO who writes 'manages the section's training program independently' on the eEVAL — which is the sentence the ranking board at the next AE1 selection reads.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • NAVAIR 01-1A-22 — Organizational Maintenance: Aircraft Avionics (verify current series)
    At AE2 you are the section's reference authority on organizational avionics maintenance — the person the AE3s come to when the tab does not answer the question. The chapters governing wiring repair methods, connector installation standards, LRU removal and installation, continuity and insulation resistance procedures, and the documentation requirements are the ones you cite without looking up the chapter number. When a QA finding cites a specific section of 01-1A-22, you know the provision before the QA inspector finishes the sentence. Confirm the current series designation with your work center — the instruction is revised and the section numbering changes.
  • NAVAIR 17-15BCE-1 series — aircraft-specific avionics and electrical maintenance manuals for your platform
    The aircraft-specific MIM is the document that governs every maintenance action on your platform's avionics and electrical systems. At AE2 you navigate it without guidance — you know which chapter covers the F/A-18 integrated avionics, the H-60 mission avionics, or whatever platform your command flies, and you can find the applicable test procedure, the connector specification, or the wiring diagram cross-reference without asking the LPO. When an AE3 brings you a troubleshooting question, your first response points to the MIM section that covers the fault path — not to your personal experience with a similar fault on a prior tour.
  • OPNAVINST 3750.6S — Naval Aviation Safety Program
    At AE2 you brief aviation safety at the section level and you know the mishap reporting chain from your work center to NAVSAFECEN without being told where to look. The human factors and maintenance error provisions are particularly relevant — the AE2 who understands the causal pathways the investigation cites (maintenance resource management, time pressure, normalization of deviation) is the AE2 who can recognize in real time when the section is drifting toward the conditions that precede a mishap. Read this instruction as a practitioner, not as a regulatory obligation.
  • FMC/PMCM/PMCS readiness reporting per OPNAVINST 3000.15A — Sustainable Aviation Readiness
    The work center's maintenance production feeds the squadron's readiness reporting — the FMC (Fully Mission Capable), PMCM (Partially Mission Capable-Maintenance), and PMCS (Partially Mission Capable-Supply) designators that the CO signs and the type commander tracks. At AE2 you write accurate entries for the avionics-attributed discrepancies in the section's open work orders, and you understand how a grounding discrepancy on an avionics system changes the aircraft's readiness designator. The AE2 who cannot explain how his open work orders connect to the readiness numbers briefed at the Maintenance Department sync is the AE2 who is not tracking the section's contribution to the squadron's mission.
  • NAVPERS 18068 Vol II + the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN for the AE rate
    At AE2 you mentor AE3 NEC packets off the current cycle's NAVADMIN, not the previous version. The NEC catalog entry describes the pipeline; the NAVADMIN provides the current cycle's quotas, eligibility criteria, and any changes from the prior cycle. Pull the current NAVADMIN with the AE3 before any NEC counseling session and read the source language together. The AE2 who counsels from stale information sends the AE3 into the career counselor's office with incorrect assumptions about quota availability or pipeline length.
  • The current NWAE Bibliography for Advancement (BIB) for the AE1 cycle — from MyNavyHR / NETC
    The BIB structure for the AE1 cycle adds leadership, management, and military justice content to the technical rate content that dominated the AE2 BIB. At AE2 the daily study plan needs to allocate time to both — the technical content tests your rate expertise and the professional content tests your leadership and management knowledge. Build the study schedule with weekly coverage milestones for both categories, log the study daily, and present the log to the LCPO at quarterly counseling. The LCPO who can testify to a documented study history at the advancement worksheet review is the LCPO who can defend the AE2's AE1 recommendation.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • NWAE for AE1 prep documented on the LCPO's timeline; study log presented at quarterly counseling.
