Enlisted personnel make up the better part of the United States Air Force. This Entry explains the rank structure in the event that you ever meet such a person. As a general point, you are considered to be enlisted if you hold military rank and are not a commissioned officer or a civilian.

This is only a guide and those that you meet may not reflect the personalities or abilities depicted herein.

Pay Structure

Below you will see things like E-2 or E-5. These are pay grade values that are used across the US Military to associate different services' ranks. For example, in the Air Force, an E-3 indicates an Airman First Class while in the Navy it stands for a Seaman. They will therefore receive equivalent pay. This is not to say that all E-3s are equivalent in all ways. After all, members of each branch of the Armed Services (army, navy, air force) know that their branch is the most important of them all. The letters stand for the portion of the rank structure, in this case E for enlisted. The number indicates the position inside that rank structure - the higher the better if you care about money.

What Enlisted Servicemen and Women Do

In the Air Force, all pilots are commissioned officers as are navigators and weapons officers. Enlisted soldiers are only found in the air in bombers or cargo planes as gunners or loaders... or when they are flying somewhere as passengers. The primary use of enlisted soldiers in the Air Force is as ground crews (refuellers, technicians etc), doing all the myriad things to planes that need doing before they can take off and let the officers do the flashy stuff.

Airmen

In general terms, everyone enlisted person in the Air Force is considered an Airman (as are even some Navy personnel). But for the purposes of this guide, only the first four ranks fall into this category. Airmen can be identified by having three or less stripes on their sleeves, including having none at all.

Airman Basic - AB

[also known as 'Slick Sleeve' / pay grade: E-1]

Unless you live in San Antonio (home to the Air Force's Basic Military Training Center), you're not likely to encounter one of these. With the 6-year enlistment, most people choose to skip this rank after completing their technical training. Airmen basics are required to learn technical and military skills while gaining knowledge of military customs and rules.

Airman - Amn

[aka 'Mosquito Wing' / E-2]

This rank is the most troublesome. Either the wearer has only been in a few months and is inexperienced, or they were busted down from a higher rank for doing something stupid... although in the Air Force, stupid is defined as getting caught. Some of the more popular things to get caught doing are drinking and doing drugs. Look on the arm for a star with one stripe out either side. Primarily thought of as an apprentice, this rank is expected to make mistakes but is judged more firmly for them than Airmen basic.

Airman First Class - A1C

[aka 'A-One-See' / E-3]

The most enthusiastic of the ranks, A1Cs do the majority of the grunt work and menial tasks. And at the same time are encouraged to stay in the Air Force and make it a career. Because of this, their enthusiasm dies shortly before making it to the rank of Senior Airman. They are identified by a star and two stripes. This rank is expected to demonstrate to Airmen how to behave. As a result, this rank is often rebuked for abusing those who they preside over. At this stage Airmen are expected to start specialising in certain areas and to have learnt all of the basic knowledge.

Senior Airman - SrA

[may also refer to themselves as 'Sergeant'¹ / E-4]

These are a dying breed. With the high promotion rates of the last few years, the only Senior Airmen left are those who slept in and missed the promotion test. This is also the rank at which a lot of people leave the Air Force. If you see one (look for a star and three stripes), ask them how many months/days they have left. Those that still exist are expected to learn how to manage personnel as well as their machines.

Non-Commissioned Officers

NCOs are the middle-managers of the Air Force. They are required to both supervise and perform their job, tasks which can be conflicting at best. They can be identified by one (Staff) or two (Tech) additional stripes below the Airmen stripes. They also believe that anyone below them has no idea how anything works and anyone above them has forgotten what things are like 'down on the ground'.

Staff Sergeant - SSgt

[aka 'Staff' or 'Sergeant'... rarely both at the same time / E-5]

The 'know-it-alls' of the Air Force. Newer Staffs believe that, because they're now NCOs, they automatically possess all of the knowledge required to do their job. Older Staffs think that, because they've been in so long, they know everything from experience. The truth is that Staff Sergeants know very little and should be closely supervised. Despite this, staff sergeants are expected to fulfill the harder technical jobs while learning how to supervise ever larger numbers of airmen.

Technical Sergeant - TSgt

[aka 'Tech Sergeant' or just 'Tech' / E-6]

Techs are the 'go-to guys' because they have the perfect mix of rank and experience. They're there to make sure the job gets done... after they've had their coffee. Officially they are required to ensure the maximum performance of all those below them and to have mastered all technical areas that the Air Force requires. The truly hard technical jobs are handed to these Airmen, who will make almost anything look easy.

