The Department of the Air Force has cut the number of days all ranks of Airmen and Guardians can spend gaining civilian work experience through the SkillBridge program during their last six months of service, according to recent announcement.
In the past, Airmen and Guardians could use their last 180 days of service to do apprenticeships or internships with private industry firms through the Defense Department’s SkillBridge program, an effort designed to help service members get real-world job experience before they leave the military.
But to “balance operational readiness,” the DAF released updated guidance—effective March 31—that adjusts the length of program participation into rank-specific categories and clarifies specific commander levels needed for approval, according to an April 2 announcement.
For the Air Force, higher-ranking leaders are limited to 60 days, mid-grades can take up to 90 days and lower-level enlisted and officers can take up to 120 days. Air Force colonels require “special exception to policy approval” to participate in SkillBridge training, according to the announcement. The limitations on Space Force personnel are more lenient—E-9s and O-6s and above are limited to 90 days and all lower ranking Guardians are limited to 120 days of SkillBridge participation.
The new guidelines have also raised the approval authority to squadron commanders and above compared to the previous guidelines which allowed first-line supervisors such as section leaders to grant approval, an Air Force official said.
Here are the new Air Force SkillBridge categories:
Category Ranks Max Participation Approval Authority Category 1 E-1 to E-5, O-1 to O-3 120 Days 1st Field Grade Commander Category 2 E-6 to E-7, WO to CWO-3, O-4 90 Days 1st O-6 Commander Category 3 E-8 to E-9, CWO-4 to CWO-5, O-5 60 Days 1st O-6 Commander
Here are the new SkillBridge categories for Space Force:
| Category | Ranks | Max Participation | Approval Authority |
| Category 1 | E-1 to E-5 | 120 Days | 1st Field Grade Commander |
| Category 2 | E-6 to E-8 | 120 Days | 1st O-6 Commander |
| Category 3 | O-1 to O-4 | 120 Days | 1st O-6 Commander |
| Category 4 | E-9, O-5 and above | 90 Days | 1st General Officer in chain of command |
Approvals may depend on the applicant’s experience level and the needs of the unit at the time since service members that leave a unit for a SkillBridge opportunity “are not backfilled at all,” the Air Force official said.
The SkillBridge program started in 2011 to “address concerns about U.S. military personnel returning to civilian life following the 2008 financial crisis,” according to a 2022 Pentagon news release. Military careers that “do particularly well within SkillBridge include those in medical, transportation, and logistics.”
The program is also designed to help service members learn how to match their skills to civilian career fields. “If you are an Airmen and you load bombs—when you get out of the Air Force, how do you translate that into a civilian career?” the Air Force spokesperson offered as an example.
Opportunities under the program are “unpaid internships, that is part of the agreement,” an Air Force official said. “Airmen and Guardians who do this still get paid by the Air Force and Space Force.”
Service members can to go the SkillBridge site to search for opportunities with companies such as Anduril Industries, Bell Textron Inc., and the California Department of Technology. Participants can enter keyword searches or their city, state, or zip code to find openings—there are currently 11,795 available opportunities.
If approved, Airmen and Guardians with unused leave can participate in a SkillBridge internship while on terminal leave so they won’t be required to report back to their duty station at the completion of their leave.
Last year, the Air Force Personnel Center announced that the service was delaying issuance of separation orders for troops with a separation date of Jan. 1, 2026 or later, and the service is delaying issuance of retirement orders for troops with a retirement date of April 1, 2026 or later.
The delay—which the Air Force official said is no longer in effect—meant that Airmen could not out-process from their current duty location, which could limit where they can participate in Skillbridge.