The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) is an alphanumeric code used by the United States Air Force to identify an Air Force Specialty (AFS), or a group of jobs that require common qualifications. Officer AFSCs consist of four characters and enlisted AFSCs consist of five characters. A letter prefix or suffix may be used with an AFSC when more specific identification of position requirements and individual qualifications is necessary. The AFSC is similar to the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) used by the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps.

Enlisted AFSCs

The enlisted AFSC consists of five alphanumeric characters:

• Career Group (Numerical)
  • 1 (Operations)
  • 2 (Logistics)
  • 3 (Support)
  • 4 (Medical or Dental
  • 5 (Legal or Chaplain)
  • 6 (Acquisition or Finance)
  • 7 (Special Investigation)
  • 8 (Special Duty Identified)
  • 9 (Reporting Identifier)
• Career Field (Alpha, different for each career group)
• Career Field Subdivision (Numerical, different for each career field)
• Skill Level
  • 1 – Helper
  • 3 – Apprentice
  • 5 – Journeyman
  • 7 – Craftsman
  • 9 – Superintendent
  • 0 – Chief Enlisted Manager (CEM)
• Specific AFSC (Numeric, different for each career field subdivision)

For example, in the AFSC 1N371:

• The career group is 1 (Operations)
• The career field is N (Intelligence)
• The career field is 3 (Cryptographic Linguist)
• The skill level is 7 (Craftsman)
• The specific AFSC is 1 (Germanic)

For some specialties, an alpha prefix is used to denote a special ability, skill, qualification or system designator not restricted to a single AFSC. Additionally, an alpha suffix (a “shredout”) denotes positions associated with particular equipment or functions within a single specialty.

Officer AFSCs

The officer AFSC consists of four alphanumeric characters:

• Career Group (Numerical)
  • 1 (Operations)
  • 2 (Logistics)
  • 3 (Support)
  • 4 (Medical or Dental)
  • 5 (Legal or Chaplain)
  • 6 (Acquisition or Finance)
  • 7 (Special Investigation)
  • 8 (Special Duty Identified)
  • 9 (Reporting Identifier)
• Utilization Field (Numerical, different for each career group)
• Functional Area (Alpha, different for each utilization area)
• Qualification Level
  • 0 – Qualified commander (when used in conjunction with “C” in the 3rd position)
  • 1 – Entry (any AFSC)
  • 2 – Intermediate (is only used for pilots, bomber navigators, and missile launch officers)
  • 3 – Qualified (any AFSC)
  • 4 – Staff (relates only to the level of functional responsibility and is restricted to positions above wing level; it does not denote additional specialty qualifications)

For example, in the AFSC 11A4:

• The career group is 1 (Operations)
• The utilization field is 1 (Pilot)
• The functional area is A (Airlift)
• The qualification level is 4 (Staff)

As with enlisted AFSCs, prefixes and suffixes may be applied to make the AFSC more specific.

Additional Information

During the course of their Air Force careers, airman sometimes switch jobs and receive multiple AFSCs to denote training in multiple specialties. A Primary AFSC (PAFSC) is the designation for the specialty in which the individual possesses the highest skill level and is, therefore, the AFS that he or she is best qualified to perform If the individual is assigned to perform duty in a specialty that is not a PAFSC, that is known as the Duty AFSC (DAFSC). Additionally, the Control AFSC (CAFSC) is a management tool to make assignments, assist in determining training requirements, and consider individuals for promotion. However, the “normal” situation for most airman is for the PAFSC, DAFSC, and CAFSC to be the same.

See Also

• Air Education & Training Command
• Military education and training
• Military Occupational Specialty

References

• AFI 36-2101, Classifying Military Personnel (Officer and Enlisted)
• AFMAN 36-2105, Officer Classification
• AFMAN 36-2108, Airman Classification