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STGE5

Sonar Technician (Surface)

E-5 (Sergeant) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

STG2 is the working senior STG on the maintenance bench and in the sonar module. The Chief board is not a conversation for later — your eEVAL ranking against peer STG2s starts mattering now. The NEC you hold defines your section, your billet options, and the technical authority the LCPO assigns you. Pull the current source-rating NAVADMIN before you mentor a STG3 on any specific NEC pipeline.

The Honest MOS Read
Petty Officer Second Class. The crow changed what you owed the sonar division; the second stripe changes what the sonar division owes you in return — and what it expects from you first. You run a section of the sonar division's maintenance: hull sonar work center, towed array electronics and handling section, AN/UYS-2 EMSP signal processing cell, or the sonobuoy receiver and display suite, depending on the ship and the NEC coded into your billet. You are the senior technician who either owns the fault diagnosis or reviews the STG3's work before it goes to QA. You are not the assistant; you are the standard. On a DDG in the middle of a deployment workup, that looks like this: the sonar supervisor reports an AN/SQS-53C transmitter power degradation at 0600 on the day of a scheduled ASW tracking exercise. The exercise starts at 0900. You open the applicable NAVSEA technical manual fault-isolation procedure, work through the diagnostic sequence on the transmitter group, isolate the fault to a specific assembly, determine whether a corrective action is within your work center's maintenance authorization level or requires NAVSEA Tech Assist, write the 3-M entry, determine the impact on active sonar transmit power, brief the sonar supervisor with a clear status — system at degraded power, ASW exercise performance will be affected in this specific way, repair timeline is this — and let the ASW Officer make the call. The ASW Officer is not briefing a broken sonar; he is briefing a problem with a scope and a timeline and a recommendation from the STG2 who owns the system. The STG2 who gives him 'we are working on it' at 0800 is the STG2 whose section the Weapons Officer watches for the rest of the deployment. The training function at STG2 is not optional. You have two to four STG3s and STGSNs in your section. Their PQS pace, their NWAE study plans, their NEC counseling conversations, and their section performance metrics are partly your responsibility. The LCPO will hold you accountable for the section's output — not just your own maintenance documentation and watch-standing performance, but the section's collective readiness. The STG3 in your section whose PQS is stalled at 60% is a conversation you have with the STG3 every week, not a problem you hand upward. The Chief packet conversation is the subtext of every eEVAL cycle at STG2. The LCPO is ranking you against every other STG2 in the division, and that ranking feeds the EVAL the department head signs and the CO endorses. The STG2 with an EP (Exceptional Performer) block and a high ranking is the STG2 the Chief board reads; the one with an MP (Must Promote) and a mid-pack ranking is the STG2 who extends the timeline. Work the section. Build the STG3s. Document the maintenance clean. Brief the sonar supervisor correctly. Those are the observable behaviors the LCPO is ranking.
Career Arc
  • 01Pin STG2 — NEC now defines the section and the billet, not just the paperwork.
  • 02Own a complex sonar system fault from write-up through corrective action — brief the result to the ASW Officer at department head visibility.
  • 03Run a section training plan that keeps STG3s progressing on PQS, NWAE study, and watch qualification without the LCPO tracking every milestone.
  • 04NWAE for STG1 prep on the LCPO's study-plan timeline — current BIB, documented study log.
  • 05NEC awarded or in-pipeline — the STG2 without a clear NEC track is visible at the next ranking board.
  • 06Chief Petty Officer application packet construction begins — eEVAL profile, warfare qualifications, advanced NEC, awards record all building in parallel.
  • 07Surface Warfare (SW) device pinned; Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) certified and current; eEVAL ranking the LCPO can defend at department head level.
Common Screwups
  • ×Rubber-stamping STG3 maintenance documentation without actually reading it. Your initials are the standard; if QA finds the error on a closed MRC that you signed, the ISIC ASW assessment finding is under your work center's name and the STG2 who reviewed it is the first name the supervisor identifies.
  • ×Chasing a sonar fault with component replacement instead of procedure. An intermittent AN/SQS-53C transmitter degradation that keeps returning because the fault isolation was abbreviated wastes the supply system, generates a negative trend in the combat systems readiness brief, and marks the STG2 as a technician who improvises rather than diagnoses.