Senior Non-Commissioned Officers

SrNCOs are exactly that, officers without a commission put into positions of seniority. Not because they have the ability to make good decisions, but because the Air Force doesn't have enough commissioned officers to fill all of the positions. They can be recognised by one (Master), two (Senior) or three (Chief) chevrons at the top of their rank insignia. Their jobs are now considered to be more managerial than supervisory and are collectively referred to as the 'Top Three.'

Master Sergeant - MSgt

[aka 'Sergeant' / E-7]

Master Sergeants are the first official level of organisational supervision. Those reaching this rank are required to complete an Air Force Senior Non-Commissioned Officer PME course. This leads to a tendency to micro-manage because they think it's an effective management tool. This is despite the fact that they spent the last 15 years being micro-managed, and complained about it every single day.

Senior Master Sergeant - SMSgt

[aka 'Senior' / E-8]

It's unclear why this rank exists. However, in official justification they act as 'superintendents' with a broad managerial requirement. They can act as the senior NCO in a large area and so are occasionally used to deal with an incompetent officer who cannot be removed from their post for whatever reason. Much of this rank's time is spent trying to ensure their promotion to the big job, the highest they can go...

Chief Master Sergeant - CMSgt

[aka 'Chief'... never EVER refer to as 'Sergeant'² / E-9]

The highest of the enlisted ranks. Chiefs are a select few who make sure that officers don't interfere with the day-to-day operations of enlisted personnel. If you see one carrying a small Jeep or other such trinket, this means that they are the lowest ranking Chief on the base. You should attempt to take this item from them, and exchange it for alcohol³. The Jeep indicates the lowest ranked chief and they must follow a number of rules, enforced by financial fines, such as carrying the Jeep at all times. They advise their force's senior officers - as such they carry an enormous amount of power. If a situation required it, the more respected Chiefs could gain face time with the President and are probably responsible for a few minor bush wars.

Specialty Ranks for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers

First Sergeant

[aka 'The Shirt' or 'The First Shirt'... designated by a diamond]

The Shirt acts as an in-between for the Commander and the enlisted folks in the squadron. They are able to command any member of the squadron even if they outrank the sergeant, as 'the shirt' automatically speaks ex cathedra for the Commander and so exercises the commandant's rank as well as their own. Their primary responsibility is to handle any situation before the Commander finds out about it. You'll see them a lot in police stations and courtrooms, usually with an Airman in tow. They can be any of the top three ranks.

Command Chief Master Sergeant

[designated by a second star under the chevrons]

This is the highest ranking person in a Wing or Major Command (MAJCOM). They oversee the well-being of all of the enlisted personnel at a particular base. As such their responsibilities are similar to that of a First Sergeant's although they may have a role to play interacting with local civilian leadership.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

[designated by a wreath in place of the central star and the seal of the United States]

The highest ranking enlisted person in the Air Force. He/she works at the top levels to ensure that enlisted personnel are taken care of. No officer below brigadier would dare to order this rank about without a very good reason.

Progression Through the Ranks

Promotion through Air Force enlisted ranks is often considered to be slower than in the other services, particularly in the lower ranks. Promotion is normally based on seniority: for example, Airmen normally have to wait 10 months before being promoted to Airmen first class.

The best way to speed up early promotion is to have a university education. Those with high-class degrees are often allowed to skip one or even two ranks after basic training to become an E-3. A similar effect can also be gained by those who finish top of their academy. The other way to gain an early promotion is to enlist for a long period, for example agree to enlist for seven years rather than four (which is the minimum).

At higher ranks, the ability to speed your promotions up is far greater; however, at each rank some who fail to ever be promoted must leave the service. For the mid ranks (E-4 to E-6) the best way to encourage promotion is to be very nit-picking and precise. This means making sure that your personnel files contain all of the achievements that you have earned, and going to as many extra courses as you can fit in; all of these will sway promotion boards.

For the final ranks (E-7 to E-9), the primary way to encourage promotion is brown-nosing. Do as many favours for either high ranking officers or politicians as possible. Records must be either very colourful or pristine. If you have never made a mistake, that is good; if you have caused mayhem everywhere, if you have gone but left things better than when you joined, that is also good. A good wife and kids are also helpful, primarily because they help keep you sane as you enter the higher ranks.

The exception to all of this is a decoration. A medal received in the line of fire can allow any Airman to focus on doing their job rather than tending to the sensibilities of the Air Force high command.