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AGE5

Aerographer's Mate

E-5 (Sergeant) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

AG2 is the working forecaster. The AG3 takes the observations; you turn them into a forecast the fleet acts on. When the ship captain asks 'what does weather look like for the underway tomorrow,' you are the one who answers — not with a model printout, but with a synthesized forecast product you are prepared to defend. The NWAE for AG1 and the eEVAL ranking that feeds it are the career gates at this tier. Making Chief is the defining career milestone in this rating; the road to Chief starts at AG2.

The Honest MOS Read
Aerographer's Mate Second Class (AG2, E-5) is the working forecaster in the section — the petty officer who owns the forecast product from synoptic analysis through dissemination and debrief and who is responsible for the forecast the fleet acts on. On a deploying ship, you may be the senior AG on watch for a significant portion of the deployment, with reach-back to shore-based METOC but with on-scene primary forecast responsibility. At a METOC detachment, you are the bench the AG1 leans on for the forecast production cycle during busy operations and the duty forecaster who holds the watch solo during the morning brief window when the AG1 is in the OIC sync. The working forecaster identity is the central reality of the AG2 tier. The flight schedule brief is your product — the ceiling trend at the destination and the primary divert field, the icing level and intensity on the route, whether the convective line will be west or east of the recovery field at the estimated arrival time, the sea state and swell period for the ship routing brief. You brief to the flight-operations officer and the ship's routing officer in the language of decisions, not the language of model outputs. The aviator who walks out of your brief with a clear GO/NO-GO assessment did not get that from a model printout. She got it from the AG2 who synthesized the model guidance, the sounding, the synoptic analysis, and the aviation-weather climatology for the operating area into a product she could act on. The technical reality of forecast ownership at AG2 is that you have to do your own model verification. This means comparing the previous 24-hour prognosis against the current analysis every shift — where did the model capture the trough position, the jet max, the thermal gradient across the front, and where did it not? The AG2 who does not run this verification does not improve as a forecaster. The AG2 who does runs it produces the kind of model-guidance assessment that the AG1 can sign off on without rewriting, and the kind of brief the aviation safety officer names in the quarterly training review as the product that actually helped the aviator make a better decision. There is a second reality at AG2 that the AG3 tier does not prepare you for: you are now the training and certification authority for AG3s and AGANs on PQS forecast-related line items. Your sign-off is the standard. The AG3 you certified on the preflight brief qualification is the AG3 whose brief the OIC is acting on. The AG3 you signed off on synoptic analysis certification is the AG3 whose analysis the ship routing officer is using. The quality of your certification standard is not a paperwork decision — it is an operational consequence. NEC-coded billets define the seat at AG2. The AGW (aerographer/weather forecaster NEC) is the primary identifier for the working-forecaster billet assignments — the METOC detachment duty forecaster billet, the fleet weather support element, the shipboard aerology officer-in-charge NEC that some small-combatant billets carry at the senior AG2 level. Pull the current NAVADMIN for NEC pipeline parameters and the NAVPERS 18068 NEC entries before advising an AG3 on any specific code — the parameters change, the scuttlebutt does not. The NWAE for AG1 is the immediate professional gate. The FMS that feeds the AG1 advancement slate combines exam score with eEVAL ranking, time-in-rate, awards, and educational achievement. The AG2 who walks into the exam cycle with a documented BIB study log, an EP or MP eEVAL ranking, the AGW NEC awarded or in pipeline, a clean billet record, and a METOC qualification that goes on the blouse has a real shot. The AG2 who lets the forecast schedule absorb the study time watches the slate. The NWAE for AG1 is also the last exam-based promotion gate before the Chief selection board, which does not use an NWAE — it uses a packet reviewed by senior AG Chiefs and master chiefs who know this rating cold. The AG2 who understands that the Chief board is built across the entire AG1 career is the AG2 who is building it right now.
Career Arc
  • 01AG2 pin-on via NWAE under the Navy Enlisted Advancement System.
  • 02Primary working forecaster certification — duty forecaster on watch with the AG1's product review, moving to solo hold as proficiency develops.
  • 03AGW NEC award or confirmation in pipeline — the forecast-center and fleet-support billet eligibility gate.
  • 04Flight brief and ship-routing brief solo certification — cleared to brief commanding officer and operations officer level without AG1 rewrite.
  • 05Forecaster verification discipline established — weekly 24-hour prognosis vs. analysis verification log, product quality debrief after every significant event.
  • 06AG3 and AGAN PQS sign-off certification — synoptic analysis, preflight brief, rawinsonde qualification.
  • 07NWAE BIB for AG1 opened and study log documented on LCPO's timeline — the FMS is built across the year, not the month before the exam.
Common Screwups
  • ×Briefing a model-guidance solution as the forecast when the observed synoptic trend is clearly diverging from the model — and not flagging the divergence to the AG1 or the section officer. The ship routes into the heavier sea state the 48-hour prognosis showed as clearing; the aircraft launches into the icing level the model had 5,000 feet higher than the sounding indicated. The post-event review pulls the product with the AG2's name on the analysis. 'The model said so' is the explanation that ends the AG1 advancement conversation.