  • ×Letting calibration slip on test equipment because the ship is deployed and the depot turnaround is slow. Out-of-calibration test sets corrupt every measurement taken since the last valid calibration date — the ISIC maintenance assessment flags it under your work center's name.
  • ×Going around the LCPO to the ASW Officer or Weapons Officer on a technical or personnel issue. The combat systems chain runs through the chief; the command master chief hears about it by end of watch, and the next Chief slate is read against the pattern.
  • ×NJP / DUI / financial mismanagement / fraternization — any of these close the Chief board permanently at STG2. The pattern does not recover. The Chief board reads the record, not the explanation.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0545Reveille. At sea: watchbill check — are you in the sonar supervisor watch rotation today? What is the section's maintenance schedule? Anything deferred from yesterday that the work center supervisor needs to know before quarters?
  • 0545-0645Command PT or sonar division PT on the flight deck or ship's gym. STG2s run with the division. The LCPO watches who is leading the division's PT cadence and who is falling back.
  • 0645-0745Hygiene, breakfast, uniform. Pre-watch brief prep if you are sonar supervisor in the first watch rotation — contact history, environmental picture, any system anomalies from overnight.
  • 0745-0800Quarters. The LCPO puts out the plan of the day; you have already read the plan of the week. MRC assignments for the section confirmed; any changes to the watch rotation communicated to the STG3s.
  • 0800-1130Maintenance execution and section management. Running your own assigned MRCs, reviewing STG3 entries before they go to the work center supervisor, managing calibration due-dates, running PQS sign-offs for the STG3s in your section. If the ship is underway in an ASW exercise, you are in the sonar module as sonar supervisor for your rotation.
  • 1130-1230Lunch. STG2s eat in the mess deck — you are not in the chief's mess yet. Section debrief if there was a morning ASW evolution; the STG3s need to hear what the sonar supervisor assessed about their contact classifications.
  • 1230-1500Afternoon maintenance continuation, section training, or NEC counseling with an STG3. One afternoon per week, the STG2 runs the divisional technical training — system familiarization, fault-isolation exercise, or acoustic classification review depending on the LCPO's training plan.
  • 1500-1600NWAE study or Chief packet construction work — eEVAL draft, award package if pending, warfare qualification PQS items. The LCPO who sees an STG2 doing this work during study period is the LCPO who defends the 'mission accomplishment' bullet on the EVAL.
  • 1600-1630End-of-day closeout with the work center supervisor. Section status: MRC completion, deferred maintenance, any system anomalies from the day's maintenance, STG3 PQS progress updates.
  • 1630-2200Released if not on watch. Gym, berthing, study, NWAE prep. The STG2 who goes to the gym three days a week and keeps the PRT score in Good High range is the STG2 whose eEVAL narrative does not have to explain a fitness event.
  • Sonar supervisor watch rotation (underway)0600 pre-watch brief from the outgoing watch — contact history, environmental picture, any system anomalies. Console supervision in the sonar module for your section's rotation. Post-watch: 3-M maintenance log update, brief the incoming sonar supervisor on the picture and any system status changes. ASW coordinator sync before the watch ends. Sleep in the berthing during the off-watch cycle.

Weekly Cadence

The STG2 week runs on two parallel tracks: the section's maintenance and training schedule, and the STG2's own advancement and Chief packet construction work. Monday maintenance sync with the work center supervisor sets the week's priorities; Tuesday through Thursday are execution — MRC completion, STG3 training, watch rotations. Thursday is typically the day the LCPO runs divisional training; the STG2 sometimes runs this block depending on the topic. Friday is plan-of-the-week-out and the quarterly section review cadence, where the LCPO reviews maintenance metrics, PQS progress across the section, and NWAE study status. During COMPTUEX and deployment workup cycles, the maintenance schedule becomes reactive to exercise casualties and system-readiness requirements. The STG2 is in the sonar module or the equipment room more than in garrison; the section training happens during the watch-rest cycle and in port calls. The Chief packet construction work — eEVAL input, award packages, warfare qualification PQS items — has to happen during port calls and the garrison windows between exercise cycles. The NEC counseling for STG3s happens during port calls, not during the compressed workup calendar. Block the time at the start of the deployment cycle and protect it. The STG3 who missed the NEC counseling window because the workup schedule was busy is the STG3 who gets whatever billet the ship needs filled.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Own a complex sonar system fault from write-up through fault isolation through corrective action on the AN/SQS-53C hull sonar, AN/SQR-19 towed array, or AN/UYS-2 EMSP — with the system back in readiness status and the 3-M documentation closing clean before the next exercise.
