ALCGENL 287/24 - SUBJ: ASSIGNMENT YEAR (AY) 2025 SOLICITATION FOR COAST GUARD CYBER COMMAND CYBER MISSION TEAM INTERACTIVE ON-NETWORK OPERATOR AND EXPLOITATION ANALYST SCREENING PROCESS

k Operator (ION) and Exploitation Analyst (EA) positions. The screening process will be conducted in person at CG Headquarters (CGHQ) 12-23 AUG 2024 and is the primary method of accession to these specific roles at CMT. 

A. An Exploitation Analyst plans, supports, and executes cyberspace capabilities where the primary purpose is to externally defend or conduct force projection in or through cyberspace. EAs leverage all authorized resources and analytic techniques to penetrate targeted networks. 

B. An Interactive On-Network Operator uses a wide range of software applications for network navigation, tactical forensic analysis, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and executing on-net operations in support of offensive cyberspace operations as directed. 

2. The purpose of CMT, ION, and EA screening is to identify the candidates with requisite skills and qualifications most likely to succeed in the rigorous multi-year training pipeline, creating a more effective assignment process for these positions. CG-791 will screen applicants in person at CGHQ. Candidates will be assessed in areas of historically high attrition.  Candidates selected to participate in the screener will be provided Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) of the areas being assessed.  

3. Eligibility: Tour complete in AY25, AY26, or AY27. Applicants are required to be eligible for a government travel card, have no history of indebtedness for the previous three years, have no mark of unsatisfactory conduct in the EES for two years preceding application, and at a minimum members must hold an Interim Top Secret security clearance and be eligible for Secure Compartmented Information (SCI). If selected, members will be required to undergo a Counterintelligence polygraph and may be required to undergo psychological screening. Additionally, for AY25, applicants must be Cyber Mission Specialists (CMS) not in receipt of AY24 PCS orders. Members applying to AY25 CMS lateral are encouraged to apply if they desire assignment to the CMT. Prior ION/EA experience is not needed. Previously qualified ION/EA’s are not required to attend the screening process to receive assignment to CMT. Successful screening for the AY25 ION/EA screener may result in assignment to AY25 vacant ION/EA positions at CMT or into AY25 Training Allowance Billets (TABs).  

A. Command Concerns: Members who are not tour complete in AY25 will remain in place until a Joint Cyber Analysis Course (JCAC) seat becomes available. Commands need to be aware early rotation into the training pipeline may create positional gaps due to off cycle transfers. To ensure members are prepared for the rigors of CMT assignment, commands should also ensure that the member has been afforded the opportunity to attend a CMT roadshow. The timeline and locations for these roadshows are listed in Paragraph 10.A of this message.  

4. Application: To apply for the ION/EA screener, candidates must apply to PSC-EPM-2 via email to SMB-PSC-EPM-2-CMT-SCREENER(at)uscg.mil, no later than 19 JUL 2024. The application package contents are a memorandum stating member’s desire to screen for the CMT and must include the following statement: "I have read and understand ALCGENL 287/24. I meet the eligibility qualifications outlined ALCGENL 287/24 for CMT screening. I have taken steps to prepare for CMT training and assignment, specifically: I have/have not attended a CMT roadshow and/or spoken with members of the CMT about the role requirements and position on (provide date); I have/have not already taken the Computer and Networks Aptitude Battery (CNAB) (provide date of exam and pass/fail)." and command endorsement acknowledging the requirements in 4.B of this message.  Details of the memorandum and command endorsement required for application can be found on the CMS Rating Force Master Chief SharePoint Site.   

A. Applicants must complete the stress signs self-evaluation at: 2. Stress Signs (2).docx (live.com) before submitting the application. The self-evaluation does not get attached to the application, but candidates are required to state in their application memoranda their own readiness to accept additional stress as part of the training pipeline. 

B. Command Endorsement: Applicants must receive a command endorsement as part of the application. The command endorsement shall also include observations of the member's performance as a technical expert, observed resilience in response to stress, and deportment specific to new skill acquisition, interagency, or joint duty assignments. If the member was unable to attend a CMT roadshow, the command is requested to annotate the reason that the member was not able to, such as operational commitments/distance. 