  • ×Letting an AG3 brief a product you certified without actually reviewing it. Your sign-off on the AG3's preflight brief certification means the brief quality is your standard. The OIC who sees the AG3's brief drive a bad flight decision asks the AG1 who certified the AG3. The AG1 asks you. The certification standard you enforced is on the record.
  • ×Skipping the post-event forecast verification because the event is over. The METOC community builds skill on verification data. The AG2 who does not run the 24-hour prognosis versus observed analysis comparison every shift is the AG2 who does not improve, and the AG1 who runs monthly product quality reviews sees the flat skill curve in the section log.
  • ×Treating the eEVAL input cycle as a low-priority sidebar to the forecast schedule. The Navy enlisted evaluation under the NAVPERS 1610 series ranks petty officers within a peer group. The eEVAL ranking your LCPO builds across the cycle is the FMS input that the NWAE score amplifies or neutralizes. The AG2 who lets the forecast tempo push the eEVAL prep to the final week is the AG2 who accepts the P ranking when EP was achievable.
  • ×Financial mismanagement or an integrity incident that surfaces at the AG1 board conversation. The Chief board reads the full service record. The AG2 who runs a credit problem or an NJP into the AG1 tier is the AG2 who explains it to the Chief selection board. There is no version of a documented integrity incident that the Chiefs Mess does not read before the selection board convenes.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0600Wake up. Phone check — overnight section emergencies, weather watch or warning that fired from the automated system, any message from the duty AG3 about a sensor anomaly or missed sounding. None? Good. PT gear on, drive to the command gym or the section PT formation.
  • 0600-0700Command PT or section PT. At AG2 you may be leading the section PT block when the AG1 is on leave or on watch. Set the pace. PRT Good High is the visible standard — the senior petty officer who falls out of the section run sets the wrong tone for the section's fitness culture.
  • 0700-0800Hygiene, chow, change into utilities. Pre-watch turnover: walk the overnight observation log (any corrections flagged by the duty section?), check the 0000Z model guidance run for any significant initialization changes from the 1800Z run the section briefed the previous evening, confirm the sounding schedule for the day with the AG3 on observation rotation.
  • 0800-0900Model verification block: yesterday's 24-hour prognosis versus today's observed analysis. Document the verification result in the rolling verification log — pattern type, trough/ridge position error, thermal gradient capture, model bias for the current flow regime. This block is what separates the AG2 who improves from the AG2 who stagnates. It takes 20 minutes and the section officer reads the log quarterly.
  • 0900-1000Current synoptic analysis: isobars, fronts, pressure centers, troughs, upper-level features from the 0600Z or 1200Z model guidance run. Cross-check the analysis against the overnight rawinsonde soundings from the section's upper-air station and the surrounding ASOS/NWS network products. Document the analysis and the model-guidance divergence notes before the AG1 walks into the watch room.
  • 1000-1100Product construction: aviation weather support brief package (ceiling and visibility at destination and divert fields, icing levels, turbulence forecast, convective outlook, NOTAMs) or ship routing brief package (sea state, swell period, winds, routing recommendation, contingency timing). Brief draft to the AG1 for review before the product goes to the operations section.
  • 1100-1130AG3 supervision block: review the morning AG3 observation products (two or three certified AGANs and AG3s have been running the synoptic hours), spot-check the rawinsonde data QC from the 1200Z sounding, sign off any PQS line items that the AG3 has completed to standard during the morning block.
  • 1130-1230Chow. Eat with the AG1 and AG2s — you are in the petty officer tier now, not the apprentice observation team. Quick check of PMEL instrument tickler for afternoon actions due.
  • 1230-1430Afternoon brief delivery (if on the brief rotation) or afternoon model guidance review (if the morning brief cycle is the only rotation today). Post-brief debrief with the consumer if a verification opportunity is available — what was the ceiling actually at the destination versus the brief forecast? Document the verification.
  • 1430-1530PMEL maintenance block: complete scheduled instrument maintenance actions, document completions and discrepancies, flag anything outside calibration tolerance to the AG1 before end of watch. AG3 training session if the schedule allows: model guidance interpretation drill, synoptic analysis exercise, brief format review.
  • 1530-1600NWAE study block for AG1 cycle — 60 minutes minimum, BIB chapter for the current study plan. The AG2 who runs the morning verification and the afternoon product and still finds the study block is the AG2 the LCPO defends at advancement time. The AG2 who does not find the study block accepts the consequences at the next exam cycle.
  • 1600-1630End-of-watch turnover to the duty AG3 or overnight section. Observation log closed, instrument status documented, sounding record filed, PMEL maintenance log current, overnight weather watch note for the duty section on any significant feature tracking toward the operating area.
  • 1630-1800Released. Most days. Field deployments, underway periods, air wing surge operations, emergency weather watches, and standing duty change this window by hours or days. PRT prep, gym, personal time, NEC packet research.