    The diagnostic sequence at STG2 is not the junior technician's 'follow the procedure' — it is applied understanding. When the fault-isolation procedure says 'replace the assembly' and you have done this three times with the same fault returning, the STG2 who knows the system calls the NAVSEA Technical Assist line before ordering a fourth assembly. The fault isolation procedure is the floor, not the ceiling. Document every step in the 3-M system with enough specificity that the work center supervisor can reconstruct the diagnostic chain without asking you — because at INSURV or Type Commander assessment, you may not be the one explaining it.
  2. 02
    Run a section training plan that keeps STG3s progressing on PQS, NWAE study, and sonar watch qualification without requiring the LCPO to supervise every milestone.
    Build the training plan at the start of each underway or exercise cycle: what PQS items does each STG3 need to complete this cycle, who are the qualified signers, what is the NWAE study deadline, and what is the watch qualification gap. Check in on each STG3's progress weekly — not monthly. The STG3 who is behind pace at the midpoint of the cycle is correctable; the one who is behind at the end of the cycle is a counseling worksheet the LCPO has to write. Your section's output is your metric at the LCPO's quarterly review.
  3. 03
    Review STG3 maintenance documentation before QA sees it — catch the incorrect MRC step, the missing corrective-action reference, the vague discrepancy description.
    Build a physical review habit: when an STG3 brings you a closed entry to initial, stop what you are doing and read it. Every field. The corrective action matches the fault description. The MRC reference is the correct revision. The job sequence number is right. The date is accurate. The consequences are spelled out for you in the OPNAVINST 4790.4 provisions — a sloppy entry that reaches QA is an audit finding under your work center's name. The STG3 whose entries come back clean from QA is the STG3 you promoted; the one whose entries keep going back gets a different conversation.
  4. 04
    Stand a qualified sonar supervisor or senior sonar watch and operate the AN/SQQ-89(V) ASW picture at the speed the ASW watchteam coordinator expects — coordinating with LAMPS air crew, CIC, and the TAO during a real ASW exercise.
    At STG2 on sonar supervisor watch, you are no longer the person calling individual contacts — you are the person managing the watchteam's collective acoustic picture and ensuring the TAO's picture is accurate. That means you are watching the STG3 console operators' classification calls for accuracy, updating the track picture in real time, and coordinating with the LAMPS MH-60R crew's sonobuoy field position via the ship's ASW tactical data link. The sonar supervisor who has to be prompted by the ASW coordinator for a status update is the sonar supervisor who gets relieved on watch. You should always be ahead of the question.
  5. 05
    Brief a sonar system discrepancy to the ASW Officer, Weapons Officer, or Combat Systems Officer in terms the wardroom understands — what the system was doing, what the fault indicates, what the fix timeline is, and what the degraded-mode ASW capability impact is.
    The brief has four elements: what happened, what it means for ASW capability (specific degradation — reduced active range, passive processing throughput down, towed array offline), what the repair plan is and when the system will be back in full readiness, and what workaround is available in the interim. Do not walk into the wardroom with 'we are still troubleshooting.' Walk in with a clear status. If you do not have a clear status, tell the LCPO that — he will either give you more time or brief the wardroom himself. The STG2 who briefs the wardroom confidently and correctly is the STG2 the department head trusts with the next senior watch billet.
  6. 06
    Mentor an STG3's NEC and C-school packet from idea to selection — and be honest about which NEC pipelines actually open billets versus the ones that sound good.