    The LCPO sets a target AE1 NWAE cycle for each eligible AE2. Know your target cycle, count backward to the BIB study start date, and begin before the LCPO mentions it. The study log is a simple daily record: date, BIB reference studied, time spent. Present it at quarterly counseling without being asked. The LCPO who reviews a 90-day study log at the quarterly session can brief the LCPO's ranking board that this AE2 has demonstrated sustained AE1 preparation. The AE2 who arrives at the quarterly counseling without a study log cannot be defended with the same conviction.
  • Aircraft-type NEC awarded or in-pipeline — the AE2 without a type NEC is visible at the next ranking.
    The type-specific NEC is the expected credential at AE2. If you do not yet have it, the NEC packet should be in motion — submitted to the career counselor, endorsed by the LCPO, status tracked with the career counselor against the current NAVADMIN quota schedule. The AE2 who can brief the ranking board 'NEC 6320 C-school scheduled for the third quarter, NAVADMIN quota confirmed, LCPO endorsement on file' is not visible as a gap. The AE2 who has no NEC and no packet in motion is visible as the gap on the ranking sheet.
  • PRT Good High or better; BCA in standard; Aviation Warfare Specialist (AWS) device pinned.
    PRT Good High at AE2 requires a real training commitment — three run days per week, two strength sessions, consistent BCA discipline throughout the year. The AWS device PQS is a documented qualification program; build the completion schedule with the LCPO's knowledge and walk the qualification board prepared with the PQS items completed and verified. The AE2 without an AWS device at a billet that supports the qualification is visibly under-credentialed on the ranking sheet compared to the peer who has it. The device removes that gap and adds an eEVAL bullet the LCPO can write with specificity.
  • Section yellow-sheet and NALCOMIS quality at zero QA comebacks on your completed closures.
    The zero-comeback standard at AE2 extends to work you reviewed before routing, not just work you personally completed. Build a pre-routing verification step into every AE3 work order you review: read the discrepancy description (does it describe the fault in operational terms?), read the corrective action (does it name the specific component, the MIM reference, the measured value?), verify the required signatures are present. The AE3 who gets one corrective review from the AE2 learns the standard; the AE3 who gets the same correction three times means the AE2 reviewed but did not close the training gap. One is supervision; three is a training failure that the LPO documents.
  • Work center training completion rate at or above the squadron average — PQS, MRC quals, annual aviation safety, FOD prevention refresher.
    The work center training completion rate is the number the LCPO briefs at the department maintenance production review. At AE2 you own the section's contribution to that number. Track each qualification item for each AE3 and AEAN in the section against its due date, build training events into the weekly plan before the due dates, and close the items before the LCPO has to ask where they stand. The section that is consistently at or above the squadron average on training completion is the section the LCPO describes as 'self-managing' in the eEVAL draft.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Letting an AE3 close a yellow-sheet without spot-checking the NALCOMIS entry — initialing it to move the queue.
    The QA inspector reads the AE2's initials and holds the entry to the AE2's standard. When the return comes back, the finding is on the AE2's record, not just the AE3's — and the LCPO at the weekly Maintenance Control sync does not separate the section senior's sign-off from the AE3's documentation error. A pattern of QA returns from AE3 work orders signed by the same AE2 is the pattern the LCPO documents in the periodic counseling. More critically: if the work order contained a maintenance action on a flight-critical system and the unverified step was a safety check, the consequence is not a QA return — it is an aircraft in the flight schedule with an incomplete maintenance record.
  • Performing a wiring repair to technique learned from a prior command rather than the current applicable technical directive.
    Wiring repair techniques change when service bulletins are issued, when NAVAIR 01-1A-22 is revised, or when an aircraft-specific technical directive updates the applicable splice method, insulation specification, or shielding restoration requirement. The AE2 who works from prior-command institutional memory rather than pulling the current TDs and the current 01-1A-22 section before every repair is performing the repair that was correct three years ago. When the technical directive audit runs — as it does during every maintenance inspection — the repair performed to the superseded technique is a finding under the AE2's employee number. If the repair is flight-critical and the superseded technique has a known failure mode, the consequence is a grounding and a HAZREP.