  • 1800-2100Personal time. NEC packet research — NAVPERS 18068 NEC section for the AGW codes, current NAVADMIN pipeline parameters, NPC detailing website for METOC billet postings. NWAE BIB study block at the kitchen table — the 60-minute study session four nights per week is how the AG1 advancement slate happens.
  • 2100-2200Brief package prep for the next morning if on the early watch rotation. Tomorrow's observation schedule and sounding assignments confirmed with the duty AG3. Pre-launch prep for the 0000Z sounding if assigned. The AG1 who calls at 2130 with a question about the overnight weather watch expects a synthesized answer, not a model printout description.
  • 2200Lights out. 0500 tomorrow.
  • Underway / deployed (ship's aerology division as senior AG on watch or working forecaster element at a METOC detachment)The deployed schedule is the watch bill and the synoptic schedule together. Every observation goes, every sounding launches, every brief is on the routing officer's or ops officer's desk before the brief window. When the AG1 is in the captain's brief, you are the senior AG in the section and the forecast product that drives the next 12 hours of ship routing is the one you produced. The AG2 who can hold the deployed watch solo — synthesize the model guidance, analyze the synoptic pattern, produce a brief the routing officer can act on — without AG1 supervision is the AG2 who has earned the AG1 billet at the next duty station.

Weekly Cadence

The Mon-Fri rhythm at AG2 runs on the LCPO's plan of the week and the observation and brief schedule simultaneously, and the two calendars compete for the same work blocks. Monday is planning day — the LCPO's plan of the week confirms the training blocks for AG3 PQS sign-offs, the model guidance training sessions the AG2 is running or participating in, the instrument maintenance schedule for the week, the NWAE study-time allocation if the section has candidates in cycle, and any inspection or readiness milestone the section officer is tracking. The AG2 starts Monday with the verification log from last week, the BIB study log from the previous week's study sessions, and the AG3 PQS sign-off tracker current. Tuesday through Thursday are the operational core. The synoptic observation schedule runs at the WMO times regardless of what else is happening. The brief rotation drives the morning block — model verification, synoptic analysis, product construction, AG1 review, brief delivery. The afternoon block alternates between PMEL maintenance, AG3 training sessions, NWAE study, and the product-quality follow-up from the morning brief. The AG2 who treats the verification and the study block as non-negotiable anchors in the afternoon finds time for both within the normal watch schedule. The AG2 who lets the brief tempo consume both comes home at night having produced good products and having not built toward either the next advancement slate or the next certification level. Friday is close-out and next-week planning. The section officer walks the instrument maintenance log and the certification fill at the weekly readiness brief. The LCPO reviews the week's observation schedule compliance and the sounding record. The AG2 brings the AG3 PQS sign-off tracker current and flags any training milestone that needs the AG1's review in the next week. Field deployments and underway periods erase the Monday-Friday structure entirely — the observation schedule and the brief rotation are the calendar, the NWAE study block is what fits into the 60 minutes before lights out, and the verification log is what the AG2 writes up during the off-watch recovery period when the weather is quiet.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Produce a complete tactical weather forecast — surface analysis, prognosis, aviation and surface-ship route support, hazardous weather identification, sea state — and brief it at the watch-officer or flight-ops officer level without the AG1 rewriting the product.
    The forecast product that does not require AG1 rewrite is the standard, not the aspiration. Build the product in a consistent sequence every watch: current synoptic analysis first (identify the pattern — what is driving the local weather, where is the baroclinic zone, where is the jet max, what is the model guidance showing for the next 24-48 hours and where does it agree or disagree with the sounding); then the prognosis (where are the systems tracking, what is the front doing, what does the 500 mb vorticity field show for the next 24 hours); then the product (ceiling trend at the destination and divert, icing level on the route, sea state for the routing brief). The AG2 who builds the product in the same sequence every watch produces consistent quality. The AG2 who sequences differently every shift based on what the model happens to show first produces inconsistent quality that the AG1 notices at the product review.
  2. 02
    Run a METOC support brief for ship routing or aviation mission planning that names specific weather hazards in terms the OOD and the aviator can act on.
    The routing brief for the ship's OOD is not a weather lecture. It is three decisions: the route, the timing window, and the sea-state threshold for the maneuver sequence. Build the brief around those three decisions. The weather hazard that is relevant is the one that affects the decision — the cold front timing that determines whether the ship can complete the underway replenishment before the wind builds to the threshold, the sea-state forecast for the approach corridor during the transit, the visibility trend at the strait passage. Remove everything that does not affect the decision. The OOD who leaves the brief knowing what she needs to make the route call is the OOD who trusts the AG2's brief next time. The OOD who leaves the brief with a full model output printout and no clear answer is the OOD who calls the AG1.
  3. 03
    Perform a synoptic-scale and mesoscale analysis that correctly identifies the systems driving the local weather, applies model guidance critically, and flags where the model is off the observed trend.
