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ETE5

Electronics Technician

E-5 (Sergeant) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

You are the working senior ET — the rank where 'LPO' is what the ETSNs call you whether it is your title or not. The NWAE for ET1 drives the calendar and the eEVAL ranking against peer ET2s in the section is the lever you can most directly move. The Chief board is on the horizon beyond the ET1 slate — the LCPO already knows who he is grooming and you need to know whether that is you. If the warfare device is not pinned yet and the NEC is not awarded, both need to be in motion before the next evaluation cycle opens.

The Honest MOS Read
Electronics Technician Second Class (ET2, E-5) is the working senior petty officer of the rate — the rank where the section runs on your technical judgment and the ET3s under your supervision are a direct reflection of your training. The LPO title that informally attached to you in the last months of the ET3 tour is now real in most work centers: you run the section's maintenance plan, you defend the CSMP status to the division officer, you build the ET3 NEC pipeline, and you write the section's input to the readiness reports the combat systems officer briefs. The LCPO is watching whether you manage the section like a senior petty officer or like an ET3 with a higher paygrade. The technical role at ET2 is multi-system and multi-fault. The ET3 was sent to a specific assigned system with a specific symptom; the ET2 is the one the LPO calls when the fault does not fit the system boundary — when the surface search radar outage traces to a power supply that feeds three separate systems in two work centers, or when the navigation suite fault is actually a GPS antenna cable that implicates the electronics work center and the deck division simultaneously. The multi-system casualty restoration, the brief to the wardroom that addresses all implicated systems and gives a realistic repair timeline, is the ET2 technical standard. The troubleshoot that isolates to a single LRU and produces a clean CSMP entry is the ET3 standard. Know the difference and be performing to the right one. NEC-coded billets define the ET2 seat in ways that were not visible at ET3. NEC 1426 on a surface radar-heavy platform — AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-48E series — means you are the work center's primary technical authority on the radar systems and the combat systems officer routes radar readiness questions to you before the LPO. NEC 2879 on an Aegis DDG or CG means you are operating and maintaining the AN/SPY-1 and the combat direction system at the senior operator / junior maintainer level — a technical credential the defense market (Raytheon Missile & Defense, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin Aegis programs) specifically recognizes. NEC 2791 in a combat direction systems billet means your daily technical work is the most operationally integrated of the surface ET tracks, with the closest interface to the ship's combat team. Submarine ET2 is a category apart: the nuclear pipeline, SUBSAFE qualification program, and the Chief of the Boat culture make the ET2 sea billet on a submarine a distinct career experience from surface ship — the technical and qualification discipline is higher, the community is smaller, and the post-service nuclear power market is different in character from defense contracting. The NWAE for ET1 is the most important administrative task running simultaneously with the technical work. The FMS — Final Multiple Score — for the ET1 NWAE combines exam score, eEVALs, time-in-rate, awards, and education. At ET2, the eEVAL ranking against peer ET2s in the section and across the command is the lever most directly in your control — and it is built by section build-up and loading quality (in the ordnance community's language: the equivalent at ET is section CSMP closure rate), QA record, training plan execution, NEC pipeline mentoring, and zero integrity incidents. Pull the current BIB from MyNavyHR / NETC and build a study plan with weekly milestones before the cycle opens. The ET2 who walks into the ET1 cycle with a documented study log, an EP eEVAL ranking, and a clean CSMP record is the ET2 who closes the slate. The Chief board conversation is real now, even if it is two advancement cycles away. The LCPO who is grooming the next Chief is already watching the ET2s in the section with a specific assessment: technical performance, section leadership, personal conduct, family stability, financial health, and whether the eEVAL narrative builds toward a Chief-quality profile or stays at a generic maintenance-performer level. The ET2 who does not know where he stands in the LCPO's assessment is the ET2 who should be asking. The quarterly counseling conversation is the right forum; 'Am I on your Chief-board-competitive watch list and what am I missing?' is the right question. The LCPO who does not answer that question directly is telling you something.
Career Arc
  • 01ET2 check-in: NEC awarded or in final C-school pipeline, warfare device pinned or board scheduled, eEVAL ranking in the section established at first evaluation cycle with the LCPO's documented assessment.
  • 02Section LPO function running: CSMP status on section equipment briefable to the division officer without LPO intermediary, ET3 NWAE study logs reviewed at monthly counseling, NEC pipeline packet at least one ET3 in the queue.
  • 03NWAE for ET1: BIB study log documented, eEVAL ranking conversation with LCPO current, FMS tracked against the LCPO's best available estimate of the competitive score.
  • 04Warfare device — SW, SS, EXW, AW, FMF depending on platform — pinned and backed by an actual qualification board record the chief can cite when asked.
  • 05Navy COOL credentials that translate electronics and combat systems experience to the civilian and federal market: started or in progress, with the LCPO noting credential progress on the eEVAL input.
  • 06Chief board conversation started with the LCPO — not as an abstract future event but as a current assessment of the ET2's competitive position and specific gaps: eEVAL profile, command endorsement potential, warfare device currency, NEC pipeline output from the section.
