Back to Old Tenure Limits

Air Force officials announced on Wednesday that enlisted high year of tenure limits—the maximum years of service that an airman may remain on active duty in relation to his enlisted grade—are returning to their pre-2003 levels. This change, reflecting USAF’s stabilization of its end strength levels, will initially affect approximately 2,500 airmen; 500 senior airmen, 400 technical sergeants, 1,200 master sergeants, and 400 senior master sergeants. The HYT for senior master sergeant, master sergeant, technical sergeant, and senior airman will return to 26, 24, 22, and 10 years, respectively, while the limits for chief master sergeant and staff sergeant remain at 30 and 20 years, respectively, since they were not raised in 2003. The effective dates are: April 1, 2011, for master sergeant; Aug. 1, 2011 for technical sergeant; Sept. 1, 2011 for senior airman; and Jan. 1, 2012 for senior master sergeant. (SAF/PA release)