    Run the 24-hour verification before building the current analysis — where did yesterday's 24-hour prognosis verify? If the model had the 500 mb trough 300 nm east of where it actually ended up, the current 24-hour prognosis for the same pattern type carries a known bias. The AG2 who knows the model's current-pattern verification history before she builds the analysis is the AG2 who can tell the section officer why she placed the low where she did instead of where the model placed it. Keep a rolling verification log — date, pattern type, model placement versus observed placement, ±distance or timing error. The section log shows whether the AG2 is running verification or not.
  4. 04
    Train and sign off AG3s and AGANs on PQS forecast-related line items — your signature is the standard, and the section officer reviews what you put your name on.
    The three-step certification standard: demonstrate the item in your presence, perform the item under your supervision with correction in real time, perform the item with your review after rather than during. Do not sign on the second step — that is not certification, that is supervised practice. The AG3 who has demonstrated the surface analysis skill by identifying a frontal boundary correctly on three consecutive analyses, under your review, with corrections after the fact rather than before, is the AG3 who earns the sign-off. The AG3 who demonstrated it correctly once on the easy day and got the sign-off is the AG3 whose brief the OIC is acting on when the analysis is wrong.
  5. 05
    Write the section's readiness and qualification tracking for the observation and forecasting schedule — instrument maintenance, sounding schedule, watch coverage — at a level the OIC can brief to the METOC officer without adding caveats.
    The readiness brief at AG2 is not a status report of what happened — it is a forward-looking accountability document. It shows: observation certification fill (who is certified for what observation type, with current sign-off dates), sounding schedule compliance (zero missed mandatory soundings, documented exceptions where they occur), instrument PMEL status (all PMEL-tracked instruments calibration-current with zero overdue actions), watch coverage for the next 30 days (no gaps in the duty forecaster rotation). The METOC officer who reads this document should be able to brief it upward without adding a caveat. The AG2 who builds readiness documents the METOC officer has to annotate before briefing is the AG2 the METOC officer calls by name for the wrong reason.
  6. 06
    Mentor an AG3's NEC or C-school packet from idea to selection — counsel honestly about the AGW pipeline, the sea-shore rotation, and the forecast-center versus deployed-unit lifestyle difference.
    The AG3 reads the NEC listing and sees 'operational forecaster.' Your job is the honest version: what the watch bill looks like on a deploying DDG with three AGs versus a METOC detachment with twelve, what the NWAE study time competition looks like in a deployment cycle, what the sea-shore rotation math means for the family conversation two tours from now, what the post-Navy market looks like for an AGW-coded AG1 versus a general-surface AG1 with no NEC. Walk the AG3 through NAVPERS 18068 on the NEC he wants. Pull the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN before the conversation. Introduce him to an AG1 or AGC who has done both paths. Counsel honestly — the AG3 who ends up in the NEC that fits and stays in the Navy is your lasting contribution to the rating. The AG3 you pushed into the wrong pipeline becomes the LCPO's retention problem.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • OPNAVINST 3140.1 — Aerology
    At AG2 you brief doctrine-grounded products and you enforce the observation and forecast support requirements in the section's daily operations. You should be fluent across the support requirements for every platform type the section supports — the observation reporting requirements for a DD-214 aviation support site differ from a surface ship's aerology requirements, and the AG2 who quotes the wrong standard to the section officer ends the briefing with a problem. Read the instruction completely before your first solo forecast watch and keep the relevant sections bookmarked.
  • NWP 1-03.1 — Meteorological and Oceanographic Operations
    You brief doctrine. The METOC support concept the AG1 and the section officer have signed belongs to a broader doctrine framework, and the AG2 who can trace the deckplate observation schedule back to the fleet commander's METOC support requirement in NWP 1-03.1 is the AG2 who never produces a product the section officer cannot defend upward. Read the chapters on theater weather support and fleet weather services before your first significant-event forecast watch.
  • WMO Technical Regulations, Volume I (WMO-No. 49) and WMO Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)
    You certify observations and instruments against these standards — not from memory, from the document. The AG2 who quotes the WMO present-weather table from memory is the AG2 who eventually quotes it wrong. The AG2 who opens the table before correcting an AG3's present-weather encoding is the AG2 whose corrections are cited correctly. Keep both volumes bookmarked on the workstation.
  • FNMOC / NAVOCEANO publicly released forecast guidance documentation and the product guides for your operational workstation suite
    The model guidance you brief from has documentation — the GFS output format specifications, the Navy global model guidance specifications, the product delivery format guides. The AG2 who has read the model documentation knows what the 500 mb prognosis field is actually computing versus what the display looks like, and that knowledge changes the way you assess model guidance quality. Pull the product guides from the FNMOC/NAVOCEANO public release library and read the specifications for the models your workstation runs before your first solo forecast watch.
  • NAVPERS 18068 series and the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN for the AGW NEC and related METOC classifications
    You mentor AG3 packets off the current NAVADMIN, not the printout from two cycles ago. The NEC source-rating NAVADMIN updates; the parameters for AGW selection, the school dates, the billet distribution, and the eligibility requirements change. The AG2 who pulls the current message before any pipeline conversation gives the AG3 the real information. The AG2 who works off stale guidance sends the AG3 to the career counselor with the wrong expectations.
