Why people in the USAF have to wait for a year to get their promotion?

Question

A friend of mine was selected for promotion, but he says he won't get it till next year. Now, how should people call it, by his new rank? and does he means that the salary raise will be till next year?

Answer 1

yeah the day you get to put it on..usually at the first of the month is the day you start getting paid..in some cases you can put it on the end of the month before it goes into effect...if he is waiting a year to put his rank on it means he actually made it fast...they promote the older ranking people first..my husband has waited until the last month or two for every strip he has put on...so the day they get them..its a huge deal....and he is a staff sergeant select or tech sergeant select master sergeant select...etc..until the day he puts it on...

Answer 2

It doesn't exactly work like it sounds.  In the AF you test for a promotion.  There will be a cut off on how many people they are promoting, and depending on where you land in that cut off depends on when you get to put it on.  For example if you are a SSgt testing for TSgt and they are promoting 500 TSgt and you are number 400, you will have to wait awhile to put it on as they only promote so many per month.  But if you are number 10 you'll be in the first group to be promoted.  

His "new" rank wont be his new rank until he puts it on, if he is a SSgt he'll still be a SSgt until he puts on TSgt.  His raise for TSgt. wont happen until he puts on TSgt.  

His co-workers will know that he is a Tech Select though.  

Answer 3

Moving up in rank can be stifled by the number of slots available in the new rank.  If a person is going to be promoted there has to be a slot for them(at least it worked that way in the Navy). If there are no slots available then they have to wait until someone above them leaves the service or gets promoted to a higher rank.  Example:  if a person is going from E-4 to E-5 then there has to be a sergeant's spot open for them to move into.  If not, they are delayed.  This has a lot to do with the mos that they occupy rather than the rank alone.  The mos may be a lightly populated mos like weatherman or a heavily populated one like infantry.  With fewer openings in the weatherman mos  it is slower to move up than in the infantry where the openings are numerous.

Answer 4

It's not just the af.  The reason is it's about money.  Most people get promoted toward the end of the fiscal year so they don't have to pay you.  He goes by his current rank until it puts his new one on, which is when he'll get paid for it.

Answer 5

The Air force is down sizing.  There are only a certain number of open slots and a budget to consider.  So its quite a game of balance.