Airman Basic
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF), immediately below Airman. The pay grade for Airman Basic is E-1.
As opposed to all other USAF enlisted and officer ranks, Airman Basic has no rank insignia affiliated. The lack of uniform insignia for Airmen Basic is the impetus for the nickname "slick-sleeve", in contrast to all other enlisted Air Force ranks which wear their stripes/chevrons on their uniform sleeves.
In accordance with Air Force Instruction
Air Force Instructions
An Air Force Instruction is a documented instruction for members of the United States Air Force intended for use by active duty, guard, and reserve members and associated civilians. It is one of many forms of directives published by the Air Force Departmental Publishing Office...
(AFI) 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure, the term of address for an Airman Basic is "Airman Basic" or "Airman".
USAF grade history
When the US Air Force was split from the US ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
on July 26, 1947, it inherited the Army enlisted ranks; the lowest USAF enlisted rank became "Private" (falling immediately below Private, E-2), which wore no rank insignia.
In March 1952 the Air Council
Air Council
Air Council was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board.- Composition :...
and United States Air Force Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...
adopted a number of changes to the Air Force enlisted rank structure that had been recommended by studies made in 1950 and 1951. On April 24, 1952, Air Force Regulation 39-36 was published, changing the name of the lowest enlisted Air Force rank to "Basic Airman"—whose members still bore no insignia—immediately below the new "Airman Third Class".
On February 5, 1959, the new Air Force regulation governing the titles of enlisted ranks was released; the only change being direction that the title for E-1 was changed from "Basic Airman" to the current "Airman Basic".
Promotion from AB
Under normal circumstances, Airmen Basic are eligible for promotion to Airman (E-2) after six months time-in-grade (TIG). However, individuals enlisting for six years are promoted from AB to Airman First ClassAirman First Class
Airman first class is the third enlisted rank in the United States Air Force, just above airman and below senior airman. The rank of airman first class is considered a junior enlisted rank, with the non-commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers above it.Airman first class is a...
(A1C) upon completion of either technical training (or 20 weeks thereof) or the indoctrination course for Combat Control or Pararescue.
In accordance with AFI 36-2502, Airman Promotion Program, all promotions from AB require that the Airman's immediate commanding officer approve the promotion in writing before they may assume it.
See also
- United States Air Force enlisted rank insigniaUnited States Air Force enlisted rank insigniaThe chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Air Force.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...
- United States Military PayUnited States Military PayUnited States Military Pay is money paid to members in the United States Armed Forces. The amount of pay may vary by the member's rank, time in the military, location duty assignment, and by some special skills the member may have.-Pay versus Allowance:...