  • NWAE Bibliography for Advancement (BIB) for the AG1 advancement cycle — current edition from MyNavyHR
    The BIB is the exam. Build a study plan with milestones against the current BIB — not the prior-cycle version, the current one. The AG2 who has a 90-day BIB study log with milestone dates and completion marks is the AG2 the LCPO defends at the ranking board. The AG2 who starts the BIB in the month before the exam is the AG2 who accepts the P ranking instead of EP, which compounds into a lower FMS at the next advancement cycle.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • NWAE for AG1 documented on the LCPO's timeline — the candidate who walks in with a strong BIB study log and clean eEVAL bullets is the candidate the Chief defends at the advancement worksheet review.
    Pull the current BIB from MyNavyHR on the first day of the current advancement cycle. Build a structured study plan: 60 minutes per day, five days per week, working chapter by chapter through the BIB references with a notebook for margin notes and review items. Show the log to the LCPO at section sync every three weeks — not because he will ask, because showing it is what earns the study-time allocation on the watch bill. The LCPO who sees a three-month documented study log defends the candidate who shows up at the exam cycle with it; the LCPO who is told 'I studied at home' cannot defend anything.
  • Forecaster certification current and all watch-station qualifications maintained — the AG2 with a lapsed certification is off the flight-brief rotation, which shows on the watch bill.
    Track every certification and qualification against a renewal date — not the section log, your own tickler. Forecaster certification, preflight brief sign-off, ship-routing brief sign-off, PMEL maintenance certification — each has a recertification interval the section officer reviews at the periodic readiness brief. The AG2 whose certifications are current and whose watch-station quals are all active is the AG2 the OIC trusts to hold the section during a leave period. The AG2 with a lapsed cert gets pulled from the brief rotation and the watch bill reflects it to everyone in the section.
  • PRT Good High or better; BCA in standard.
    Good High at AG2 is the visible signal that the petty officer is taking the physical standard seriously at the senior-petty-officer level. The AG2 at Good Medium with a declining trend is the AG2 the LCPO reads differently than the AG2 at Good High with an improving trend. Train the run, the curl-up/plank, and the push-up standard as a year-round discipline across both PRT cycles. If you are assigned to a command with a swim-qualification requirement, maintain it on the command's calendar.
  • NEC awarded or actively in pipeline — the AG2 without an NEC pathway is visible at the next ranking board in a way that does not help the Chief packet.
    The AGW NEC awarded or confirmed in pipeline is the visible forecast-track credential that the eEVAL ranking and the Chief board packet are built around. Pull the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN before any pipeline conversation with the career counselor or the LCPO. Build the packet — NWAE score history, performance evaluation record, command endorsement, sea-shore counter math, any prerequisite certifications the NEC requires. The AG2 who has no NEC in motion at the 18-month AG2 mark is visible at the ranking board in a way that the LCPO has to explain.
  • Section instrument maintenance and sounding schedule running on the LCPO's standard with zero overdue PMEL actions at the monthly review.
    The monthly PMEL accountability review is the OIC's readiness data point. Zero overdue PMEL actions at the review is the standard, not the goal. Build the maintenance schedule into the section watch bill at the start of each month — assign PMEL actions to specific watch rotations, track completion by end of the assigned watch rotation, flag any discrepancy to the duty AG1 before the section log closes for the week. The OIC who reads the monthly review with one overdue PMEL action asks the LCPO why. The LCPO asks the AG2 who owns the maintenance schedule. The answer 'we were busy' is the answer that goes on the eEVAL.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Briefing a model-guidance solution as the forecast when the observed trend is clearly diverging.
    The post-event review pulls the 24-hour prognosis and the verified analysis side by side, with the brief product that the AG2 delivered using the model guidance. The model had the trough 200 nm east of where it ended up; the AG2's brief had the front clearing by 1400Z; the ship routed for the corridor that did not clear. The AG1 asks why the sounding from 0600Z that showed a colder temperature profile than the model predicted did not cause the AG2 to flag the divergence. 'The model was running cold so I went with the model' is the answer that ends the AG1 advancement conversation.
  • Letting an AG3 certify an observation or a brief you did not actually review.
    Your sign-off is the standard. The AG3's certification exists because you reviewed the AG3's work and determined it met the standard. If the AG3's first solo brief after certification drives a bad GO/NO-GO decision and the mishap review pulls the brief, the certification document with your name on it is in the review folder. The AG1 who investigates asks two questions: who certified the AG3 and when, and what was the standard the certifying AG2 applied? If the answer to the second question is 'he looked competent during the one brief I reviewed,' the answer is not sufficient.
  • Skipping the post-event forecast verification because the event is over.
