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Air Force Specialty Code

The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) is an alphanumeric code used by the United States Air Force to identify a specific job. Officer AFSCs consist of four characters and enlisted AFSCs consist of five characters. A letter prefix or suffix may be used with an AFSC when more specific identification of position requirements and individual qualifications is necessary. The AFSC is similar to the Military Occupational Specialty Codes (MOS Codes) used by the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps or enlisted ratings and USN officer designators and Naval Officer Billet Classifications (NOBCs) used by the United States Navy and enlisted ratings and USCG officer specialties used by the United States Coast Guard. The United States Space Force equivalent is known as the Space Force Specialty Code (SFSC).[1]

History[edit]

After the Air Force separated from the Army in 1947, it retained the Army's system of MOS occupation codes, modifying them in 1954. These were 5-digit codes; for example a maintenance data systems specialist was 39150 and a weather technician was 25170. In October 1993, the Air Force implemented a new system of AFSCs, aligning occupations with the force wide restructuring that was implemented under Merrill McPeak.[2] These reduced officer AFSCs from 216 to 123 and enlisted AFSCs from 203 to 176.

Career group (Numerical)

  1. Operations
  2. Logistics & Maintenance
  3. Support
  4. Medical
  5. Professional
  6. Acquisition
  7. Special Investigations
  8. Special Duty Identifiers, typically used for Airmen chosen for specialized jobs
  9. Reporting Identifiers, typically used for Airmen in transitive status: trainees, awaiting retraining, prisoner, etc. And occasionally for Airmen chosen for specialized jobs.

Career field (Alpha, different for each)

Career field subdivision (Numerical, different for each)

Skill level

Utilization Field (Numerical, different for each)

Functional Area (Alpha, different for each)

bomber

Additional information[edit]

During the course of their Air Force careers, Airmen sometimes switch jobs and receive multiple AFSCs to denote training in multiple specialties. A Primary AFSC (PAFSC) is the designation for the specialty in which the individual possesses the highest skill level and is, therefore, the AFSC that he or she is best qualified to perform. The Duty AFSC (DAFSC) reflects the actual manpower position the Airman is assigned to. The Control AFSC (CAFSC) is a management tool to make assignments, assist in determining training requirements, and consider individuals for promotion. Often an enlisted Airman's PAFSC will reflect a higher skill level than his or her CAFSC since the CAFSC skill level is tied to rank while the PAFSC skill level is tied to performance and education.


Usually, the PAFSC, DAFSC, and CAFSC will be the same. However, situations such as retraining, special duties, or Air Force-level changes necessitate these distinctions. Additionally, Airmen that have retrained into multiple specialties will have several Secondary AFSCs (2AFSC, 3AFSC, etc.). Air Force officers are limited to 3 AFSCs in MilPDS while Enlisted may have 4 AFSCs on record.


Special Experience Identifiers (SEIs) are established to identify special experience and training. The Air Force Enlisted Classification Directory (AFECD) and Air Force Officer Classification Directory (AFOCD) Section III contains the complete list of authorized SEIs and includes designation criteria and authorized AFSC combinations. (AFMAN 36–2100)


Enlisted personnel may wear the master badge as a Master Sergeant or above with 5 years in the specialty from award of the 7-skill level. Officers wear the master badge after 15 years in the specialty.

Badges of the United States Air Force

List of United States Army careers

List of United States Marine Corps MOS

List of United States Naval officer designators

List of United States Navy ratings

List of United States Navy staff corps

List of United States Coast Guard ratings

Military education and training

(PDF)

AFMAN 36-2100, Military Utilization and Classification

Tactical Aircraft Maintenance AFSC 2A3X3 Air Force Career

– Only accessible to military personnel

U.S. Air Force Officer Classification Directory (AFOCD) and U.S. Air Force Enlisted Classification Directory (AFECD)