Scoring errors revealed in a reiew of recent Air Force promotions means that 135 security forces staff sergeants are getting belated good news about promotions—while 135 others are discovering they will not be promoted as previously told.
An “outdated scoring key” used to grade 2026 E-6 promotion exams used to score the 3P071 security forces Specialty Knowledge Test, or SKT, was at fault. The error “led to 27 miskeys that fundamentally corrupted the security forces promotion list for 26E6,” the Air Force announced July 7. “No other Air Force specialty codes were impacted..”
The 135 Airmen newly added to the list will be notified of their promotion “tentatively one week following senior rater notification to erroneous selects,” according to the announcement. Air Force personnel officials will conduct an out-of-cycle, in-system supplemental promotion release the week of July 13. This supplemental is for all Air Force specialty codes and will include 135 Defenders Air Force-wide whose new scores met the corrected cut-off and are now selected for promotion to tech sergeant, according to the announcement.
“We owe it to those affected to address it immediately,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe, a former security forces Airmen, in the announcement. “This is going to be hard for everyone impacted.”
The Airmen whose actual scores resulted in them being dropped off the list are being notified by their leadership following a senior rater notification sent July 7, according to the announcement.
The Air Force stressed that the mistake was “the result of human error” and that no artificial intelligence tools were used in the process.
Air Force personnel officials selected a total of 6,668 staff sergeants for promotion out of 25,080 eligible candidates, according to a June 25 Air Force Personnel Center announcement. The average overall score for Airmen selected was 373.69. Those chosen averaged slightly more than 5 years time in grade and just over 10 years in service.
Personnel officials conducted “a full re-score for all 2,285 3P0 promotion eligibles using the correct score sheet,” to identify the “rightful earners for promotion and those whose line numbers will be revoked,” the July 7 announcement states. Security forces had 586 promotion slots available.
The 451 selected correctly on the first screen will retain their line number with no impact, while the 135 defenders newly selected for promotion will have a .5 added to the line number generated for them by the retest. The change will have no impact on promotion timelines, the announcement said.
Following the re-score, 135 defenders will have their line numbers rescinded, and
“We promote Airmen based on merit, which is established in federal law and policy,” Lt. Gen. Jefferson O’Donnell, deputy chief of staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services, said in the statement. “Who we are as an Air Force, defined by our core values, demands integrity in the meritocratic promotion system; we have a core obligation to ensure the Airmen who earned it are selected.”
Air Force Personnel Center and Air Education and Training Command officials are now conducting a review the validation and data transfer processes for the Weighted Airmen Promotion System.
“We owe it to our Airmen to own the mistake and to take the necessary actions to not only make it right today, but to prevent future issues,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe hosted a recent call with wing command chiefs with affected members to “discuss the situation and to direct personal engagement between security forces leadership and members impacted by the promotion error,” according to the announcement.