Where do enlisted promotion quotas come from?
The number of enlisted members that can be promoted for each grade every cycle is based on the total projected vacancies with allowances for those people who get promoted but are lost through normal attrition. Air Staff announces the number of people that can be selected (promotion quota) a few days before selections are made. The Air Force Personnel Center enters the quota into a computer where the Weighted Airman Promotion System scores are stored. A computer program then distributes the quota equally based upon the promotion eligible population within each Air Force Specialty Code. The computer can select more than the target number if there are ties in cutoff scores. Once the selection phase is completed and an actual number of “selectees” are identified, the promotion selection rate is announced.