    The AG2 who does not verify does not improve. In a rating where the product quality is directly traceable to the individual forecaster's skill level, the AG2 with a flat skill curve is visible at the quarterly product quality review the AG1 or AGC runs. The METOC community is small enough that the forecasters who run verification and the forecasters who do not are known by name within the rating's forecast-center community. The verification log is also the source document for the eEVAL bullet the LCPO writes about the AG2's forecast skill — without it, the bullet is generic.
  • Treating the flight brief as a weather report dump instead of a decision-support product.
    The aviator who leaves the brief with a model output printout and no clear ceiling trend at the divert, no icing level on the route, and no answer to the 'what's the weather at my bingo fuel field at my estimated arrival time' question calls the AG1. The AG1 asks why the brief did not address those questions. The AG2 who says 'all the information was in the brief' has not understood that the decision support was missing even though the data was present. The AG1 who has to re-brief the aviator over the radio does not report favorably to the OIC. The eEVAL period is happening in real time.
  • Going around the AG1 to the section officer or the operations officer with a forecast disagreement.
    The met chain runs through the senior AG on watch. Forecast disagreements between the AG2 and the AG1 are aired in the section — the AG2 presents the technical argument, the AG1 makes the call, and the product goes out under the AG1's responsibility. The AG2 who takes a disagreement to the section officer without walking through the AG1 first is telling the section officer that the AG1's professional judgment cannot be trusted, which is a problem the section officer brings to the LCPO before the next watch rotation. The LCPO conversation that follows is not the one the AG2 wanted to have at NWAE time.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • AGW NEC consolidation versus exploring oceanography-support NEC paths within the NAVMETOCCOM enterprise
    The AGW NEC is the primary working-forecaster identifier in the rating and the credential that opens the duty-forecaster billet assignments at METOC detachments, fleet weather support offices, and air wing weather elements. For AG2s who are tracking toward the forecast-center community within the NAVMETOCCOM enterprise — the FNMOC support billets, the Fleet Weather Center working forecaster billets — the AGW NEC is the essential credential. Oceanography-support NECs within the NAVMETOCCOM enterprise exist and lead to different billet types in the ocean-modeling and environmental-assessment community. The honest assessment of the fork: are you building a career in tactical weather forecasting and fleet METOC support, or in the environmental assessment and oceanographic support side of the NAVMETOCCOM mission? Both paths are legitimate and both produce senior AGs who are valuable to the rating. The choice matters because the billet eligibility and the C-school pipeline for each differ, and the AG2 who makes the choice deliberately rather than by assignment default arrives at the AG1 tier with a coherent career narrative the Chief board can read.
  • AG1 assignment selection — shore-based METOC detachment with a training focus versus deployable ship's aerology division versus fleet weather center billet
    The AG1 billet selection at the AG2 level is the single most consequential career move in the rating below making Chief. The shore-based METOC detachment with a deliberate forecaster-training program is where the AG2 builds the technical depth the Chief board measures — model verification discipline, synoptic analysis skill, product quality under evaluation. The deploying ship's aerology division gives operational intensity and the deployment-tempo credibility the Chief board also measures. The fleet weather center billet gives technical depth in the model guidance product chain that is rare and distinctive on a Chief board packet. The honest question: which skill set is weakest in your current record, and which billet type addresses it? Talk to AGs who have done all three before the detailing conversation.
  • Re-enlistment at the AG2 or AG1 mark — with or without SRB on the table
    The AG rating SRB schedule (per current NAVADMIN — pull the message before the re-enlistment conversation) varies with NEC, zone, and rating manning. AGW-coded AG2s and AG1s typically see SRB availability because the rating is technically specialized and the working-forecaster community is small. The trap at AG2: signing a six-year contract primarily for the bonus, then discovering 18 months later that the follow-on assignment the contract locked in does not align with the Chief board packet you need to build. Run the math twice — base pay, BAH for your situation, SRB net of taxes, the follow-on billet, the family conversation, the Chief packet timeline. The LCPO's re-enlistment recommendation in a small rating is worth more than the career counselor's script. If the path is right and the math works, re-enlist. If the only reason is the bonus, the bonus will not fix what the path does not fix.
  • Chief board packet build — starting the conversation with the LCPO now, not at AG1
    The Chief Petty Officer selection board (which replaces the NWAE for AGC) reads the full service record, the eEVAL profile built across the entire AG1 career, the NEC stack, the warfare qualifications, the awards, the command endorsement, and the 16-word summary the board writes in the margin. The AG2 who starts the Chief board conversation with the LCPO at the AG2 tier is the AG2 who walks into the AG1 tier knowing what the board will want to read and building it deliberately. The AG2 who starts the conversation at the 12-month-to-board mark is already behind the curve on the eEVAL profile, the warfare qualification, and the pipeline-development track record that the board measures. Ask the LCPO to name what a Chief-board-competitive AG1 looks like in this rating. The answer will shape every assignment decision between now and the board.