Common Screwups
  • ×Letting an ET3 close a CSMP discrepancy as repaired without verifying system operability — and signing off on the closure because the section is busy. Your sign-off is the standard on a closed CSMP entry. When the division officer comes to you because the system failed the next operational check and the CSMP shows a recent closure with your name as approving petty officer, the answer 'I trusted the ET3's assessment' is not a defense — it is the confirmation that you did not verify. The ET2 who signs without verifying owns both the rework rate and the operational risk.
  • ×Going around the LCPO to the division officer or the combat systems officer on a section technical call or a personnel issue. The maintenance chain runs through the chief, and the goat locker hears about the shortcut the same day it happens. The LCPO who cannot trust the ET2 to route issues through the chain stops delegating the section readiness brief — and the ET2 who lost that delegation is visible at every evaluation cycle. Make the argument inside the chain; walk out aligned.
  • ×Accepting a verbal 'exception to PMS' from the division officer without getting it in writing in the 3-M coordinator's log. When the ISIC inspector asks why a quarterly PMS on the SPY-1 radar was deferred for four months, 'the division officer told me it was okay' with no written documentation is not a defense. The deferral authorization process exists for exactly this situation. Route it, document it, and do not close the week without a log entry that the coordinator can produce on demand.
  • ×Treating the warfare device qualification board as a box to check rather than a technical standard. The chief asks hard questions about the electronic systems you maintain and the operational environment you work in. The ET2 who walks into the board without real knowledge of what the device covers is the one who fails the board in the chief's assessment even if the formal record shows a pass — and the eEVAL bullet for a device earned by cramming two days before the board reads differently than one earned by systematic qualification.
  • ×Running a radar transmitter at full power during a maintenance evolution or a watchbill gap because the watch team wanted the picture back faster than the RADHAZ protocol allows. NSTM Chapter 320 and the applicable NAVSEAINST govern RADHAZ controls around antenna-near transmitter operations for a reason: the radio frequency exposure levels from a surface radar transmitter at operational power levels are an acute injury hazard. The RADHAZ deviation is a command-level safety incident regardless of whether anyone was injured. The ET2 section lead who authorized it owns the finding and the investigation.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0545Wake. If section lead in a duty rotation, check the overnight maintenance log and watch turnover notes for any system casualties that need ET2 attention before morning quarters. Pre-brief yourself on any CSMP entries opened overnight before the LPO asks the section's status at quarters.
  • 0545-0630Command PT or section PT. The ET2 section lead sets the PT standard for the ET3s and ETSNs under him — presence and performance, not watching from the quarterdeck.
  • 0630-0730Hygiene, chow, utilities. Pre-quarters: pull OMMS-NG section report, review CSMP status on all section systems, check parts-ordering pipeline for ETA updates, identify which MRCs are due today and which ET3 or ETSN is executing them.
  • 0730-0800Quarters. LPO puts out the plan of the day. As section lead, you have 60-90 seconds to brief the section's tasking: which systems are being maintained this morning, which training evolutions are running in the afternoon, any CSMP follow-up from overnight. Own the read-out — do not let the LPO brief the section for you.
  • 0800-1130Primary maintenance period. The ET2 section lead is on the bench for the complex casualty or the multi-system troubleshoot, running the TM fault-isolation tree and briefing the LPO or division officer with TM reference and diagnosis. Simultaneously: ET3 MRC executions verified before CSMP closure countersignature, ETSN PQS sign-off sessions run during natural gaps in the troubleshoot. Do not countersign a CSMP closure you did not verify.
  • 1130-1230Chow. Tool accountability check before leaving the space. The ET2's tool sub-account is the section's tool accountability; a missing tool from an ET3's kit is the ET2's accountability at the FOD check.
  • 1230-1430Section training block. ET3 NEC pipeline counseling session if scheduled — pull the current NAVADMIN before the session, have the NAVPERS 18068 catalog entry on the screen, and run the counseling from the source document. ETSN PQS line-item witnessing. NWAE study guidance for ET3s with the BIB section of the week identified.
  • 1430-1530ET1 NWAE study block. 40-45 minutes, BIB section for the week, logged. The ET2 section lead who builds this into the schedule five days a week arrives at the ET1 cycle with months of documented daily coverage. This is the daily investment the LCPO defends at the advancement worksheet review.
  • 1530-1600Documentation and verification block: CSMP closures reviewed, OMMS-NG completions logged, section training log updated, any eEVAL input bullet drafts started for the period. Parts-ordering pipeline checked — if a part is overdue, the supply petty officer gets a call now, not at the next week's review.
  • 1600-1630End of day. Section tool sub-account reconciled, tag-out log reviewed if any active tags, CSMP status updated, overnight watch turnover notes prepared if section systems have open discrepancies. LPO deck walk before release.
  • 1630-1800Liberty on most garrison days. Duty section rotation, WESTPAC surge, and pre-INSURV workup change this block significantly. Duty: senior electronics watch, back-stop ET3 casualty calls overnight, verify any after-hours maintenance actions are logged before the morning watch turnover.
