United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia information
U.S. military insignia
The chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Air Force.
US DoD pay grade
Special
E-9
E-8
E-7
E-6
E-5
E-4
E-3
E-2
E-1
NATO code
OR-9
OR-8
OR-7
OR-6
OR-5
OR-4
OR-3
OR-2
OR-1
Insignia
No insignia
Title
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Command chief master sergeant
Chief master sergeant[a]
Senior master sergeant[a]
Master sergeant[a]
Technical sergeant
Staff sergeant
Senior airman
Airman first class
Airman
Airman basic
Abbreviation
SEAC
CMSAF
SEANGB
CCC/CCM
CMSgt
SMSgt
MSgt
TSgt
SSgt
SrA
A1C
Amn
AB
^ abcAir Force first sergeants are considered temporary and lateral ranks and are senior to their non-diamond counterparts. First sergeants revert to their permanent rank within their paygrade upon leaving assignment.[1]
While all Air Force military personnel are referred to as airmen, it can specifically refer to the pay grades of E-1 through E-4, which are below the level of non-commissioned officers (NCOs).[2] Above the pay grade of E-4 (E-5 through E-9) all ranks fall into the category of NCO and are further subdivided into NCOs (E-5 and E-6) and senior NCOs (E-7 through E-9); the term junior NCO is sometimes used to refer to staff sergeants and technical sergeants (E-5 and E-6).[2]
The Air Force and Space Force are the only ones of the six branches of the United States military where NCO status is now only achieved at the grade of E-5. Formerly, the grade of sergeant was obtained after a time as a senior airman and successful completion of the Air Force NCO School. In all other branches, NCO status can be achieved at the grade of E-4 (a corporal in the Army and Marine Corps, petty officer third class in the Navy and Coast Guard). However, E-4s in the Army with the rank of specialist are not NCOs. The Air Force mirrored the Army from 1976 to 2 May 1991 with an E-4 being either a senior airman wearing three stripes without a star or a sergeant (informally referred to as a "buck sergeant") which was noted by the presence of the central star and considered an NCO.[3] Despite not being an NCO, a senior airman who has completed Airman Leadership School can be a supervisor.[2]
^Barnett, Robert (12 December 2012). "Air Force first sergeants work to help Airmen". Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Public Affairs. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
^ abcAir Force Instruction 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure(PDF). United States Air Force. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2013.
^Spink, Barry L. (19 February 1992). A Chronology of the Enlisted Rank Chevron of the United States Air Force(PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2017.
and 22 Related for: United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia information
The chart below represents the current enlistedrankinsignia of the UnitedStatesAirForce. AirForce first sergeants are considered temporary and lateral...
the current enlistedrankinsignia of the UnitedStates Army, with seniority, and pay grade, increasing from right to left. The enlisted ranks of corporal...
UnitedStates Space Forcerankinsignia are used to indicate the rank and status of the UnitedStates Space Force officers and enlisted personnel. Equivalency...
In the UnitedStates Navy, a rate is the military rank of an enlisted sailor, indicating where the sailor stands within the chain of command, and also...
The UnitedStates Army's enlistedrankinsignia that was used during World War I differs from the current system. The color scheme used for the insignia's...
U.S. Army enlistedrankinsignia that was used during World War II differs from the current system. The color scheme used for the insignia's chevron design...
United States Navy commissioned officer ranks have two distinct sets of rankinsignia: On dress uniform a series of stripes similar to Commonwealth naval...
Sergeant of the AirForce (acronym: CMSAF) is a unique non-commissioned rank in the UnitedStatesAirForce. The holder of this rank and position of office...
used by the eight uniformed services of the UnitedStates (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, AirForce, Space Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned...
Airman basic (AB) is the lowest enlistedrank in the UnitedStatesAirForce immediately below airman. The male form of rank designation also applies to women...
The Army Air Service also issued a badge for balloon pilots, known as the Aeronaut Badge. Enlisted Aviators wore their regular rankinsignia and the Observer's...
year. Service Rankinsignia Army insignia (2019–present) Marine Corps insignia (2020–present) Navy Insignia (2024–present) AirForceinsignia (2019–present)...
and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted personnel for each member nation. NATO Ranks and insignia of NATO Ranks and insignia of NATO armies enlisted Ranks...
In the UnitedStates Army, soldiers may wear insignia to denote membership in a particular area of military specialism and series of functional areas....
Global Information