  • Post-Navy market research — building toward the civilian forecast career in parallel with the military career
    The AG2 with the AGW NEC, a clearance, and a verified forecast track record is positioned for the federal civilian forecast workforce (NOAA, NWS, DoD civilian METOC analyst positions) and the cleared defense contractor meteorological analyst community. NWS meteorologist GS-12 to GS-13 positions recruit from the military METOC community. DoD civilian METOC analyst positions at NAVMETOCCOM, JFCC-WX (Joint Functional Component Command for Weather), and the combatant command weather centers are accessible to AG veterans with the NEC and the operational track record. The AG2 who attends the AMS Annual Meeting, reads the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, and understands how the civilian forecast profession maps to the military METOC career is the AG2 who walks out of the Navy with a clear next step, not a resume conversion problem.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • METOC detachment or shore-based forecast element under NAVMETOCCOM with a dedicated training program
    The highest-forecaster-development environment in the rating for an AG2 who is deliberately building toward the Chief board and the AGW NEC community. The detachment with a working AGC who runs monthly product-quality reviews, weekly verification log checks, and a structured forecaster-under-instruction program is where the AG2's synoptic analysis skill and model-guidance assessment depth develop fastest. Larger section sizes mean more senior AGs to learn from, more diverse forecast challenges, and more structured access to the FNMOC product chain. The downside relative to shipboard: less deployment tempo visibility, lower sea pay, and the Chief board operational-intensity evidence base requires more deliberate documentation.
  • Ship's aerology division — DDG, CG, LPD, LHD, or LHA as working forecaster
    The AG2 on a deploying surface combatant is the senior working forecaster in a 3-5 person section with primary forecast responsibility for significant portions of the deployment when the AG1 is committed to the OIC brief or other senior responsibilities. Sea pay applies. The deployment tempo is high, the operational-consequence stakes of every forecast product are immediate and traceable, and the Chief board reads a deploying-warship forecast record differently than a shore-billet forecast record. The downside: structured forecaster training time competes with the watch bill, NWAE study time is a deliberate discipline challenge during deployment, and the verification log discipline requires active maintenance against the operational tempo.
  • Air wing weather office or naval air station weather support
    The preflight brief cadence drives every watch day at a volume and a feedback-loop speed that no other AG billet type replicates. The AG2 at an air wing weather office may deliver 15-20 preflight briefs per week during a carrier air wing working-up cycle. The aviation-safety culture is immediate — the pirep from the pilot who flew through the weather you briefed arrives within hours, the verification feedback is continuous, and the forecast skill development rate is correspondingly fast. The Chief board reads a large volume of high-accountability preflight briefs as strong evidence of operational-consequence forecasting. The NWAE study block requires deliberate protection against the brief tempo.
  • Fleet Weather Center or FNMOC-adjacent support element
    The AG2 at a fleet weather center or an FNMOC-adjacent billet sees the global model guidance product chain from initialization through dissemination in a way that the deckplate forecaster at a METOC detachment does not. The technical depth built here — model guidance quality assessment at the global scale, product distribution standards, forecast verification methodology — is distinctive on a Chief board packet and rare in the rating. The billet produces AG2s who understand why the model guidance says what it says, which makes them better working forecasters everywhere they go afterward. Less deployment tempo than shipboard; different operational-consequence profile than the air wing weather office.
  • Joint METOC support environment (joint task force or combatant command meteorological and oceanographic element)
    Joint METOC billets at the AG2 tier place the working forecaster in a joint command environment alongside Army and Air Force weather units, under joint doctrine that generally tracks NWP 1-03.1 at the fleet-support level. The joint METOC environment expands the AG2's operational doctrine understanding and the professional network beyond the Navy METOC community. The forecast product standards are consistent with the Navy training; the operational context is broader. The AG2 who does a joint tour and articulates the joint-weather-support experience coherently at the Chief board has a distinctive narrative compared to the AG who has only worked in Navy-homogeneous environments.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good AG2 is the forecaster the section officer trusts to hold the watch solo during a developing tropical situation or a significant sea-state departure from the forecast while the AG1 is in the OIC brief. When the tropical system makes an unexpected track change at 0300, the section officer does not call the AG1 out of the brief — she calls the AG2, who briefs the change in terms of what it means for the ship routing decision at 0600, when the confirmation threshold is, and what the contingency track looks like for the alternative corridor. The product is clear, the uncertainty is quantified, and the section officer leaves the conversation with what she needs to inform the captain's 0700 brief. His model verification log goes back six months in a binder the AG1 has seen. The pattern-type documentation in the log shows that the regional numerical model runs warm on the surface temperature field at the coastline during onshore flow events — which is why his coastal fog forecast is different from the raw model guidance every time that pattern sets up, and why his fog forecasts verify better than the model's across the deployment. The section officer knows this because the AG2 mentioned it at the last quarterly product review, with the verification statistics on a one-page summary that the METOC officer requested for the fleet weather services quarterly brief. His AG3s are qualifying ahead of schedule not because he signs lines generously but because he runs the certification standard three steps before he signs — demonstrate, supervised practice, post-supervision review. The AG3 whose preflight brief he certified last month can hold the brief window solo when the AG2 is on leave, and the OIC has noted it in the section officer's readiness brief without being prompted. His PMEL tickler has not surfaced a missed action in four months. The ship's routing officer knows his name because the sea-state forecast for the underway replenishment last deployment came in with the wave period right, the heading recommendation right, and the timing window right — and the routing officer mentioned it at the post-deployment brief. The LCPO is building the AG1 NWAE packet across the year, not in the last month, because the AG2 has been showing the BIB study log at section sync since month three of the tour. The eEVAL ranking is EP. The AGW NEC is on the blouse. The next tour is already selected — a METOC detachment with a dedicated forecaster-training program where the AG1 who runs the section has a reputation for developing working forecasters, because the AG2 did the research before the detailing conversation and had a first, second, and third choice with reasons for the ranking. The LCPO does not have to advocate for a slot the AG2 did not ask for.