    Pull NAVPERS 18068 Vol II and the current source-rating NAVADMIN before you advise an STG3 on any specific NEC. The pipeline that was open two cycles ago may be full now; the pipeline the STG3 wants based on what a senior sailor told him may not match the billet structure the ship needs filled. Honest career counseling at the STG2 level means telling the STG3 that his preference is noted and that the LCPO will advocate for it, but that the NEC quota system does not guarantee the first-choice assignment. The STG2 who gives an STG3 unrealistic expectations on an NEC pipeline and the sailor gets a different assignment is the STG2 the STG3 does not trust going into the STG2 advancement cycle.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • OPNAVINST 4790.4 series — Ships' 3-M Systems Procedures Manual
    At STG2 you own the QA provisions for your section, not just the maintenance steps. Read the sections governing maintenance authorization levels, QA documentation standards, safety-of-ship write-up requirements, and ISIC assessment reporting. The work center supervisor holds you to these provisions at the quarterly review; know them ahead of the conversation.
  • NAVSEA technical manuals for your ship's AN/SQQ-89(V) components — hull sonar, towed array, EMSP, display system
    At STG2 you own the technical content, not just the procedure your STG3 follows. The applicable fault-isolation sections and theory of operations chapters are the basis for the diagnostic discipline that separates the STG2 who resolves a recurrent fault from the one who keeps replacing assemblies. Your LCPO will assign the volumes governing your work center — read them, not just the MRCs.
  • NWP 3-21 series — Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare doctrine
    At sonar supervisor level you are expected to brief the tactical ASW implications of a system casualty, not just the maintenance status. Understanding the tactical framework — detection geometry, prosecution procedure, the relationship between active sonar performance and the environmental sound velocity profile — is what separates the sonar supervisor who briefs 'transmitter power is degraded 20%' from the one who briefs what that means for the ship's detection range envelope during the upcoming exercise.
  • NAVPERS 18068 Vol II plus the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN
    You are mentoring STG3 NEC packets at this paygrade. Pull the current source-rating NAVADMIN — not the one from two years ago on the shared drive — before you advise anyone on a specific NEC code or pipeline timeline. The NAVADMIN changes. The billet structure changes. The quota distribution changes. The STG2 who quotes current data is the one the LCPO trusts to counsel STG3s.
  • NWAE Bibliography for Advancement Exam Study (BIB) for the STG1 cycle — current cycle from MyNavyHR/NETC
    Build a study plan with milestones, not a stack of PDFs nobody opens underway. Pull the BIB at pin-on and set 45-60 minutes a day, four days a week. The documented study log you show the LCPO at the quarterly section sync is the visible proof that you are building the score, not hoping for it.
  • Navy COOL program and NAVEDTRA certification catalog
    Civilian credentials in electronics technology, acoustics, or sonar systems that the Navy COOL program can fund at this paygrade. The LCPO notes credential completions in the eEVAL narrative; the LCPO who can cite a NCATT (National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technologies) or electronics certification in your EVAL narrative has more to work with at the ranking board than the LCPO who is citing time-in-rate.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • NWAE for STG1 prep on the LCPO's timeline — BIB study log the chief can defend at the advancement worksheet review.
    The study log is not a private document — show it to the LCPO at every section sync. The LCPO who sees a documented, chapter-by-chapter study plan running on schedule advocates for you at the quarterly advancement review. The one who hears 'I have been studying' without seeing the log treats it as a statement of intent, not a record of progress.
  • Section QA rework rate at or below command average.
    Track your section's QA rework rate yourself — how many entries came back from QA in the last cycle, for what specific deficiencies, from which technicians? The STG2 who can answer those questions with data at the LCPO's quarterly review is the STG2 running the section as a technical manager. The one who shrugs and says 'I think we were pretty clean' is the one the LCPO manages more closely next cycle.
  • NEC awarded or in-pipeline — the STG2 without a clear NEC track is visible at the next ranking board.
    If you pinned STG2 without a NEC in hand, the first 30 days after pin-on are for the formal NEC counseling session with the LCPO. Bring NAVPERS 18068 and the current source-rating NAVADMIN. State a preference, document it in the counseling record, and ask the LCPO to begin the pipeline nomination. The STG2 without a documented NEC direction is the STG2 the detailer fills a billet with regardless of preference.