  • 1800-2100Personal time. Navy COOL portal — current-cycle funding on the credentials that translate ET experience to the defense and federal civilian market. NWAE BIB continuation. If the Chief board conversation is live, the post-service market research that informs the re-enlistment math starts here.
  • 2100-2200ET3 touchpoints if anyone had an issue during the day — NEC direction questions, financial concerns, personal situations. The section lead's role in sailor welfare does not end at liberty call. Prep the next day's section maintenance plan if not already done.
  • WESTPAC / deployment surgeExtended hours, section lead operating without daily LCPO check-ins for the maintenance decisions, the CSMP entries, and the ET3 training. The CSMP closure rate, the system readiness, and the section's performance under surge is the visible test. The ET2 who holds the standard during deployment is the ET2 the LCPO names at the next Chief ranking conversation.

Weekly Cadence

The ET2 section lead's work week runs on the section maintenance cycle, the ET3 development cycle, and the NWAE preparation cycle simultaneously — and only the first of those three is visible on the plan-of-the-day. Monday is the heaviest planning day: OMMS-NG due-list pulled, section maintenance plan for the week drafted against the MRC due dates and the CSMP priority list, ET3 and ETSN training assignments confirmed, parts-ordering status checked for any ETAs that affect this week's maintenance plan. The LPO at Monday quarters expects the section lead to have the week's plan already drafted; the ET2 who arrives at quarters with a prepared section plan is the one the LPO trusts to run the section during his absence. Tuesday and Wednesday are the core production days. Complex troubleshoots run in the primary maintenance periods, ET3 MRC completions are verified before countersignature, ETSN PQS sessions run in the afternoon blocks, and the section's CSMP closure rate either demonstrates or undermines the ET2's claim to be running the section effectively. The ET2's most consequential action on Tuesday and Wednesday is the verification step before every CSMP closure — the safety check on the maintenance decision that the ET3 made and the ET2 countersigns. Skipping that verification for pace is how the section's rework rate climbs and how the ET2's name ends up on findings that started at the ET3 level. Thursday carries the administrative and NEC pipeline load. ET3 NEC counseling sessions are scheduled in the afternoon — career counselor is typically available for joint sessions on Thursday or Friday, and the ET2 section lead should be in the room for the counseling, not briefed second-hand. eEVAL input drafts for the current cycle are started Thursday if the evaluation window is approaching. Friday is the week-out wrap: CSMP status verified clean for the weekend, parts-ordering pipeline checked, tag-out log reviewed for any active tags, and the weekly counseling touchpoint with the LPO — section progress summary, ET3 development status, NWAE study log review. The ET2 who brings a prepared summary is the one the LCPO briefs as managing the section independently. Carrier workup, deployment surge, and INSURV preparation compress this rhythm into production-and-documentation-only cycles; the NWAE study block and the ET3 counseling compress into the off-shift and stand-down windows, but the CSMP verification discipline does not compress.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Troubleshoot a multi-system casualty — power supply failure feeding three systems, navigation suite fault tracing to a GPS antenna cable fault — using the TM fault-isolation tree and system knowledge, without calling the LPO for the first three steps.
    Multi-system casualties require a different diagnostic approach than single-system faults. Start by mapping which systems share the failed component or signal path — power distribution, cooling, data bus connections — before executing the isolation procedure on any one system. Build a rough fault tree on paper or a scratch pad: what could cause this symptom across all affected systems simultaneously? Then execute the TM isolation procedures in the order that reaches the highest-probability shared fault first. When the LPO is not available and the OOD needs a status, the answer should be: 'I have isolated the fault to the [component], it is shared across these three systems, and I need [specific authorization or resource] to continue.' That is the brief of an ET2 who owns the diagnostic; 'I am not sure what is wrong' is the brief of an ET3 who needs the LPO.
  2. 02
    Run a work-center PMS review: current CSMP status, deferred MRCs with reasons, parts on order, upcoming 3-M coordinator visit — presented to the division officer in a format the combat systems officer can brief without rewriting.
    The work-center PMS review is a weekly management task, not a monthly event. Maintain a current-status document that tracks each system's MRC schedule, deferred items with authorization dates and deferral reasons, open CSMP discrepancies with parts-ordering status and expected ETA, and any qualifications expiring in the next thirty days. Present it to the division officer in the format he will brief up: system name, status (green/amber/red), open items, bring-back date for each. The division officer who briefs the combat systems officer from your document without rewriting it is the division officer who trusts the ET2's section management. The one who rewrites it every week is not.
  3. 03
    Operate and maintain the Aegis combat system (SPY-1 radar, MK-7 weapon system, combat direction system) at the senior operator / junior maintainer level if on a CG or DDG.
    At ET2 on an Aegis combatant, 'I operate it' is the floor — the division officer and the combat systems officer expect you to be the work center's technical reference on SPY-1 system performance during operations, not just the person who executes MRCs on support equipment. Know the system's normal operating parameters, the performance indicators that signal a developing fault, and the watchbill casualty procedures that govern what happens when the SPY-1 degrades during an evolution. The SWOS/NAWS pipeline documentation defines the senior-operator standard; if you have not worked through the relevant sections, the NEC 2879 C-school did. Refresh it.
