Airman first class

In documents about the history of U.S. armed forces, this combination of pay grade and rate is abbreviated as "A1C".

"buck sergeant"), a supervisory non-commissioned officer, in 1967, with the name senior airman added as a second, non-supervisory, E-4 rank in 1976 – continuing until 1998, when the last E-4 buck sergeant left the Air Force, and all remaining (and future) E-4s carried the name senior airman.

[1][2] Promotion to airman first class occurs upon one or more of the following: Those personnel who qualify for these early promotions to airman first class wear the insignia of this rank during their basic training graduation ceremonies at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, except for those who signed up for an extended enlistment, who receive their promotions to airman first class twenty weeks after graduation from basic military training or graduation from their technical training schools, whichever comes first.

Enlistees who have signed up for initial six-year enlistment periods have usually qualified and done so in return for a guarantee of up to two years of training in Department of Defense and Air Force schools in highly-technical specialities such as electronics, weapons systems, physician's assistant or nursing.

Airmen first class are considered to be fully adjusted to Air Force and military life, and their duties focus on efficiently and effectively carrying out their assignments and honing their job skills.