{"id":20019,"date":"2022-08-18T21:37:17","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T21:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/18\/promotions-to-staff-sergeant-hit-lowest-rate-in-over-20-years\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:28:14","slug":"promotions-to-staff-sergeant-hit-lowest-rate-in-over-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/08\/18\/promotions-to-staff-sergeant-hit-lowest-rate-in-over-20-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Promotions to staff sergeant hit lowest rate in over 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senior airmen this week got their first taste of how difficult it may become to earn a promotion to staff sergeant in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force said Wednesday it chose just over 20% of eligible senior airmen to move up the career ladder in the latest round of promotion considerations \u2014 a steep drop from last year\u2019s 35% selection rate. About 9,700 of 46,000 E-4s made the cut, according to the Air Force Personnel Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the lowest selection rate for incoming E-5s since 1997, when 19% of E-4s moved up. At that point, selection rates were rebounding from a low point of 5.5%. The most recent high point was a 65% promotion rate in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\t