  • Clearing a system intermittent fault from a bench functional check without verifying the fault-isolation covered the aircraft installation environment.
    The connector that passes the bench test in a stable lab environment at 70°F may fail in the aircraft installation environment under the combination of vibration frequency, thermal cycle, and connector loading that only occurs in flight. The MIM's fault-isolation procedure includes environmental stress screening steps for precisely this reason. The AE2 who clears a 'cannot duplicate' on the bench without running those steps closes a work order that the flight crew re-opens on the next flight — and the second discrepancy write-up references the prior 'CND' closure with the AE2's employee number. A CND that was legitimately exhaustive is defensible; a CND that stopped at the bench test is not.
  • Failing to report a HAZMAT spill from a capacitor discharge or battery damage during maintenance.
    Aircraft electrical systems contain electrolytic capacitors, lithium batteries, and nickel-cadmium battery packs that present HAZMAT risks under discharge or physical damage conditions. An unreported HAZMAT event discovered after the fact — by a subsequent inspection, by a safety officer sweep, or by a maintenance action on the same system — creates a compliance finding that lands on the work center's record and triggers a mandatory training requirement for the section. Depending on the substance and the release quantity, it may also trigger a HAZREP under the Navy's Safety and Occupational Health program. The correct action is immediate notification to the work center safety representative and the command's environmental officer. The AE2 who self-reports and documents the corrective action demonstrates the safety culture the inspection is looking for; the AE2 who buries the event demonstrates the opposite.
  • Going around the LCPO directly to the QA officer or the Maintenance Officer with a section technical discrepancy or personnel issue.
    The maintenance chain runs through the LPO and then the LCPO. Every time an AE2 steps around the chain, the LPO and the LCPO both know about it by end of business the same day — the Navy's maintenance department is not a large organization at the squadron level. The AE2 who goes around the chain once gets a counseling. The AE2 who does it twice is the AE2 the LCPO stops trusting with section authority, and the pattern in the counseling record is what the Chief selection board reads when the packet comes up three years later. Route every issue through the correct chain, even when the chain is slower or less satisfying than going around it.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Advanced NEC or cross-platform NEC — deepen the current type-specific pipeline or cross-track for the next tour
    At AE2 the type-specific NEC you hold defines which billets the detailer can offer for the next tour. The question is whether to deepen the existing pipeline — a follow-on operational billet that builds eEVAL narrative in the same aircraft community — or to deliberately pursue a cross-platform NEC that opens a different billet set for the subsequent tour. The deepening path produces the stronger FMS narrative at the next ranking because the eEVAL bullets read with specific aircraft-community language the ranking board recognizes. The cross-platform path is correct if the post-service market you are building toward values the second NEC more than the first. The honest analysis requires knowing what the specific billets look like for both paths — talk to AE1s in both pipelines and pull the applicable NAVADMINs before making the decision.
  • Navy COOL credentials — which to complete before AE1 pin-on and which to target by EAS
    The credential sequencing at AE2 matters for the post-service value profile. The credentials funded by Navy COOL and recognized in the defense and federal civilian aviation maintenance market are most valuable when the service record documentation of hands-on experience behind them is current and complete. Identify through the COOL portal which credentials your rate and NEC path support, sequence the fastest-to-earn and most employer-visible ones first, and start documenting your hands-on experience now — the aircraft type, systems worked, years of experience, qualification records — while the command's records are accessible. The AE2 who separates with a credential stack and documented avionics experience is competing in the defense and federal civil aviation market at a different level than the AE2 who separates with the military title and no civilian-facing documentation.
