The Air Force is pumping the brakes on promotions for some enlisted airmen
David Roza - Yesterday 10:42 AM
Airmen hoping to get promoted to staff sergeant, tech sergeant, or master sergeant may have to wait a while as the Air Force confronts record-high retention levels and an enlisted force that has too many inexperienced noncommissioned officers, the service said in an announcement on Thursday.
While noncommissioned officers are often seen as the backbone of the military, the Air Force’s backbone may have grown a little too heavy in recent years. Col. James Barger, the Air Force Manpower Analysis Agency commander, said the service has been “trying to achieve an enlisted force structure with too many higher grades.” Now the force intends to slow the pipeline down so that airmen get an average of one additional year of experience at the rank of staff sergeant (E-5) and tech sergeant (E-6).
“We also found that experience levels would continue to decline unless the Air Force lays in more junior airmen allocations and fewer E5-E7 allocations,” Barger said. “So, we built a plan to transition to a healthier grade distribution by Fiscal Year 2025.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-air-force-is-pumping-the-brakes-on-promotions-for-some-enlisted-airmen/ar-AAZmnkL?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=9c3847fb3cbf449bd5c91bb2a5679622
