The U.S. Air Force has rescinded 135 promotions for technical sergeants within the security forces career field due to a human error involving an outdated test answer key. The mistake corrupted the scoring for the Specialty Knowledge Test (SKT) for 2,285 eligible Airmen.
After discovering the error, Air Force officials rescored all eligible SKTs using the correct key. As a result, 451 Airmen who were initially selected will retain their promotions. However, 135 Airmen who had earned promotions will now lose them, while another 135 who were previously passed over will be promoted.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, stating, "We owe it to those affected to address it immediately. This is going to be hard for everyone impacted."
Lt. Gen. Jefferson O'Donnell, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, emphasized the importance of integrity in the promotion system, noting that promotions are based on merit as established by federal law and policy.
The Air Force Personnel Center is scheduled to release the list of the 135 newly selected technical sergeants during the week of July 13. These Airmen will receive adjusted line numbers that do not alter their promotion timeline.
Officials described the scoring error as an isolated and unprecedented human mistake, assuring that no other Air Force specialty codes were affected. The total number of promotions for the cycle remains unchanged at 586. The Air Force is reviewing its processes to prevent similar errors in the future and has established a hotline for affected Airmen.