The Air Force is pushing technical sergeant promotion testing back two weeks while it removes content related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs from study materials.
So far, the service doesn’t expect the Weighted Airman Promotion System, or WAPS, testing cycle delay to push back the announcement of promotion selections or the timeline for when airmen will pin on their new ranks.
“The decision to slightly delay the testing cycle ensures limited disruption in the promotion and advancement of airmen,” the Air Force said in a Wednesday release.
The E6 testing cycle was originally planned to run from Feb. 15 to April 15, the Air Force said, but it will now go from March 3 to May 1. The delay will allow the service to review its testing materials and strip anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion from the Air Force handbook and Career Development Course study guides.
President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order his first day in office requiring agencies to immediately cancel all DEI programs. Agencies and military services scrambled to comply and strip anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion from their publications or other materials.
The Air Force pulled the handbook and study guides on Jan. 29 for review. The service expects to publish updated versions by Feb. 18 without the material that runs afoul of Trump’s DEI order.
The WAPS test itself will not have all of its DEI-related questions removed. The Air Force said removing the questions would delay testing for four months and affect about 6,300 airmen’s promotions. Though they’re still in the tests, those questions will not count, the service said.
“Until related questions can be removed, testers will still see DEI questions and are expected to answer all questions to the best of their ability,” the Air Force said. “However, any DEI questions will not be scored.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
