Editing United States Air Force (section)

=== Enlisted airmen ===
[[File:Pararescue.training exercise.jpg|thumb|Pararescuemen and a simulated "survivor" watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing]]
{{main|United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia}}

Enlisted airmen have [[pay grade]]s from E-1 (entry level) to E-9 (senior enlisted).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.airforce.com/pay-and-benefits/air-force-benefits|title=Air Force Active Duty Benefits|website=United States Air Force|access-date=July 31, 2023}}</ref> While all USAF personnel, enlisted and officer, are referred to as ''airmen'', in the same manner that all [[United States Army|Army]] personnel, enlisted and officer, are referred to as ''soldiers'', the term also refers to the pay grades of E-1 through E-4, which are below the level of [[non-commissioned officer]]s (NCOs). Above the pay grade of E-4 (i.e., pay grades E-5 through E-9) all ranks fall into the category of NCO and are further subdivided into "NCOs" (pay grades E-5 and E-6) and "senior NCOs" (pay grades E-7 through E-9); the term "junior NCO" is sometimes used to refer to staff sergeants and technical sergeants (pay grades E-5 and E-6).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Defense Enlisted Rank Insignias |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/enlisted.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617194102/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/enlisted.html |archive-date=17 June 2008 |access-date=30 August 2010 |publisher=Defenselink.mil}}</ref>

The USAF, along with the [[United States Space Force|US Space Force]], are the only branches of the U.S. military where NCO status is achieved when an enlisted person reaches the pay grade of E-5. In all other branches, NCO status is generally achieved at the pay grade of E-4 (e.g., a [[corporal]] in the Army{{efn|However, the Army has dual ranks at the E-4 paygrade with [[Specialist (rank)|Specialists]] not considered NCOs. From the 1980s, the Army corporal rank came to be awarded infrequently and was rarely found in units, but since 2021 E-4 graduates of the Basic Leader Course are promoted to corporal before further advancement.<ref name= vanhuizen >{{cite web |url=https://www.armytimes.com/2021/06/07/all-soldiers-must-now-serve-as-corporals-before-promotion-to-sergeant/ |first=Harm |last=Venhuizen |date=7 June 2021 |title=All soldiers must now serve as corporals before promotion to sergeant |website=Army Times}}</ref>}} and [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[Petty Officer Third Class]] in the [[United States Navy|Navy]] and [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]]). The Air Force mirrored the Army from 1976 to 1991 with an E-4 being either a senior airman wearing three stripes without a star or a sergeant (referred to as "buck sergeant"), which was noted by the presence of the central star and considered an NCO. Despite not being an NCO, a senior airman who has completed [[Airman Leadership School]] can be a supervisor according to the AFI 36–2618.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Barnes/Airman-Leadership-School/|title=Airman Leadership School – Air University|website=AirUniversity.af.edu|access-date=July 28, 2023}}</ref>
{{USAF Enlisted}}