Airmen will need to “bring their A-game” because “performance is No. 1,” under the new enlisted evaluation and promotion systems, said CMSgt. Brandy Petzel, chief of enlisted force policy on the Air Staff. Speaking Sept. 17 at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Petzel said the changes are meant to ensure that performance is weighted more heavily than other factors. “We have had the same promotion system for 45 years with no significant changes,” said Petzel. “Now is the right time” to improve it. The Air Force announced in July that sweeping changes to the enlisted force’s evaluation systems would be made in the next few years. Changes began in August and will take up to 30 months to be fully implemented, she said.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.