The U.S. Air Force announced Tuesday that it has rescinded promotions for 135 airmen after discovering an outdated answer key was used to score a mandatory examination. The error impacted security forces airmen, who are responsible for the service's law enforcement and security operations.
An investigation into the incident found that 135 airmen were incorrectly notified that they had earned promotion to technical sergeant, a mid-level enlisted rank. The service has since rescored the exams using the correct answer key. Of the 586 airmen originally selected for promotion, 451 will retain their advancement, while the 135 affected by the error will now be promoted.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe stated that the service "owe[s] it to those affected to address it immediately," acknowledging the difficulty of the situation for those impacted. Promotions within the Air Force are determined by a combination of factors, including testing performance, completed coursework, and length of service.
Officials described the event as an "isolated" and "highly unprecedented anomaly." The Air Force is currently reviewing its promotion processes to implement additional safeguards. Lt. Gen. Jefferson O’Donnell, deputy chief of staff for Air Force Manpower, Personnel, and Services, emphasized the importance of integrity in the meritocratic promotion system, stating, "Who we are as an Air Force, defined by our core values, demands integrity in the meritocratic promotion system; we have a core obligation to ensure the Airmen who earned it are selected."
This marks the latest in a series of evaluation and testing issues for the Air Force. In the past year, the Air Force Academy investigated nearly 100 cadets for cheating on a knowledge test, following a 2020 scandal involving approximately 250 cadets accused of honor code violations.