  • PRT Good High or better; BCA in standard; Surface Warfare device pinned.
    Good High is the invisible standard at STG2 — below it you are on the LCPO's fitness radar, which competes with the career conversation at the ranking board. Train the run and the strength events as a weekly routine. The SW device should be earned before the STG2 advancement cycle if it was not completed at STG3; it is a qualification the eEVAL narrative calls out and the Chief board notices its absence.
  • eEVAL trait average and ranking that supports an EP or MP recommendation.
    The ranking is built across the year, not in the two weeks before the EVAL board. The observable behaviors the LCPO ranks on: maintenance documentation quality, section training plan execution, watchteam performance during ASW exercises, how you brief the sonar supervisor and the wardroom, whether your STG3s are advancing and qualifying on schedule. The STG2 who is running the section the way the LCPO described it should be run at the last section sync is the STG2 with the ranking that survives department head review.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Rubber-stamping STG3 maintenance documentation without actually reading it.
    Your initials are the QA standard. If an ISIC maintenance assessor or a Type Commander ASW assessment team finds a pattern of documentation deficiencies in your work center's closed entries, the work center supervisor identifies the last reviewer — that is you. The section rework rate in the quarterly review is not an abstract metric; it is the LCPO's read on whether you are actually reviewing your section's work or just initialing the stack.
  • Chasing a sonar fault with component replacement instead of following the diagnostic procedure.
    An intermittent AN/SQS-53C transmitter degradation that returns after the third assembly replacement is a fault that was never properly isolated. The supply system records the draw against your work center account; the combat systems readiness brief shows a recurring discrepancy; the Type Commander maintenance assessment notes the pattern. The STG2 who recognized the fault was not responding to the replacement and called NAVSEA Tech Assist is the STG2 whose section is clean. The one who kept replacing assemblies is the one whose section has a recurring discrepancy trend in the readiness report.
  • Letting calibration slip on the section's test equipment because the deployment schedule made depot turnaround difficult.
    Every measurement taken with an out-of-calibration test set since the last valid calibration date is suspect. The ISIC maintenance assessment team checks calibration compliance as a standard line item — out-of-cal equipment under your work center's accountability is an audit finding that goes into the assessment report with your work center's name. The corrective action includes rechecking every measurement made with the compromised equipment and re-performing any maintenance actions where the measurement result was load-bearing.
  • Going around the LCPO to the ASW Officer or Weapons Officer on a technical question or personnel issue.
    The combat systems chain runs through the chief. The ASW Officer who receives a briefing from the STG2 that the LCPO did not know about is the ASW Officer who asks the LCPO why his STG2 is briefing him directly. The LCPO finds out within hours. The Chief board reads the eEVAL narrative and the awards record; it also reads the informal recommendation the command master chief provides, and the command master chief hears everything.
  • Working outside the section's maintenance authorization level on a sonar subsystem because you are confident in the diagnosis.
    The authorization chain exists because sonar system signal chains have cascading dependencies — a maintenance action performed outside authorization on the AN/UYS-2 EMSP can affect the entire downstream signal processing chain in ways that are not immediately apparent. When the system casualty board convenes, the first question is who authorized the work. The STG2 who exceeded maintenance authorization because he was confident is the STG2 the JAGMAN names.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Actively building the Chief Petty Officer selection packet versus waiting until later in the STG2 paygrade
    The Chief board reads the entire record — eEVAL profile across all paygrades, warfare qualifications, advanced NEC, awards, education, leadership positions. The STG2 who starts building the record from pin-on is the STG2 whose packet reads itself by the time the LCPO submits it. The one who waits until 'later in the STG2 paygrade' is the one whose LCPO has two evaluation cycles to work with instead of four. There is no STG2 paygrade moment too early to start the advanced NEC, the warfare qualification PQS, and the documented leadership record. The Chief board packet construction starts the day you pin STG2.
