ALCGENL 003/19 - MAY 2019 SERVICE WIDE EXAMINATION (SWE) COMPETITION

united states coast guard

R 16 JAN 19

ALCGENL 003/19
SUBJ:  MAY 2019 SERVICE WIDE EXAMINATION (SWE) COMPETITION
A.  Service Wide Examination (SWE) Guide, PPCINST M1418.1 (series)
B.  Enlistments, Evaluations, and Advancements, COMDTINST M1000.2B
(series)
C.  Performance, Training and Education Manual, COMDTINST M1500.10C
D.  COMCOGARD FORCECOM NORFOLK VA 101033 JUL 18 ACN 067/18
E.  Military Separations, COMDTINST M1000.4 (series)
1.  Summary. This message announces the May 2019 SWE competition for
all ratings, except MU, for advancement to pay grades E-5 through E-9.
Commanding Officers (CO) must ensure dissemination of this message to
all active duty enlisted members in their AOR.  Members planning to
participate in the SWE need to be aware of these requirements, as well
as their responsibility to confirm they are met.  Failure to review
and follow the guidelines of this message will not justify a waiver of
its requirements.  Units, SWE Officers, Education Services Officers
and affected members shall familiarize themselves with the contents of
Refs A thru E and this ALCGENL. 
2.  Schedule.  SWEs will be administered per the following schedule.
Any requests for deviation must comply with Refs A and B.
a.  AM 07 May 2019 (Tuesday) SWE for ADV to E-5
b.  PM 07 May 2019 (Tuesday) SWE for ADV to E-7
c.  AM 09 May 2019 (Thursday) SWE for ADV to E-6
d.  PM 09 May 2019 (Thursday) SWE for ADV to E-8/E-9
3.  Waivers.  This ALCGENL supersedes previously published waivers. 
The following waivers apply:
a.  SWE.  The May 2019 SWE is waived for BM2 only. 
b.  RAT/AQE.  Per Ref D all Rating Advancement Tests (RAT) and
Enlisted Professional Military Education (EPME) Advancement
Qualification Exams (AQE) are waived indefinitely. 
c.  Advancement Requirement Waivers.  Requests for waivers of
advancement requirements or waivers of completion deadlines must be
sent prior to the 01 April 2019 Personal Data Extract (PDE) correction
deadline. Failure by a candidate, supervisor or supporting command to
fulfill their responsibilities is not justification for a waiver of
the PDE correction deadline.  Using the template in Ref A, send
requests for waivers via e-mail to PPC-DG-CustomerCare@uscg.mil and
include members CO/XO in Cc line.
4.  Candidate Responsibilities. 
a.  The online PDE must show a status of “Eligible” in order to
receive an exam.  Candidates who participated in the previous SWE
shall not assume eligibility on the upcoming SWE.  The PDE for the
upcoming SWE must be verified.  The candidate is solely responsible
for accuracy of all PDE data, including where the SWE will be shipped
(Exam Board OPFAC).  Report any incorrect PDE data to the unit Admin
or Servicing Personnel Office (SPO).  After reporting incorrect data,
the candidate must follow up to ensure PDE corrections were made by
again verifying the updated online PDE prior to the 01 April 2019 PDE
correction deadline.  If the online PDE has not been corrected, the
candidate shall submit a Trouble Ticket prior to 01 April 2019 to PPC
by e-mail to PPC-DG-CustomerCare@uscg.mil.  PDE corrections must be
visible on the online PDE and completed NLT 01 April 2019.  Failure to
report and verify online PDE corrections by the deadline will result
in a “Not Eligible” status for the SWE or loss of points in the final
multiple.  PDEs will be posted online in Direct Access (DA) under Self
Service tab in February 2019.
b.  Per Chapter 3 of Ref E, active duty enlisted members who reach or
exceed their PGP on or before 31 December 2019 (2020 HYT Candidates)
must separate or retire on or before 1 September 2020 unless granted a
waiver.  HYT candidates who meet all SWE eligibility can still
participate in the 2019 SWE, however, will not be guaranteed
advancement even if placed above the published cutoff, unless the HYT
Panel grants member a waiver and the waiver includes advancement
authorization.  For more information regarding HYT visit PSC-EPM-1’s
website at https://www.uscg.mil/epm/epm1/HYT/HYTdefault.asp.
c. EPME EPQs.  Updated EPME EPQ guidance can be found at the ERATS CG
Portal page at the following URL:  http://cglink.uscg.mil/320dcb99.
Completion of the EPME 2.0 EPQs begins with the November 2019 SWE. 
However, the May 2019 SWE questions will be based on these new EPQs. 
Members who have previously completed EPQs do not need to complete the
new EPQs for May 2019 SWE eligibility, only the content from the new
EPQs will be tested.  Additional guidance can be found at the ERATS CG
Portal site.
5.  Command Responsibilities.
a.  CO responsibilities are detailed in Article 3.A.4. and fully
amplified throughout Chapter 3 of Ref B.  The most common reason for
member ineligibility is a missing current Enlisted Employee Review
(EER).  Per Article 3.A.5 of Ref B, each candidate must have a current
EER with a CO’s recommendation for each new SWE cycle.  For E-6 and
above candidates, the EER must be dated after 01 February 2018 and NLT
01 February 2019.  For E-5 and below candidates, the EER must be dated
after 01 August 2018 and NLT 01 February 2019.  If an EER was not
completed for a member competing for E-7, E-8, or E-9 due to reasons
listed in Article 4.C.1.b(4) of Ref B, commands shall complete a “SWE-
EER” with an EER effective date which is after 01 February 2018 and
NLT 01 February 2019.  For members competing for E-5 and E-6, the SWE-
EER must be effective dated after 01 August 2018 and NLT 01 February
2019.  SWE type EERs must have all competencies populated in order to
be valid.  SWE-EERs must be finalized in DA NLT the 1 April 2019 PDE