  4. 04
    Run a tag-out evolution on a circuit involving multiple connected systems — initiate, review, apply, clear — per the ship's ESWP and NSTM Chapter 300, with the tag-out log entry the safety petty officer reviews.
    Tag-out authority at ET2 means you initiate and review tag-out requests for the equipment your section maintains — not just follow a tag-out someone else set. The ESWP process requires identifying every energy source connected to the equipment, verifying each energy source is isolated before work begins, and documenting the isolation chain in the log. On a complex electronics system with multiple power feeds and data bus connections, this is a multi-step process that takes time. The ET2 who rushes the tag-out because the maintenance period is short is the one briefing the CO on the safety incident. Run it completely or do not run it.
  5. 05
    Mentor an ET3's NEC packet from idea to selection: 1426, 2791, 2879, submarine pipeline, or cross-rate — honest about school pipeline commitment and sea-tour implications.
    The honest NEC counseling session covers what the NEC brochure does not: the C-school location and length and what the duty station looks like after it, the operational tempo of the billet the NEC feeds, the family impact of each pipeline against the ET3's actual family situation. Pull the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN with the ET3 and read the source language together so the conversation is based on what the document actually says, not what you remember from your own cycle. Introduce the ET3 to at least one ET1 or ET2 who has completed the pipeline he is considering. The ET3 who gets pushed into the wrong NEC by an ET2 too busy to counsel honestly will be asking how to reclass in three years — and that reflects on the ET2 who ran the counseling.
  6. 06
    Write the 3-M / CSMP section of a department-level readiness message or SITREP input clean enough that the division officer does not have to rephrase it.
    Readiness message contributions from the section need to meet the format the division officer uses for the department-level brief: equipment name, current status, specific open items, parts-ordering status, estimated completion, and operational impact if the item is not resolved before the next underway. Practice the format by drafting the weekly section status report in the same language before the division officer asks for the SITREP contribution. The ET2 whose readiness contributions drop into the SITREP without editing is the ET2 the division officer identifies as ready for LPO responsibilities. The one whose contributions require the division officer to rewrite the technical language for the combat systems officer is the one whose eEVAL bullet cannot say 'manages the section's readiness reporting independently.'

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • NSTM Chapter 320 — Electronics and NSTM Chapter 300 — Electric Plant / ESWP
    At ET2 you are the section lead who defends the work center's maintenance posture to the division officer and the 3-M coordinator — which means you need to know which Chapter 320 section governs which maintenance action and which Chapter 300 ESWP provision applies to which tag-out situation without going to the index. When a CSMP discrepancy references an NSTM requirement, you should be able to locate the relevant section and read the governing language to the LPO or the division officer. The inspector cites these chapters; you cite them back.
  • NAVSEA system-specific TMs: AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-48E, AN/SPY-1 / Aegis Weapons System documentation (SWOS/NAWS pipeline), AN/UYK-series computer TMs, navigation suite TMs
    At ET2 you are the section's technical reference on the systems you maintain — the ET3s ask you the chapter before asking the TM. When the LPO sends the ET2 to the multi-system casualty, the TM knowledge has to be deep enough to run the fault-isolation tree mentally while walking to the space, and to explain to the ET3 why the procedure is structured the way it is when he asks. Know which TM covers which installed configuration for the systems in your work center; the engineering change status of your installed systems determines which TM version applies.
  • OPNAVINST 4790.4 — Ships 3-M Systems Procedures and the OMMS-NG platform user documentation
    At ET2, OPNAVINST 4790.4 is the document you are using to defend the section's PMS posture to the 3-M coordinator and the ISIC inspector — not as a summary you can paraphrase but as the specific chapters that govern the deferral process, the CSMP entry requirements, and the corrective action documentation standards you are applying. When the inspector cites a chapter in a finding, the ET2 section lead who can open the instruction and discuss the governing language is the one who can mount a substantive defense. The one who says 'I thought that was okay' is the one who adds the finding to the work center's record.
  • OPNAVINST 3430 series — Electronics / EW policy and applicable NAVSEAINST / NAVSEASYSCOM instructions for your combat systems suite
    The policy layer above the equipment TMs governs what is authorized for your work center and what requires external authorization or technical review. At ET2 section lead level, knowing which OPNAVINST governs the systems you brief to the division officer is the difference between a technically defensible brief and one that the combat systems officer questions at the department-head level. The RADHAZ controls in Chapter 320 are supplemented by NAVSEASYSCOM instructions for specific systems; know which instruction covers which platform.
  • NAVPERS 18068 Vol II + the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN for ET2-section mentoring and your own NEC pipeline
    You are mentoring ET3 NEC packets off the current cycle, not the previous cycle's institutional memory. Pull the current NAVADMIN before any NEC counseling session and read the source-language requirements for the NEC your ET3 is considering — source rate requirements, school pipeline, qualifying criteria — from the document itself, not from what you remember. Your own NEC pipeline progress should also be anchored in the current NAVADMIN; the NEC source-rating policy changes, and the ET2 who is quoting two-year-old guidance to the career counselor is working from stale information.