  • LDO (Limited Duty Officer) or CWO (Chief Warrant Officer) packet — AE2 is the viable window for the best-positioned sailors
    The AE2 with the time-in-service, a type-specific NEC, an EP eEVAL record, an AWS device, a clean maintenance record, and command endorsement is in the viable window for an LDO or CWO packet on the aviation maintenance side. LDO commissions into the officer corps with a focused technical aviation maintenance specialty; CWO enters the warrant officer track in the aviation maintenance technical-authority path. Both require a competitive enlisted record and a command endorsement. The honest test: do you want the technical-authority track as a commissioned or warrant officer, or do you want the deckplate leadership path to Chief and Senior Chief? Talk to LDOs and CWOs in the aviation maintenance community — not just the ones who are happy with their path but the ones who made the opposite choice and can articulate why. The AE2 who packets prematurely without the endorsement wastes a competitive window.
  • Second-term re-enlistment — Zone B SRB math versus EAS into the defense and federal civil aviation market
    The AE2 re-enlistment window opens 12-24 months before contract end. The AE rate SRB schedule (pull the current NAVADMIN before any conversation) varies by NEC, zone, and rating manning. NEC-coded AE2s with type-specific qualifications and AWS device may see SRB offers that look substantial against a junior defense contractor salary. The honest math: base pay plus BAH with dependents (if applicable) plus SRB net of taxes, weighed against the civilian and federal market value of a cleared, NEC-coded, AWS-device AE2 with a clean record and COOL credentials. Defense contractors in the avionics integration and aircraft systems testing market hire at this profile. Federal civilian aviation maintenance positions at naval air stations and fleet readiness centers hire at this profile. Run the math against the specific opportunity in front of you, not a hypothetical. The AE2 who re-enlists on the right path is the AE1 the LCPO grooms for Chief; the AE2 who re-enlists to solve a near-term financial problem and separates at the next window anyway loses SRB vesting value and the optimal market-entry timing.
  • Operational embedded billet versus technical-depth shore tour — squadron deployment cycle versus AIMA/FRC/depot or staff assignment
    The AE2's next billet decision is between operational embedded assignments (fleet squadron deployment cycle, carrier strike group avionics support, forward detachment) and technical-depth assignments (aviation intermediate maintenance activity avionics branch, fleet readiness center enlisted support, NAVAIR program office staff, type wing or maintenance department staff). Operational billets build the eEVAL narrative the AE1 and Chief board reads as deckplate avionics credibility and produce the independent maintenance judgment that comes from running a section during a deployment. Technical-depth billets build the NEC expertise and the documented experience that the post-service defense avionics market values — AIMA and FRC experience translates directly to defense contractor avionics depot and systems integration roles. The AE2 who sequences one operational tour and one technical-depth tour before AE1 presents the strongest combined narrative at both the advancement board and the civilian market. Talk to the detailer and the LCPO together — the billet the detailer offers and the billet the LCPO recommends for your specific eEVAL trajectory are sometimes different for the same underlying reason.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • F/A-18E/F VFA strike fighter squadron (carrier-based, high ops tempo)
    The VFA AE2 section lead during carrier workup and deployment is running the most complex avionics maintenance environment in the rate under real flight-schedule pressure. Avionics fault isolation on the F/A-18's integrated systems — fly-by-wire flight control computers, integrated avionics suites, multi-function displays, data bus architectures — means the AE2's troubleshooting and documentation standard is tested against the actual system depth, not a simplified training scenario. The wiring repair and LRU bench test windows on the carrier flight deck are compressed; the AE2 who can execute, document, and brief a complex avionics discrepancy before the next launch cycle without sacrificing the documentation standard is the AE2 the LCPO names as the AE1 candidate. The VFA deployment cycle is the most formative environment in the rate for building the independent judgment and maintenance authority the AE1 rank requires.
  • EA-18G Growler VAQ electronic attack squadron
    The VAQ AE2 with the applicable NEC is the senior avionics voice on the EA-18G's electronic attack systems and release systems, where the security classification requirements around the platform's mission avionics are more demanding than in a strike-fighter shop. The AE2 who carries the VAQ avionics experience understands both the technical depth of the platform and the documentation and security discipline its mission systems require. The fundamental maintenance standard — continuity checks, connector torque, bench test protocol, NALCOMIS documentation — is identical; the classification and handling requirements are the differentiating layer.