5. Screening Process: The applicant submits a package to PSC-EPM-2 via email to the shared mailbox (see Paragraph 4 of this message), and their application is reviewed against the minimum qualifications outlined in Ref A. If all minimum criteria are met, CG-791 will issue the applicant TDY orders (as needed) to attend a structured in-person interview. Not every applicant will be interviewed. This interview produces a quantitatively measured score evaluated by representatives from CG-791, DPR-1, PSC, and CMT. Top scoring candidates will be scheduled to take the Computer Network Aptitude Battery (CNAB) examination, which is a pass/fail examination. Passing the exam on this first attempt is not required but will be one factor in the screener’s final scoring of screened applicants. Upon conclusion of the screening, CG-791 will provide a recommendation to PSC-EPM-2 on the applicants with the highest likelihood of successfully completing the EA/ION training qualification pipeline. 

6. Assignment Process: Candidates selected from the screener are eligible to apply to open CMT EA/ION billets using the normal e-Resume process or as directed by PSC-EPM-2. If selected, candidates tour complete in AY25 will either receive PCS orders to CMT in Fort Meade, MD or will be placed into an AY25 Training Allowance Billet (TAB) to begin the training pipeline. AY25 orders to the CMT are for a 6-year assignment duration.  Once assigned, members will attend JCAC in Pensacola, FL as space becomes available, starting the mandatory 2-year training and incurring 4 years of obligated service running concurrently with the assignment duration. Members in receipt of AY25 orders to TABs will remain at their current unit until space becomes available at JCAC and then enter a mandatory 2-year training pipeline incurring 4 years of obligated service. Successful completion of the training pipeline is a pre-requisite for AY27 assignment to the CMT. The CMT is geographically located in Fort Meade, MD. Applicants tour complete in AY26 and AY27 who screen successfully will have their scores carried over into next year’s screening candidate pool for consideration by CG-791. 

NOTE 1: Successful completion of the screening does not guarantee assignment to CMT. Participation in the screener is designed to grow a candidate pool of well-prepared applicants and inform PSC-EPM assignment decisions. 

7. Waivers: Screening is mandatory for assignment to EA and ION positions on the CMT. Waivers for screening requirements will be considered by CG-791 for emergent TAB opportunities. 

8. Medical screening process: Applicants are required to complete the Operational Stress Control stress signs checklist prior to application submission. However, this document is not submitted with the application package. 

9. Funding: All TDY expenses will be funded by CG-791.  Candidates arriving from outside the National Capitol Region will be provided lodging. 

10. Timeline: Impacts to the ION/EA Screener timeline or convening will be posted on the CG-791 SharePoint site, and applicants will be notified by CG-791.  

A. CMT Roadshows were held at CGHQ on 15 MAY 2024, in San Antonio, TX on 22 MAY 2024, and in Alameda, CA on 5-6 JUN 2024. Additional CMT Roadshows will be posted on the RFMC’s portal page. 

B. 19 JUL 2024: Application Packages (Employee Summary Sheet, Applicant Memorandum with same page command endorsement) are due to: SMB-PSC-EPM-2-CMT-SCREENER(at)uscg.mil. 

C. NLT 02 AUG 2024: Applicants notified. Pre-arrival instructions and TDY Orders issued by CG-791 for candidates to attend the ION/EA Screener. 

D. 12-23 AUG 2024: Screening Interviews are conducted at CGHQ. 

E. OOA 20 SEP 2024: Screened applicants will be notified by CG-791 of their results. 

F. 15 DEC 2024: PCS e-resumes due for most ratings. 

G. 16 DEC 2024 – 31 MAR 2025: PSC-EPM-2 issues orders IAW the AY25 timeline. 

11. Points of Contacts: 

A. CG-791: LT J. Claycamp, 571-607-0184, Jacob.D.Claycamp(at)uscg.mil. 

B. CMS AO: CWO C. Smith, 571-608-3922, Christopher.M.Smith6(at)uscg.mil. 

C. CMS RFMC: CMSCM J. Weppler, 202-372-2537, Jon.R.Weppler(at)uscg.mil. 

D. CMT POC: ISCS E. Valdez, 571-607-8104, Eric.A.Valdez(at)uscg.mil. 

12. CAPT J.W. Guyer, Chief, Enlisted Personnel Management, sends.