{"id":25144,"date":"2019-01-03T07:46:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T07:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/03\/new-in-2019-changes-to-high-year-of-tenure-take-effect\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:41:30","slug":"new-in-2019-changes-to-high-year-of-tenure-take-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/01\/03\/new-in-2019-changes-to-high-year-of-tenure-take-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"New in 2019: Changes to high year of tenure take effect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a bid to hold on to experienced airmen with vital skills, the Air Force this year will officially change so-called \u201cup or out\u201d rules<\/a> for senior airmen, staff sergeants and technical sergeants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those rules \u2014 formally known as high year of tenure<\/a> \u2014 spell out when airmen in certain ranks must leave the Air Force if they are not promoted. Senior airmen, who previously would have had to leave at eight years, will now be able to stay in until 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff sergeants\u2019 high year of tenure limits<\/a> will be raised from 15 years to 20 years, and tech sergeants will see their time in uniform be extended from 20 to 22 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy will officially be implemented Feb. 1. Any airman who was slated to separate or retire on or after that date will have his or her tenure automatically extended to reflect the new limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official change of the rules means that airmen and their commanders won\u2019t have to jump through hoops to get a tenure extension. When the Air Force announced the changes in October, it said that airmen whose retirement or separation date was to fall before Feb. 1 would have to go through a process to request an exception to policy extending their tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\t