  • NWAE Bibliography for Advancement (BIB) for the ET1 cycle — current, from MyNavyHR / NETC
    Build a daily study plan from the BIB with documented weekly milestones — not a reading list, but a schedule with checkboxes the LCPO can review at the counseling session. The ET1 NWAE covers the rate technical content plus the professional military education content the BIB enumerates. At ET2, the PME content — Navy leadership doctrine, the chief's role, the senior petty officer's leadership responsibilities — is as important as the technical content for the exam score. The ET2 who has studied both the technical and the leadership BIB sections is the ET2 whose ET1 exam score reflects the full subject coverage.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • NWAE for ET1 prep documented on the LCPO's timeline; Enlisted Advancement Worksheet (EAW) clean and BIB study log defensible when the chief asks.
    The EAW is the document the LCPO uses to brief the section's advancement readiness; it should reflect accurate time-in-rate, current eEVAL ranking, accurate awards, and education credit. Review the EAW with the LCPO at the quarterly counseling session and correct any data errors before the cycle opens — not after the FMS calculation comes back with a discrepancy. The BIB study log should be a physical or digital document that shows date, section studied, and duration — not a mental record that the LCPO has to take on faith. The ET2 who can hand the LCPO a study log at any counseling session is the ET2 the LCPO can defend.
  • NEC awarded or in-pipeline (1426, 2791, 2879, submarine ET, or other current-cycle NEC) — the ET2 without a visible NEC pathway is the one the ranking board reads cautiously.
    The NEC awarded or in-pipeline is the credentialing evidence the ranking board reads as technical depth. The ET2 without an NEC pathway documented with the career counselor is the one who appears at the ET1 ranking as an uncredentialed technical worker — technically capable but without the formal credential the advanced billet pipeline requires. If the NEC C-school has been delayed by detailer management or operational scheduling, document the delay and the target cycle with the career counselor's endorsement. The ET2 who can show a documented pipeline intent — not just 'I am interested in 2879' but 'the packet is submitted for cycle X per the current NAVADMIN' — is the ET2 the ranking board reads as having direction.
  • PRT Good High or better; BCA in standard; warfare device pinned where the billet allows.
    Good High at E-5 is the standard the section lead carries because the ET3s read the physical fitness standard of the work center from the ET2's performance, not from the instruction. Build three run days and two strength days as a baseline and treat the PRT as a test of training, not a 48-hour event. The warfare device qualification board should be a preparation event, not a surprise — walk in knowing the material, knowing the systems, and knowing the command's operational employment because the chief who runs the board will ask questions that a two-day cram does not cover. The ET2 with a pinned warfare device and a current physical record is the one the eEVAL bullet writes specifically.
  • Work-center PMS completion rate defensible at department-head level every cycle — the section's numbers in the monthly 3-M report brief without caveats.
    The monthly 3-M report is a public document at the department-head level; the section's completion rate and deferred MRC count appear in it with your section as the organizing unit. The ET2 section lead who tracks the section's PMS schedule weekly — not the day before the report is due — is the one whose numbers are accurate when the department head sees them. The ET2 who finds out at the monthly report that three MRCs were deferred without proper documentation is the one explaining to the division officer why the section's numbers need corrections. Track it weekly; own the corrections before they become findings.
  • eEVAL trait average and ranking that supports EP or MP recommendation; LCPO knows your number before the evaluation drafting window.
    The eEVAL ranking is a cumulative record built across the evaluation period, not a score assigned at the end. Have the quarterly counseling conversation with the LCPO about your ranking relative to peer ET2s in the section — not to lobby for a higher ranking, but to understand where the gaps are and what the LCPO is measuring. The ET2 who arrives at the evaluation drafting window knowing his ranking — and whose LCPO can defend it against specific accomplishments — is the ET2 who gets the EP recommendation. The one who is surprised by the ranking was not having the counseling conversation.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Letting an ET3 close a CSMP discrepancy as repaired without verifying system operability — and countersigning the closure.
    The ET2's countersignature on a CSMP closure is the statement that the system is operationally functional per the post-repair operability procedure. When the division officer comes to the ET2 because the system failed the next operational check and the CSMP shows a recent closure with the ET2's name as approving senior petty officer, 'I trusted the ET3' is the confirmation that the ET2 did not perform the verification the countersignature represents. The rework finding goes on the section's record under the ET2's name; if the system failure had operational consequences during the gap period, the investigation starts with the CSMP closure and the question of who authorized it and on what basis.
  • Accepting a verbal 'exception to PMS' from the division officer without written documentation in the 3-M coordinator's log.
    The ISIC inspector reads the deferral log, not verbal descriptions of what the division officer said six months ago. The ET2 section lead who accepted a verbal deferral authorization and did not document it in OMMS-NG with the LPO's signature will be explaining the undocumented deferral to the inspector, the 3-M coordinator, and the department head — simultaneously. The deferral authorization process under OPNAVINST 4790.4 is specific; 'the division officer said it was okay' without a written record is an undocumented deviation regardless of what was actually said.
  • Running a radar transmitter at full power during a maintenance evolution because the watch team wanted the picture back faster than the RADHAZ protocol allows.
