United States Air Force Enlisted Rank Insignia
The chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Air Force.
| US DoD Pay grade | E-1 | E-2 | E-3 | E-4 | E-5 | E-6 | E-7 | E-8 | E-9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insignia | No Insignia | |||||||||||||
| Title | Airman Basic | Airman | Airman First Class | Senior Airman | Staff Sergeant | Technical Sergeant | Master Sergeant¹ | Senior Master Sergeant¹ | Chief Master Sergeant¹ | Command Chief Master Sergeant | Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force | |||
| Abbreviation | AB | Amn | A1C | SrA | SSgt | TSgt | MSgt | SMSgt | CMSgt | CCM | CMSAF | |||
| NATO Code | OR-1 | OR-2 | OR-3 | OR-4 | OR-5 | OR-6 | OR-7 | OR-8 | OR-9 | OR-9 | OR-9 | |||
|
¹ The U.S. Air Force does not have a separate First Sergeant rank; it is instead a duty denoted by a diamond within the upper field. |
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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). 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 & 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 & E-6).
The Air Force is the only one of the five branches of the United States military where NCO status is only achieved at the grade of E-5. 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 "Buck Sergeant") which was noted by the presence of the central star and considered an NCO. Despite not being an NCO, a Senior Airman who has completed Airman Leadership School can be a supervisor.
Read more about United States Air Force Enlisted Rank Insignia: Evolution of The Chevrons
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