Preview — The Next Rank

AG1 (E-6) is the LPO — the Leading Petty Officer of a METOC section, a ship's aerology division, or an air wing weather support element. The promotion math runs through the NWAE under the Navy Enlisted Advancement System, with the FMS combining exam, eEVALs, time-in-rate, awards, and education. The AG2 who walks into the AG1 NWAE cycle with a documented BIB study log, an EP or MP eEVAL ranking, the AGW NEC on the blouse, a clean billet record, and a warfare qualification appropriate to the platform has a real shot. The AG2 who phones the study log accepts the P ranking and the compounding FMS consequences that follow. The job content at AG1 expands from working forecaster to section lead in every meaningful dimension. You are LPO of 5-15 AGs — accountability, training plan, certification pipeline, instrument maintenance schedule, forecaster qualification tracking, eEVAL writing for AG2s and AG3s that picks the next NWAE advancement slate, and the section's piece of the OIC's readiness brief. You stand at the operations and METOC support planning sync as the senior enlisted weather voice. You build the next working forecaster. You mentor the next NEC pipeline, commissioning packet, or instructor-duty assignment. You enforce the forecast standard, the observation certification standard, and the instrument maintenance standard — in uniform, every day, while the section watches whether your forecast rigor matches your LPO posture. Making Chief is the defining career milestone in the AG rating. The Chief Petty Officer selection board (which replaces the NWAE for AGC) reads the full service record, the eEVAL profile built across the entire AG1 career, the NEC stack, the warfare qualifications, the awards, and the command endorsement. The LCPO defines the Chief board cadence. The AG1 who runs her section clean, mentors her bench into selectees, briefs her readiness numbers without rewriting, never misses a forecast debrief, and never has a PMEL action go overdue on her watch is the AG1 the Chief board names. The AG2 who understands this and starts building the packet at the AG2 tier arrives at the AG1 billet already building toward AGC. The AG2 who discovers the Chief board timeline at the AG1 pin-on is already 18 months behind.
FAQ

AG E5 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E5 AG (Aerographer's Mate) actually do?
You are the primary working forecaster in a METOC detachment, a ship's aerology division, or an air wing weather office — and you own the forecast product from synoptic analysis through product dissemination and the debrief.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E5 AG?
AG2 is the working forecaster.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E5 AG?
Time-blocked day at the E5 AG rank tier: 0500-0600 Wake up. Phone check — overnight section emergencies, weather watch or warning that fired from the automated system, any message from the duty AG3 about a sensor anomaly or missed sounding. None? Good. PT gear on, drive to the command gym or the section PT formation, 0600-0700 Command PT or section PT. At AG2 you may be leading the section PT block when the AG1 is on leave or on watch. Set the pace.…
Q04What mistakes get E5 AG soldiers fired or relieved?
Briefing a model-guidance solution as the forecast when the observed synoptic trend is clearly diverging from the model — and not flagging the divergence to the AG1 or the section officer. The ship routes into the heavier sea state the 48-hour prognosis showed as clearing; the aircraft launches into the icing level the model had 5,000 feet higher than the sounding indicated. The post-event review pulls the product with the AG2's name on the analysis.…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E5 AG rank tier?
AGW NEC consolidation versus exploring oceanography-support NEC paths within the NAVMETOCCOM enterprise — The AGW NEC is the primary working-forecaster identifier in the rating and the credential that opens the duty-forecaster billet assignments at METOC detachments, fleet weather support offices, and air wing weather elements. For AG2s who are tracking toward the forecast-center community within the NAVMETOCCOM enterprise — the FNMOC support billets, the Fleet Weather Center working forecaster billets — the AGW NEC is the essential credential.…
Q06What's next after E5 for a AG (Aerographer's Mate) in the Navy?
AG1 (E-6) is the LPO — the Leading Petty Officer of a METOC section, a ship's aerology division, or an air wing weather support element.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E5 AG need to know cold?
OPNAVINST 3140.1 — Aerology; fluent across the support requirements and forecast-product standards your billet is responsible for.; NWP 1-03.1 — Meteorological Support to Naval Operations; you brief doctrine-grounded products, not just model printouts.; WMO Technical Regulations, Volume I and the WMO Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8) — you certify observations against these, not from memory.

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