    RADHAZ controls in NSTM Chapter 320 and the applicable NAVSEASYSCOM instructions govern transmitter operation during maintenance periods for a specific reason: the radio frequency energy levels near an operating surface radar antenna are a documented acute injury hazard. A RADHAZ violation during a maintenance evolution is a command-level safety incident that the safety officer investigates and the CO reviews. The ET2 who authorized the transmitter operation outside the RADHAZ protocol owns the finding — and if personnel were in the RADHAZ zone during the operation, owns the investigation.
  • Treating the warfare device qualification board as a box to check — walking in with surface-level preparation.
    The chief who runs the warfare device board at a real command is asking questions about the ship's combat systems, the operational environment, the sensor architecture, and the ET2's specific technical responsibilities in the work center — not the questions on the PQS checklist study guide. The ET2 who walks in having crammed the checklist items but not having thought through the operational questions will pass the formal board and fail the chief's assessment of whether the device is earned. The eEVAL bullet for a device earned through two-day cramming reads differently in the LCPO's mind than one earned through six months of systematic qualification, and the difference shows in how the LCPO writes it.
  • Going around the LCPO to the division officer or the combat systems officer on a section technical decision or a personnel matter.
    The maintenance chain at ET2 runs through the chief; the goat locker tracks when a petty officer routes around it. The AO1 and LCPO equivalents in the electronics world hear about the shortcut the same day it happens — sometimes from the division officer himself, who routes the ET2's side conversation back through the LCPO before the ET2 returns to the work center. The LCPO who cannot trust the ET2 to route issues through the chain stops delegating the section readiness brief and the NEC pipeline management — and the ET2 who lost that delegation is visible at every ranking cycle. Walk in with the disagreement; walk out aligned.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Re-enlistment and second-term contract — zone B SRB math versus EAS into the civilian and defense market
    The ET2 re-enlistment window opens in the 12-24 months before contract end. The honest analysis at this rank: the NEC-coded ET2 with a warfare device and Navy COOL credentials documenting electronics system experience is presenting to the defense and federal civilian market as a verified electronics professional — not just a military title. The specific market value depends on the NEC: NEC 2879 Aegis system experience is sought by defense primes (Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman) and by NAVSEASYSCOM program office GS billets; NEC 1426 and 2791 experience is valued at Fleet Technical Support Centers and surface warfare engineering centers. The re-enlistment math: current base pay plus housing allowance plus SRB (pull the current NAVADMIN before any number is real) versus the specific defense or federal civilian offer you have with your NEC and clearance credentials — not a hypothetical civilian salary. The ET2 who re-enlists to reach ET1 and Chief while the credential stack is building is running a different calculation than the one who re-enlists to solve a short-term money problem. Run the actual math against an actual offer.
  • Advanced NEC pipeline — deepen the current NEC or pivot to a cross-platform NEC for the next tour
    At ET2, the NEC you earned defines which advanced billets open for the next tour. Some NEC-coded ET2 billet pathways rotate through operational or combat systems positions that build the eEVAL narrative the ET1 and Chief board reads as operational credibility; others move toward the technical-depth or supervisory billets that translate to the defense and federal civilian electronics and combat systems market. The ET2 who has an Aegis NEC (2879) and is considering whether to deepen in the Aegis pipeline or cross-track to a combat systems staff or training command billet is making a choice that shapes the post-service market value in a specific direction. Pull the current NEC NAVADMIN, talk to ET1s in both billet types, and make the decision before the detailer makes it for you.
  • LDO (Limited Duty Officer) or CWO (Chief Warrant Officer) electronics track — the ET2 window
    The ET2 with sufficient time-in-service, a competitive NEC, an EP eEVAL record, a warfare device, and command endorsement is in or approaching the viable window for an LDO or CWO electronics track application. LDO commissions into the officer corps with a technical specialization in electronics; CWO is the warrant officer path into the electronics technical-authority track. Both require a strong enlisted record, command endorsement, and competitive performance at the officer selection board. The honest test for the ET2: do you want a technical-authority career as an officer in the electronics community, or do you want the deckplate-to-Chief leadership track? Talk to LDOs and CWOs in the ET community about what the board reviewed in their packages — the MILPERSMAN articles governing LDO and CWO selection are the starting point for understanding the formal requirements, but the operational reality of the path is what the conversation with working LDOs provides. The ET2 who packages before building the competitive record wastes a selection window; the ET2 who waits until ET1 loses advancement cycles.
  • Operational embedded billet versus technical-depth shore or staff tour
    The ET2's next billet decision is between operational embedded assignments — fleet squadron, carrier strike group electronics position, forward detachment as the senior ET — and technical-depth assignments — FTSC detachment, NAVSEASYSCOM program office, type wing staff, or training command. Operational embedded billets build the eEVAL narrative the ET1 and Chief board reads as operational credibility — the ET2 who was the senior ET on a WESTPAC deployment and owned the combat systems readiness brief for six months is presenting a different record than the ET2 who spent the same period at a shore command. Technical-depth billets build the NEC expertise and the documented system knowledge the post-service defense market values. The ET2 who sequences one operational and one technical-depth tour before ET1 presents the strongest combined narrative. Talk to the detailer and the LCPO in the same week; the billet the detailer offers and the one the LCPO recommends are sometimes different for the same reason.
