The Coast Guard has adjusted the 2025 Assignment Year (AY25) timelines for enlisted members to give the workforce additional time to make decisions after this year’s Servicewide Exams (SWEs) had to be rescheduled for Aug. 26 - Aug. 29, 2024.
The move is in keeping with a promise officials made earlier this month when SWEs were cancelled due to a printing error. Publication of the enlisted Advancement Eligibility list and the first cut-offs for AY25 have been pushed back as a result. But the new, compressed timeline, says EPM Chief Capt. Jay Guyer, “is designed to provide transparency and support member preference, while ensuring mission readiness and allowing assignment officers to meet a March 31 deadline for issuing orders.”
Here’s the new AY 2025 timeline:
- Aug 1 - Command Concerns Due, Operational Commander Priorities Due
- Oct. 15 - Unofficial Shopping List released
- Nov. 15 - Initial SWE Cut released
- Nov. 15 - Official Shopping List released
- Nov. 22- eResumes due for Officers in Charge (OIC), Executive Petty Officers (XPO), Engineering Petty Officers (EPO), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), and members tour complete who are in assignment priority 1 or 2 billets.
- Dec. 15 - General Duty eResumes due
- Jan. 3 to Mar. 31 – Assignment Officers (AOs) build slates and issue orders
Cut-offs
Holding exams later will delay test results and advancement eligibility lists. That means the initial SWE cut-off will be released in November this year instead of August. However, this cut will also include the first revision, which typically comes out in November. So, expect more people to be on the initial advancement list.
In addition, Advance-to-Position (A2P) will be expanded in AY25 to fill all E5 and above general duty billets in lieu of the normal 2nd, 3rd, and 4th revisions. This will provide increased flexibility to members, reducing forced assignments, separations, and retirements in lieu of orders. It will also speed up the assignment process.
Shopping lists
The unofficial shopping list will be delayed to better reflect the opportunities available in AY25. It will come out in mid-October this year instead of early September. The official shopping list will be published a month later at the same time as the initial SWE cuts.
eResume deadlines
Typically, all eResumes are due at the beginning of November. This year, resumes for certain positions, including OICs, and XPOs, are due Nov. 22, but general duty resumes aren’t due until mid-December.
Career counseling
EPM will provide proactive career counseling to members competing for command positions, PATFORSWA, and assignment priority 1 and 2 members to ensure full understanding of compressed timelines.
Advancement Opt-Out
The Advancement Opt-Out window will be extended to Dec. 15, 2024
Warrant Officers
OPM will postpone issuing “Letters of Intent” for Warrant Officer selectees until after the SWE Enlisted Advancement List is published. This will allow enlisted members to make well informed career decisions regarding acceptance to Warrant or retention within the enlisted workforce.
Additional Information
EPM will publish supplemental timelines for specific ratings, command positions, and detached duty assignments, as necessary. For additional guidance, enlisted members should check out EPM-2 Assignment Officer SharePoint Site https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/psc_spo/psc-epm/epm-2/SitePages/Assignments-Branch-(EPM-2).aspx and TEAM’s pages.
Note: Commands are encouraged to contact EPM with questions. Specific contacts are cited in ALCOAST 231/24
Inquiries related to the SWE, including make-up tests for members with previously-scheduled obligations, should be sent to PPC(ADV) at PPC-DG-CustomerCare@uscg.mil. For additional SWE information go to the PPC (ADV) home page at https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/ppc/SitePages/PPC%20Advancements%20Service%20Validation%20and%20Data%20Corrections.aspx
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