  • MH-60R/S helicopter HSM/HSC squadron
    The HSM/HSC AE2 section lead at E-5 supervises a smaller section than a VFA AE2 would, but the detachment structure provides independent authority earlier. A shipboard det aboard a destroyer or cruiser may have one AE2 as the senior or sole avionics petty officer for the entire platform detachment — every work order is the AE2's name, every system status is the AE2's call, and the maintenance standard operates without the LPO walking through the work center twice a day. That independent accountability is the most direct preparation for the AE1 section lead role the rate demands. The AE2 who performs well on a first helicopter det is the AE2 the LCPO tracks for the advanced NEC recommendation.
  • E-2D Hawkeye VAW airborne early warning squadron
    The E-2D avionics suite is technically among the most sophisticated in naval aviation, and the VAW AE2 who earns the E-2D type NEC is entering a specialized pipeline with distinctive technical depth and a smaller pool of qualified technicians. The lower flight operations tempo compared to a VFA shop provides more deliberate maintenance time per action, which the AE2 uses to build the documentation standard and the training plan execution that shows on the eEVAL. The E-2D community is a smaller billet pool — the AE2 who builds a strong eEVAL record in VAW is visible to the LCPO and the Maintenance Officer in a way that can accelerate the AE1 tracking conversation.
  • Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) avionics branch or AIMA depot assignment
    An FRC or AIMA billet at AE2 is a technical-depth assignment rather than an operational-embedded assignment. The maintenance work at intermediate and depot level involves deeper avionics diagnostics — circuit card repair, test bench calibration, component-level fault isolation that goes below the organizational level the fleet squadron executes. The AE2 at an FRC builds a technical depth that the operational squadron AE2 does not get during the same period, and that depth translates to the defense contractor avionics testing and depot maintenance market. The trade-off is that the eEVAL at an FRC does not carry the operational aviation maintenance language the fleet advancement board weights most heavily. The AE2 who sequences an FRC or AIMA tour and an operational tour before AE1 presents the strongest combined technical and operational profile.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good AE2 is the petty officer the LCPO sends to sit the phase inspection team lead role when the LPO is on leave, because the inspection comes back with zero QA comebacks, the aircraft releases from phase on schedule, and the section's tool sub-accounts and NALCOMIS queue are clean when the LPO returns. Maintenance Control knows that when this AE2 says 'the aircraft is up' the maintenance record supports it, and when he says 'we have a grounding discrepancy,' there is a specific documented fault behind it and a realistic ETA on the corrective action. There are no vague status briefs from this AE2. His section's documentation quality is the one the QA officer cites as the reference in the next work center training brief — zero returns from completed actions, corrective action descriptions that contain the specific component, the MIM reference, the measured value, and the post-repair check result. His AE3s document at that standard because he corrects once, explains why, and then enforces the standard consistently. The AE3 who gets the same documentation correction from this AE2 three times does not stay under this AE2 without a formal counseling, because inconsistent enforcement is the AE2's acknowledgment that the standard is negotiable. His NWAE study is documented and current. The LCPO at the quarterly advancement worksheet review can defend this AE2's AE1 readiness with a paper study log and a clean maintenance record — not with 'I think he is ready.' His Navy COOL credentials are on the service record, documented during an active tour rather than reconstructed after separation. The AE1 slate that follows his first AE1 NWAE cycle is not a surprise; it is the result of a year of visible, documented section leadership and a maintenance standard the goat locker has been tracking toward the Chief board.