  • Navy COOL credentials — which to complete before ET1 pin-on and which to target by EAS
    The credential sequencing at ET2 matters for the civilian market value at separation in a way the ET3 did not fully see. The credentials that translate electronics, combat systems, and radar experience are funded by Navy COOL and recognized in the defense and federal civilian market. Identify through the COOL portal which credentials your rate and NEC path support — electronics technician certifications, radar systems credentials, network and cybersecurity credentials depending on the NEC — and sequence the fastest-to-complete and most employer-visible ones first. Start the documentation of your hands-on electronics and combat systems experience with the command's support while you are still in — the service record and the command's maintenance and qualification logs are accessible now and harder to reconstruct after EAS. The ET2 who separates with a credential stack, a clearance, and a documented experience portfolio is competing in the defense electronics market at a meaningfully different level than the one who separates with the military title only.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Aegis DDG / CG (NEC 2879 billet, SPY-1 and combat direction system)
    The ET2 at an Aegis combatant is operating in the highest technical-scrutiny environment in the surface ET rate. The SPY-1 radar and the MK-7 combat direction system are the most complex electronics suites in the surface fleet, and the INSURV and ISIC inspection standard reflects the system complexity. The section lead on an Aegis combatant is the work center's technical authority for the combat system's most operationally critical electronics — the division officer routes SPY-1 system questions to the ET2 section lead during operations, not just during maintenance periods. The post-service value of NEC 2879 experience on an Aegis combatant is recognized specifically by the defense primes who build and maintain the system, and a WESTPAC deployment as the Aegis ET2 section lead is a credential that the FTSC and NAVSEASYSCOM program office billet pipeline reads as operational validation.
  • Non-Aegis surface combatant (LHA/LHD/LPD, AN/SPS-67 and AN/SPS-48E baseline)
    The ET2 section lead on a non-Aegis surface ship maintains a broader but less concentrated electronics baseline — surface search radar, air search radar, navigation suite, interior communications, electronic warfare support equipment. The NEC 1426 and 2791 pipelines are more typical than 2879. The inspection standard is high but the system complexity per NEC is lower than the Aegis track. The breadth of system types the ET2 is responsible for is an advantage in building versatile electronics fault-isolation skills; the NEC depth of the Aegis track is not achievable on a non-Aegis hull without deliberate C-school pipeline action.
  • Submarine (nuclear-pipeline, SUBSAFE, Chief of the Boat culture)
    The ET2 on a submarine went through Nuclear Power School and BESS before the first sea assignment and is operating in a qualification culture that is more demanding and more formalized than surface ship equivalents. The SUBSAFE program's documentation and certification requirements are a different discipline from surface 3-M. The Chief of the Boat visibility on a submarine is direct — the COB knows every senior petty officer's performance, conduct, and personal situation on a small crew. The post-service market for submarine-pipeline ETs (nuclear power industry, federal nuclear program positions, submarine warfare center civilian roles) is distinct from the surface ET defense contracting market and commands a premium.
  • FTSC / Fleet Technical Support Center detachment
    The ET2 at an FTSC detachment is in a depot-maintenance and technical-advisory environment — working on systems that are in a maintenance or upgrade state rather than an operational ship configuration, and advising fleet commands on technical issues across multiple ship classes. The technical breadth at FTSC is high; the operational experience does not accrue in the same way. The ET2 who does an FTSC tour develops system knowledge across multiple hull configurations and NEC families that the fleet assignment does not provide, but returns to a fleet assignment needing to rebuild the watchbill qualification and operational experience picture before the ET1 eEVAL narrative reads as operationally credible.
  • Forward deployed unit (FDNF — Japan, Rota, Bahrain)
    Forward deployed ET2 billets — on DDGs homeported at Yokosuka or Rota, for example — carry a higher operational tempo, more sustained underway time, and more frequent real-world electronics system operations than homeport-based fleet assignments. The CSMP and readiness maintenance in a sustained-deployment environment is what builds the ET2's independent section lead skills fastest. The family situation at a forward deployed location is a real consideration; the FFSC at the forward base provides support, but geographic separation from family support networks is real and the ET2 needs to be honest with himself about the family situation before accepting a forward deployment billet.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good ET2 is the petty officer the LCPO names when the combat systems officer asks who is running the electronic warfare spaces during the port visit — not as the senior person available, but as the section lead who knows the material condition of every system in the space, has a current CSMP status brief ready without being asked, and whose ET3s are performing to the section standard rather than to the ET2's daily supervision. The combat systems officer knows this ET2's name because the readiness contributions that come from his section do not require rewriting before the brief. His work center's CSMP is at the bottom of the section's deferred-items count, his PMS completion rate is defensible at department-head level without caveats, and the ET3 he has been mentoring for the past six months submitted an NEC packet this cycle that the career counselor endorsed without changes. The LCPO knows the packet went in because the ET2 briefed him at the monthly counseling session — not because the career counselor mentioned it in passing. His eEVAL ranking conversation with the LCPO happened at the quarterly touchpoint, not at the evaluation drafting window. He knows his number. His Navy COOL credentials are in progress and the LCPO noted the credentialing work in the current eEVAL cycle as a specific accomplishment rather than a generic developmental indicator. His NWAE BIB study log is a physical document on the LCPO's table with dated entries — 40 minutes daily, section by section, for the past three months — and the LCPO at the advancement worksheet review can brief the ET2's ET1 readiness with a paper record behind it. The ET1 slate that follows is not a surprise to anyone in the goat locker.