  • Advanced NEC pursuit — which track, when to execute, and whether it aligns with the ship's billet plan
    The NEC at STG2 is not just a career credential — it defines what billet you fill on your next sea tour and whether the DESRON staff and Type Commander staff billets that open at senior tier are available to you. Pull NAVPERS 18068 Vol II and the current source-rating NAVADMIN. Talk to the LCPO about which NECs the ship's current and future billet plan needs filled. The STG2 who holds the NEC the next DDG's ASW work center needs is the STG2 the detailer places first; the one without a coded NEC gets the available billet.
  • LDO / CWO commissioning or STA-21 — is the application window still open and is the preparation current?
    LDO (Limited Duty Officer) and CWO (Chief Warrant Officer) programs are typically open to E-5 and above who meet time-in-service requirements and board eligibility. STA-21 has college GPA and testing requirements that require active preparation, typically starting at STG3 or early STG2. If you have not taken the SAT/ACT, enrolled in college courses through the ship's education office, or started a degree plan, the STA-21 window narrows quickly. Talk to the LCPO and the command's Education Services Officer (ESO) about current commissioning program eligibility and what preparation the window requires. Waiting until later is how the window closes.
  • Shore duty timing — when to request the shore tour and which billet matches career goals
    Surface warfare STGs rotate between sea and shore tours per the Navy detailing cycle. The shore tour at STG2 is typically at a training command (NTTC Dam Neck, SCSC detachment) or a shore-based ASW command. The timing matters: going to shore too early in the STG2 paygrade reduces the sea-tour experience that feeds the Chief packet; going too late misses the family-stability window the spouse has been waiting for. Talk to the detailer through the LCPO, submit the preference card well before the obligated sea-service date, and be honest about what trade-offs the family can absorb.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer — primary STG2 billet
    DDG duty at STG2 is the career-defining tour. You own a work center section, run a sonar supervisor watch rotation, brief the wardroom, and build the eEVAL profile that the Chief board reads. The deployment cycle is compressed and demanding; the COMPTUEX rotations are operationally formative. The STG2 who performs in a DDG sonar division during a COMPTUEX and deployment is the STG2 the LCPO recommends for the next advanced NEC pipeline and the Chief slate.
  • CG-47 Ticonderoga-class cruiser
    The cruiser's sonar division is larger; the watchteam is more mature; the ASW Officer's standards are higher because the ship is the strike group's senior ASW platform. STG2s on a cruiser have more senior STGs above them, which means more mentorship available and faster technical growth if the STG2 is seeking it. The performance bar is higher and the eEVAL competition is tighter.
  • NTTC Dam Neck shore billet — instructor or training system maintenance
    The shore billet at Dam Neck as an STG2 is technically deep and operationally lighter. You teach A-School students and maintain the sonar training systems — a configuration that may be one software baseline behind the fleet. The STG2 who goes to Dam Neck on a shore tour gains technical depth on the foundational system architecture and comes back to the fleet with a teaching vocabulary that feeds divisional training. The trade-off: reduced sea pay and a lighter operational qualification resume for the Chief board.
  • Surface Combat Systems Center (SCSC) shore billet
    SCSC detachment work at STG2 is engineering support for fleet ships and shore training systems. Less OPTEMPO than fleet; deeper configuration management and system integration exposure than an operational ship tour. STG2s who do a SCSC tour between sea tours come back to the fleet with an unusual depth on the AN/SQQ-89 system configuration that the work center supervisor and the ASW Officer value during troubleshooting.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good STG2 is the technician the ASW Officer calls when the AN/SQS-53C writes up a transmitter fault with 90 minutes to an ASW exercise, because the STG2's fault isolation is procedural, his 3-M documentation is clean by the time the watch supervisor checks it, and the system is either in full readiness with a documented corrective action or correctly reported down with a specific timeline and a degraded-mode performance estimate. The ASW Officer is not making a call in the dark; he is making a call with the information the STG2 gave him. His STG3s are advancing on schedule because the STG2 checks PQS progress weekly, reviews NWAE study logs at section sync, and corners the behind-pace STG3 before the LCPO has to. His section's 3-M rework rate is in the bottom tier of the department — not because he rubber-stamps entries, but because the STG3s in his section know what a correct entry looks like before they bring it to him, because he taught them. The LCPO does not track his section's metrics as closely as he tracks other sections' metrics, because he knows the STG2's output is consistent. The Chief board is in the back of the LCPO's mind when he writes this STG2's eEVAL. The narrative writes itself: owns complex fault diagnosis, briefs the wardroom clearly, builds the STG3s, documentation is clean, NEC held and current. The department head signs it without rewriting. The CO endorses it without a question. The STG2 who earns that narrative is the one who was running the section the way the LCPO described it at the last section sync — not performing it for the evaluation cycle.

