- The Guardian Ethos
- Recruit Training
- Training Schools
- Command Information
- Local Units
- Visitor Information
- Contact Webmaster
Security Levels
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ENLISTED PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION FAQs
Where do I get the E-PME study guide?
Where do I get the E-PME Performance Requirements?
Do I need to do anything before I can take my AQE?
How do I schedule a time to take my AQE?
The E-PME (Enlisted Professional Military Education) system provides the military skills and knowledge all Coast Guard enlisted personnel have to have to advance to the next higher pay grade. It covers subjects such as leadership, management, administration, Coast Guard history, enlisted heritage, organizational structure and management, personal development, training, education, wellness, and others.
The E-PME system has three or four parts, depending on your pay grade:
a study guide – for advancement to all pay grades,
Performance Requirements – for advancement to all pay grades,
an Advancement Qualification Exam (AQE) – for advancement to pay grades E-4, E-6, and E-8.
Click here for more information.
Where do I get the E-PME study guide?
The Study Guide is divided into three stand-alone volumes
Apprentice (E-3 & E-4)
Journeyman (E-5 & E-6)
Master (E-7 & E-8).
You an download all three Study Guides in PDF format from the Learning Management System on the CGPortal.
The Journeyman and Master Study Guides are also available in hard copy format. To get the hard-copy Study Guides, provide your ESO with your employee ID number and tell him/her which you want to order.
Where do I get the E-PME Performance Requirements?
You can download or print the E-PME Performance Requirements.
If you're a non-rate, use the "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements (E-3 to E-4)" (CG-1510-3)
If you're preparing for advancement to pay grades E-5 through E-9, use the "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements (E-3 to E-9)" (CG-1510-2)
Anyone competing or qualifying for advancement to pay grades E-4, E-6, or E-8 must successfully complete an Advancement Qualification Examination (AQE). There are three different AQEs, each aimed at specific pay grades. The AQE has nothing to do with your rating.
E-4 AQE – includes questions based on all E-3 and E-4 level requirements contained in the Apprentice Study Guide.
E-6 AQE – includes questions based on all E-5 and E-6 level requirements contained in the Journeyman Study Guide.
E-8 AQE – includes questions based on all E-7 and E-8 level requirements contained in the Master Study Guide.
Contact your ESO. Some units, called "library units", maintain a library of tests people at that unit or in the area regularly request. This means tests can be administered at any time without having to order one and wait for it to arrive.
If you're attached to a unit that doesn't maintain a test library, your ESO will order a hard-copy test from the Coast Guard Institute for you when you need it. You will take the test on a paper answer sheet which is then sent to the Institute for scoring.
Library units are authorized to administer tests using an on-line answer form. When you're done with your test, your responses are submitted electronically to the Institute and scored almost instantly. Unofficial results are sent to you and the ESO by e-mail as soon as your test has been scored and official results are posted in DirectAccess within 48 hours of your responses being submitted.
Do I need to do anything before I can take my AQE?
Yes. Before you can take an AQE you must complete the applicable Performance Requirements listed for your pay grade on the "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements" and show your ESO proof that you've completed them.
If you're a non-rate, use the "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements (E-3 to E-4)" (CG-1510-3)
If you're preparing for advancement to pay grades E-5 through E-9, use the "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements (E-3 to E-9)" (CG-1510-2)
Paragraph 2 of ALCOAST 179/05 requires that "Completion of performance requirements must be verified by a designated supervisor and recorded on form CG-1510-2 ... prior to taking an AQE." Page 2 of the form includes a statement your supervisor or division officer must sign that provides this verification.
Once you have your Performance Requirements signed off and the statement on page two signed and dated by your supervisor, you schedule a time to take the AQE and then present page 2 of your "Record of Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME) Performance Requirements" to your ESO when you show up to take the AQE.
How do I schedule a time to take my AQE?
Contact your ESO. Every unit has its own procedures for administering AQEs.
It depends on your unit. Check with your ESO to find out if there are certain days of the week and times or if you can schedule one at any time.
Ask your ESO. Each unit has its own place(s) where testing is conducted.
You will be using a hard-copy test. If your unit is a library unit you will take the test using an on-line answer form. When you're done with your test, your responses are submitted electronically to the Institute and scored almost instantly. Unofficial results are sent to you and the ESO by e-mail as soon as your test has been scored and official results are posted in DirectAccess within 48 hours of your responses being submitted.
If you're attached to a unit that doesn't maintain a test library, your ESO will order a hard-copy test from the Coast Guard Institute for you when you need it. You will take the test on a paper answer sheet which is then sent to the Institute for scoring.