Preview — The Next Rank

ET1 (E-6) is the LPO — the shift from the section lead who runs the work center's maintenance cycle to the leader who owns whether the whole division does it to standard. As ET1 you run a combat systems or electronics division LPO billet on a surface combatant, the senior ET on a smaller platform, the senior electronics position at a shore technical command or FTSC detachment, or the lead ET at a type wing or NAVSEASYSCOM program office. You write four-to-six eEVALs per cycle that shape the next ET2 and ET3 advancement slates. You build the division PMS training plan, defend the work-center readiness brief to the combat systems officer, manage the CSMP and high-value parts-ordering pipeline at LPO level, and mentor at least one ET per year into an NEC pipeline, a commissioning program, or an LDO/CWO packet. The Chief board packet conversation stops being a future event and becomes a current administrative action. The Chief board is the most significant milestone on the horizon at ET1, and the package is built across the ET1 tour — not the week before submission. The eEVAL profile the LCPO builds around the ET1's section performance, NEC pipeline output, commissioning program production, and conduct record is the Chief board package. The ET1 who understands this at the ET2 level builds the right habits at ET2: section training plan documentation that reads as leadership, CSMP posture that reads as ownership, ET3 development that reads as investment in the rate. The Chief board packet is built from behaviors, not from summary statements. What you cannot fully see from ET2 is how much of the ET1 job is the standard the entire division reads off your conduct — not the maintenance standard, but the professional standard. How the LPO handles a difficult counseling, how the LPO responds to the combat systems officer's urgent request at 0200, how the LPO holds the ESWP line when the watch team is impatient — the division is watching all of it. The ET2 who is already running those situations cleanly — routing issues through the chain, verifying before countersigning, holding the procedural line under schedule pressure — is the ET2 who transitions to ET1 without a culture shock. The one who was skipping steps and working around the chain at ET2 will find the ET1 seat hard in a way the technical work never was.
FAQ

ET E5 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E5 ET (Electronics Technician) actually do?
You run a section or a watch team — CIC supervisor, electronic warfare watch section lead, combat systems maintenance bench supervisor on a surface combatant, or the senior ET in the navigation/combat systems division on a smaller platform where you are the senior enlisted technical voice on shift.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E5 ET?
You are the working senior ET — the rank where 'LPO' is what the ETSNs call you whether it is your title or not.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E5 ET?
Time-blocked day at the E5 ET rank tier: 0500-0545 Wake. If section lead in a duty rotation, check the overnight maintenance log and watch turnover notes for any system casualties that need ET2 attention before morning quarters. Pre-brief yourself on any CSMP entries opened overnight before the LPO asks the section's status at quarters, 0545-0630 Command PT or section PT. The ET2 section lead sets the PT standard for the ET3s and ETSNs under him — presence and performance, not watching from the quarterdeck, 0630-0730 Hygiene, chow, utilities. Pre-quarters: pull OMMS-NG section report,…
Q04What mistakes get E5 ET soldiers fired or relieved?
Letting an ET3 close a CSMP discrepancy as repaired without verifying system operability — and signing off on the closure because the section is busy. Your sign-off is the standard on a closed CSMP entry. When the division officer comes to you because the system failed the next operational check and the CSMP shows a recent closure with your name as approving petty officer, the answer 'I trusted the ET3's assessment' is not a defense — it is the confirmation that you did not verify.…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E5 ET rank tier?
Re-enlistment and second-term contract — zone B SRB math versus EAS into the civilian and defense market — The ET2 re-enlistment window opens in the 12-24 months before contract end. The honest analysis at this rank: the NEC-coded ET2 with a warfare device and Navy COOL credentials documenting electronics system experience is presenting to the defense and federal civilian market as a verified electronics professional — not just a military title. The specific market value depends on the NEC: NEC 2879 Aegis system experience is sought by defense primes (Raytheon, Lockheed Martin,…
Q06What's next after E5 for a ET (Electronics Technician) in the Navy?
ET1 (E-6) is the LPO — the shift from the section lead who runs the work center's maintenance cycle to the leader who owns whether the whole division does it to standard.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E5 ET need to know cold?
NSTM Chapter 320 (Electronics), Chapter 300 (Electric Plant / ESWP) — the technical governance you quote on every casualty and every tag-out.; NAVSEA system-specific TMs for the equipment you maintain: AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-48E, AN/SPY-1 / Aegis Weapons System documentation (SWOS/NAWS pipeline docs), AN/UYK-series computer TMs, navigation suite TMs.; OPNAVINST 4790.4 — Ships 3-M Systems Procedures (you are now the person defending the work center's 3-M posture to the ISIC coordinator).

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