Preview — The Next Rank

STG1 (E-6) is the LPO grade. The LCPO is editing your Chief packet when you pin STG1; the ASW Officer calls you by name before calling the division officer on a system casualty; the STG2s and STG3s in the sonar division read the work center's climate off how you carry the maintenance and watch-standing standard at quarters every morning. The job expands from running a section to running the division — or the sonar division's primary work center as the LPO equivalent. You write eEVALs for four to six STG2s and STG3s per cycle, manage calibrated test equipment and classified sonar documentation accountability at the LPO level, defend the division's readiness metrics at the combat systems readiness brief, and translate the Type Commander's ASW maintenance and training requirements into deckplate decisions the STG2s execute. The Chief board is the near-term horizon. Every eEVAL cycle at STG1 is building or degrading the packet the LCPO submits. The Advanced NEC needs to be held and current. The Surface Warfare device is a floor. The awards record, the leadership positions, the mentoring track record, and the eEVAL profile across all paygrades — all of it is read. The STG1 who spent two years at LPO running a clean division with advancing STG2s and a defensible readiness posture is the STG1 who sits the Chief board with a packet that reads itself.
FAQ

STG E5 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E5 STG (Sonar Technician (Surface)) actually do?
You run a section of the sonar division's maintenance — the hull sonar work center, the towed array handling and electronics section, the AN/UYS-2 EMSP signal processing cell, or the sonobuoy receiver and sonar display suite — and you are the senior technician who either owns the fault diagnosis or reviews the STG3's work before it goes to QA.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E5 STG?
STG2 is the working senior STG on the maintenance bench and in the sonar module.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E5 STG?
Time-blocked day at the E5 STG rank tier: 0500-0545 Reveille. At sea: watchbill check — are you in the sonar supervisor watch rotation today? What is the section's maintenance schedule? Anything deferred from yesterday that the work center supervisor needs to know before quarters?, 0545-0645 Command PT or sonar division PT on the flight deck or ship's gym. STG2s run with the division. The LCPO watches who is leading the division's PT cadence and who is falling back, 0645-0745 Hygiene, breakfast, uniform.…
Q04What mistakes get E5 STG soldiers fired or relieved?
Rubber-stamping STG3 maintenance documentation without actually reading it. Your initials are the standard; if QA finds the error on a closed MRC that you signed, the ISIC ASW assessment finding is under your work center's name and the STG2 who reviewed it is the first name the supervisor identifies; Chasing a sonar fault with component replacement instead of procedure.…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E5 STG rank tier?
Actively building the Chief Petty Officer selection packet versus waiting until later in the STG2 paygrade — The Chief board reads the entire record — eEVAL profile across all paygrades, warfare qualifications, advanced NEC, awards, education, leadership positions. The STG2 who starts building the record from pin-on is the STG2 whose packet reads itself by the time the LCPO submits it. The one who waits until 'later in the STG2 paygrade' is the one whose LCPO has two evaluation cycles to work with instead of four. There is no STG2 paygrade moment too early to start the advanced NEC,…
Q06What's next after E5 for a STG (Sonar Technician (Surface)) in the Navy?
STG1 (E-6) is the LPO grade.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E5 STG need to know cold?
OPNAVINST 4790.4 series — Ships' 3-M Systems Procedures Manual; the program your section runs maintenance inside, including the QA provisions you enforce.; NAVSEA technical manuals for your ship's AN/SQQ-89(V) components — at STG2 you own the technical content, not just the procedure steps your STG3 follows.; NWP 3-21 series (ASW doctrine) — the tactical guidance you apply as the sonar supervisor on watch; you are expected to know the framework, not just the console.

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