Preview — The Next Rank

AE1 (E-6, Petty Officer First Class) is the LPO — the shift from the section lead who runs the maintenance evolution to the leader who owns whether the entire avionics work center does it correctly. As AE1 you run the squadron's avionics and electrical maintenance work center: 10-20 AEs, the weekly production schedule, the NEC pipeline for every sailor in the work center, the TMDE calibration program, the 30/60/90-day training plan, and four to six eEVALs per cycle that pick the next NWAE slate. You defend the section's FMC/PMC avionics contribution at the department maintenance production review, and you brief the Maintenance Officer on grounding discrepancies by system, estimated corrective action timeline, and parts status — without caveat. The Chief board packet conversation stops being abstract at AE1. The LCPO is editing your record, the eEVAL profile is building across the year against the peer AE1s the ranking board compares you to, and the Aviation Warfare Specialist device is baseline — not distinction. The Naval Enlisted Advancement System gives way to the Chief Petty Officer selection board, and the package builds across the full AE1 tour, not the month before submission. The AE1 who arrives at the board with a defensible record — clean avionics readiness contribution, TMDE calibration program at 100%, eEVALs that advance AE2s above expectation, a NEC pipeline that produces type-specific selectees, and a section training completion rate above the squadron average — is the AE1 who picks up the anchors. What you cannot see from AE2 is how much of the AE1 job is administrative writing. The TMDE calibration log, the section training plan, the monthly production summary, the NEC pipeline tracking report, the eEVAL input drafts for four to six sailors — these are documents the LPO owns and the Maintenance Chief reviews weekly. The NALCOMIS documentation discipline and the TMS writing you built at AE2 become the foundation for every administrative task at AE1. The AE2 who owns documentation completely is the AE1 who does not spend the first six months of the new job learning what the administrative load looks like.
FAQ

AE E5 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E5 AE (Aviation Electrician's Mate) actually do?
You run a section of the work center — a phase/periodic inspection team, the avionics bench, a specific aircraft systems functional-check cell, or the work center's 2M capability if your command is qualified.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E5 AE?
AE2 (E-5) is the working senior AE — the one the section depends on and the one the LCPO is building the Chief board narrative around whether you know it yet or not.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E5 AE?
Time-blocked day at the E5 AE rank tier: 0500-0600 Wake up. If section lead on duty rotation, check overnight maintenance call log, any work orders that opened on the watch being relieved, aircraft systems status changes that need AE2 action before quarters, 0600-0700 Command or squadron PT. AE2 section lead often sets the PT pace for the AE3s and AEANs in the section. Aviation squadron PT on the hangar deck or flight line apron. No falling out absent a documented profile, 0700-0800 Hygiene, chow, working uniform. Pre-quarters: review the day's maintenance plan and the flight schedule,…
Q04What mistakes get E5 AE soldiers fired or relieved?
Rubber-stamping AE3 documentation and work without actually verifying it — initialing the yellow-sheet or the NALCOMIS entry to clear the queue without reading the corrective action description. Your sign-off is the quality standard. When the QA inspector returns the entry with your initials on it, the finding is on the AE2's record, not just the AE3's, and the LCPO at the weekly production sync does not separate which AE3 wrote it from which AE2 approved it.…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E5 AE rank tier?
Advanced NEC or cross-platform NEC — deepen the current type-specific pipeline or cross-track for the next tour — At AE2 the type-specific NEC you hold defines which billets the detailer can offer for the next tour. The question is whether to deepen the existing pipeline — a follow-on operational billet that builds eEVAL narrative in the same aircraft community — or to deliberately pursue a cross-platform NEC that opens a different billet set for the subsequent tour.…
Q06What's next after E5 for a AE (Aviation Electrician's Mate) in the Navy?
AE1 (E-6, Petty Officer First Class) is the LPO — the shift from the section lead who runs the maintenance evolution to the leader who owns whether the entire avionics work center does it correctly.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E5 AE need to know cold?
NAVAIR 01-1A-22 — Organizational Maintenance: Aircraft Avionics; you are the section's reference authority, not the person asking for the tab.; NAVAIR 17-15BCE-1 series — the aircraft-specific avionics and electrical maintenance manuals for your platform; know your aircraft's series number and navigate it without guidance.; OPNAVINST 3750.6S — Naval Aviation Safety Program;…

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