Talk:Staff sergeant

The Segeant/Senior Airmen issue
I think we need to settle in the talk page the issue of what is below Staff Sergeant before an edit war starts. Here is how I understand it: Therefore, the old Sergeant was not above Senior Airman, it was above Airmen 1st Class, just like Senior Airmen is today. Sergeant and Senior Airmen are the same level, just different time periods. I am going to change the article to state that "Staff Sergeant is above Senior Airmen (formerly known as Sergeant)". I will re-word that to fit with the sentences there, but I think that is the most accurate. --OuroborosCobra 02:52, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Staff Sergeant is 4 stripes
 * 3 Stripes used to be Sergeant
 * 3 Stripes was renamed Senior Airmen


 * Before the 1990s, Senior Airman and Sergeant both existed as a three stripe rank, with only Sergeant having the central star, and ranking above a Senior Airman. The last promotion from Senior Airman to Sergeant was on 1991-May-01.  After that date Senior Airman were promoted directly to Staff Sergeant.  By the end of the 1990s all remaining Sergeants had also been promoted to Staff Sergeant.
 * U.S. Air Force Enlisted Ranks: (1990s changes shown as deletions and insertions )
 * Airman Basic — no stripes — 6 monthes in this grade.
 * Airman — 1 stripe — 10 monthes in this grade.
 * Airman First Class — 2 stripes — 20 monthes in this grade.
 * Senior Airman — 3 stripes, no star — 12 12+ monthes in grade.
 * Sergeant — 3 stripes, w/ star — 6+ monthes in grade.
 * Staff Sergeant — 4 stripes — must meet qualifications and have minimum time in grade as a Sergeant Senior Airman.
 * Technical Sergeant — 5 stripes — must meet qualifications and have minimum 2 years in grade as a Staff Sergeant.
 * Master Sergeant — 5 stripes, 1 chevron — must meet qualifications and have minimum ? years in grade as a Technical Sergeant.
 * Senior Master Sergeant — 5 stripes, 2 chevrons — must meet qualifications and limited to 2% of all enlisted personel.
 * Chief Master Sergeant — 6 stripes, 2 chevrons 5 stripes, 3 chevrons — limited to 1% of all enlisted personel.
 * Command Chief Master Sergeant — star between stripes and chevrons — created 1998-Nov, limited to a small number of the above 1%.
 * Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force — main star in laurel wreath, Great Seal of the United States between the stripes and chevrons — one individual in service at a time.
 * —MJBurrage &bull; talk  &bull; 16:40, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

I stand corrected. --OuroborosCobra 20:12, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Info removed
I removed the following information since it is in the wrong POV, and doesn't seem to be relevant as a background note. I leave it here for discussion, however. --From Andoria with Love 04:53, 27 December 2006 (UTC)


 * At the time of the filming of, airman first class bore three stripes, and he next highest rank was staff sergeant. This was changed by 1970, where three stripes became sergeant.  By the mid- to late-1970s, though, senior airman and sergeant both were utilized, the sole difference in the insignia being that the airman ranks used a blue star of the same color as the backing field of the chevrons, and sergeants used a silver-gray star of the same color as the chevrons themselves.

There is also: "In the 1990s the Air Force phased out sergeants, putting senior airmen just below staff sergeants" Is this so? Can we find a canon source to support this? In other words, we need not be putting so much specific information, of this type, in these articles when there is no canon evidence to support it. We mustn't blur the lines between realities: the real 1990s and the Star Trek 1990s. --Alan del Beccio 22:26, 17 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm going to remove that info, along with some other similar info. It can be put back if there is canon evidence.


 * In the US, this rank was equivalent to a petty officer (1st or 2nd class, depending on service). In the UK, this rank was equivalent to a chief petty officer.


 * In the US Air Force, this rank was just below technical sergeant, and just above sergeant (which was just above senior airman, although Sergeant and Senior Airman were the same paygrade. The two ranks had different responsibilities and privileges. The insignia difference was that sergeant had a silver star on the chevrons, and senior airman had a dark blue star.). In the 1990s the Air Force phased out sergeants, putting senior airmen just below staff sergeants.


 * His rank was staff sergeant (pay grade E-5), one rank below that of a US Army or US Marine Corps staff sergeant (both E-6). The Air Force staff sergeant rank is equivalent to the US Navy rank of petty officer 2nd class.--31dot 02:33, January 25, 2011 (UTC)