correction deadline date.  Its recommended that commands backdate the
SWE-EER to create a gap of over 92 days for E-5 and below or 184 days
for E-6 and above, before the next semi-annual or annual EER due date
in order to keep the member on a normal EER schedule.  SWE-EERs cannot
be submitted only to change a CO recommendation.  For assistance with
SWE-EERs, submit an email to PPC-DG-CustomerCare@uscg.mil. 
b.  If the CO wishes to change an advancement recommendation, the CO
must submit a Commanding Officer Recommendation Change (CORC) type EER
per Article 4.D.3.i of Ref B.  CORC EERs must be received NLT the 01
April 2019 PDE correction deadline.  Note, CORC EERs must have an
effective date NLT 01 February 2019, and the CORC EER shall not be
used to reverse the advancement recommendation of a discipline EER. 
For any EER questions, including CORCs, contact EPM-3 ARL-SMB-CGPSC-
EPM-Evaluations ARL-SMB-CGPSC-EPM-Evaluations@uscg.mil or the website
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/psc/psc-epm/SitePages/EPM-3.aspx.
c.  The CO shall verify the candidate’s most current Rating
Performance Qualifications (RPQs) were signed off NLT 01 February
2019.  RPQs must be completed and entered in Training Management Tool
(TMT) for all candidates, except those ratings with revised or new
RPQs. For a number of ratings, TMT is not being programmed to match
new or revised RPQs.  In these circumstances, commands are authorized
to enter rating competency completions directly into DA.  A competency
entry process guide has been created and is located on the ERATS CG
PORTAL page. The Commanding Officer or RPQ Reviewer shall verify a
candidate has completed the RPQs and authorize entry into DA by the
unit’s Personnel and Administration (P&A) entity.  The following
ratings are currently impacted by these TMT issues:  AMT, DC, GM, EM,
HS, MK, MST, OS, and SK. The completion and approval date of the
rating competency code recorded in TMT or DA must have an effective
date on or prior to the 01 February 2019 SWE Eligibility Date (SED) to
be considered for the May 2019 SWE.  The rating competency code must
appear in the members DA competency record to receive an “Eligible”
PDE.  Commands may enter backdated competency codes into TMT or DA
during the PDE correction period up until the 01 April 2019 PDE
correction deadline date.  It is highly recommended the competency
code be entered prior to the 01 February 2019 SED so the initial PDE
shows a status of “Eligible” rather than entering backdated competency
codes and requesting PDE updates after PDEs are released.
d.  EPQ completion and certification in TMT is NOT the approved method
for reporting and verifying EPQ completion. The CO shall continue to
manually verify that the candidate’s most current version of EPQs are
signed off NLT 01 February 2019 SWE Eligibility Date (SED) to qualify
for the May 2019 SWE.  Since EPQ completion is not currently  verified
through TMT or DA, the CO shall notify PPC(ADV) via email to PPC-DG-
CustomerCare@uscg.mil of any members who receive an “eligible” PDE but
failed to complete the EPQs by the SED to prevent an exam from being
shipped. Per paragraph 4.c, the new EPQs recently released do not need
to be completed for the May 2019 SWE.  EPME questions for the May 2019
SWE will, however, be based on the EPME 2.0 EPQs.
e.  Units away from homeport on continuous deployment from early April
to the SWE date may request early mailing of SWEs on or before 31
March 2019.
f.  Exam board OPFAC changes must be requested on or before 01 April
2019.
g.  Waivers of advancement requirements or completion deadlines must
be requested on or before 01 April 2019.
h.  Substitute SWEs must be requested by 14 May 2019.
6.  SPO Responsibilities.  Last day to complete PDE corrections in DA:
01 April 2019.
7.  PPC Responsibilities.
a.  Post PDEs in DA:  February 2019.
b.  Early mailing of SWEs to underway units: 16 March 2019.
c.  Mail SWEs to exam boards:  April 2019.
d.  Compute final multiple:  July 2019.
e.  Post profile letters in DA:  July 2019.
8.  PSC Responsibilities.  Publish SWE advancement eligibility list:
July 2019.
9.  Miscellaneous.
a.  All candidates may use non-programmable calculators.  Consult the
“SWE Officer Handbook”, on the PPC web pages at the following link: 
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/ppc/SitePages/Advancements%20and%20Ev
aluations%20Branch.aspx for information regarding items that may be
used by BM/OS candidates.
b.  EERs in current pay grade will be used to compute the marks
multiple within the date ranges listed in Article 3.A.7.b of Ref B.
c.  The Point Start Date (PSD) shown on the PDE will be computed per
Article 3.A.17.c of Ref B and used to determine sea, surf, and award
points.  Candidates who advanced on/after 01 January 2010 will have a
PSD equal to the day following the SED for that advancement. 
Candidates who have not advanced since 01 January 2010 will show a PSD
equal to their Active Duty Base Date (ADBD).  Candidates with broken
service and with an adjusted ADBD may contact PPC by e-mail at PPC-DG-
CustomerCare@uscg.mil to request a PSD adjustment to capture prior
service awards.
10.  PPC(ADV) is the single POC for all SWE inquiries.  They can be
reached by e-mail at PPC-DG-CustomerCare@uscg.mil.  For additional SWE
information go to the PPC (ADV) home page at
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/ppc/SitePages/Advancements%20and%20Ev
aluations%20Branch.aspx.
11.  CAPT S. Matadobra, Chief, Enlisted Personnel Management, CG
Personnel Service Center, sends.
12.  Internet release authorized.