Study guide
3.2 The Military Departments & Services
Air Force PFE Promotion Fitness Examination
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1 Introduction & Exam Overview
1.1 PFE Exam Facts & Format 1.2 The WAPS Scoring System 1.3 The Tested AFH 1 Chapters & Study Strategy
2 Professionalism (AFH 1, Chapter 1)
2.1 The USAF Professional & the Profession of Arms 2.2 The Air Force Core Values & Their Virtues 2.3 Ethical Standards & the Airman's Creed
3 Military Organization & Command (AFH 1, Chapter 5)
3.1 The United States Armed Forces 3.2 The Military Departments & Services 3.3 Military Command Structure & Combatant Commands 3.4 The Air Force Total Force 3.5 Air Force Organizational Structure
4 Enlisted Force Development I (AFH 1, Chapter 7A–7D)
4.1 Leadership Levels 4.2 The Enlisted Force Structure & Tiers 4.3 Duty Titles & Special Positions 4.4 Force Development & the Competency Framework
5 Enlisted Force Development II (AFH 1, Chapter 7E–7H)
5.1 Training Responsibilities & Upgrade Training 5.2 Professional Military Education 5.3 The Community College of the Air Force 5.4 Continuing Education & Voluntary Programs
6 Assessments & Recognition (AFH 1, Chapter 8)
6.1 The Airman Comprehensive Assessment 6.2 Performance Evaluations & the EPB 6.3 Reenlistments, Retention & Continuation 6.4 Awards & Decorations
7 Enlisted Promotions (AFH 1, Chapter 9)
7.1 Promotion Systems & Programs 7.2 Promotion Cycles & Eligibility 7.3 Preparation & Individual Responsibilities 7.4 Promotion Testing & Test Control 7.5 Evaluation Boards & Central Selection
8 Personnel Programs & Benefits (AFH 1, Chapter 11)
8.1 Benefits & Services 8.2 Leave & Authorized Absences 8.3 Military Associations & Civilian Programs
9 Finance, Manpower & Resources (AFH 1, Chapter 12)
9.1 Individual Finances & Allowances 9.2 Official Travel Expenses & Allowances 9.3 Manpower Management 9.4 Resource Management & Stewardship 9.5 Environmental Commitment
10 Developing Organizations (AFH 1, Chapter 13)
10.1 Strategic Thinking & Results Focus 10.2 Resources & Organizational Structure 10.3 Change Management & Problem Solving
11 Developing Others (AFH 1, Chapter 14)
11.1 Teamwork & Team Dynamics 11.2 Develops People: Mentoring, Coaching & Feedback 11.3 Service Mindset & Fostering Effective Relationships 11.4 Leadership: Styles, Power & Influence
12 Developing Self I (AFH 1, Chapter 15A–15C)
12.1 Accountability & Self-Management 12.2 Military Communication 12.3 Preparing to Communicate
13 Developing Self II (AFH 1, Chapter 15D–15F)
13.1 Written Communication 13.2 Spoken Communication 13.3 Electronic Messaging
14 Developing Ideas (AFH 1, Chapter 16)
14.1 What We Know: Priorities & Innovation 14.2 Cognitive Processes & Critical Thinking 14.3 Informed Decision-Making 14.4 What We Don't Know: Uncertainty & Assumptions
15 Emergency Management (AFH 1, Chapter 17)
15.1 Air Force Emergency Management, Disasters & Hazards 15.2 Preparedness, MOPP & Individual Protection 15.3 Crisis Response & Recovery 15.4 Department of the Air Force Mishap Prevention 15.5 Risk Management
16 Security (AFH 1, Chapter 18)
16.1 Integrated Defense & Force Protection Conditions 16.2 Operations Security (OPSEC) 16.3 Information Protection & Classification 16.4 Information Access, Cybersecurity & Mobility 16.5 Antiterrorism
17 Standards of Conduct (AFH 1, Chapter 19)
17.1 A Way of Life: Oaths, Standards & Off-Duty Conduct 17.2 The Law of War 17.3 The Code of Conduct
18 Enforcing Military Standards (AFH 1, Chapter 20)
18.1 The Air Force Inspection System 18.2 Individual Accountability & Corrective Action 18.3 Appropriate Working Relationships & Fraternization 18.4 Addressing Misconduct & Prohibited Behavior
19 Fitness & Readiness (AFH 1, Chapter 22)
19.1 USAF Fitness & Comprehensive Airman Fitness 19.2 The Official Fitness Assessment 19.3 Nutrition & Performance 19.4 Substance Use, Abuse & Treatment Programs 19.5 Readiness State of Mind & Resilience
20 Military Customs & Courtesies (AFH 1, Chapter 24)
20.1 Honored Traditions: Saluting, Titles & Reporting 20.2 Respect for the Flag 20.3 Respect for Individuals 20.4 Ceremonies & Events 20.5 Drill & Formation 20.6 Preserving Our Heritage
21 SJT Format & Competencies
21.1 SJT Format & Mechanics 21.2 Airman Leadership Qualities (ALQs) 21.3 Foundational Competencies & Behaviors
22 SJT Reasoning, Scenarios & Traps
22.1 SJT Reasoning Strategies 22.2 Sample SJT Scenarios 22.3 SJT Traps & Best Practices
3.2 The Military Departments & Services
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The military departments are the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps and, in wartime, the Coast Guard), and the Air Force (including the Space Force).
The Key West Agreement of 1948, last revised in 1958, established the general and specific functions — roles and missions — of each branch of the Armed Forces.
The three general functions of the U.S. Armed Forces are to support and defend the Constitution, ensure the security of the United States by timely and effective military action, and uphold and advance national policies and interests.
The Coast Guard is a military service and a branch of the Armed Forces at all times, serving in the Department of Homeland Security except when operating as part of the Navy on a declaration of war or when the President directs.
The Space Force's five specific functions are freedom of operation in, from, and to space; prompt and sustained space operations; protecting U.S. interests in space; deterring aggression in, from, and to space; and conducting space operations.
Last updated: August 2026
Defending the Nation
AFH 1 opens Section 5B with the constitutional duty of the military: ensure national survival, defend lives and property, and promote vital interests at home and abroad. Senior military leaders jointly underwrite a strategy of defending the homeland and assuring allies, while dissuading, deterring, and defeating enemies.
The military departments are three, and the parenthetical contents matter:
- Military Department Includes
- Department of the Army The U.S. Army
- Department of the Navy The Navy, the Marine Corps , and in wartime the Coast Guard
- Department of the Air Force The USAF and the Space Force
Three departments, six services. An item offering "six military departments" or placing the Space Force under its own department is wrong.
The Key West Agreement
The Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff established the general and specific functions (roles and missions) of each branch in the Key West Agreement of 1948. The latest revision was in 1958 . Both dates are testable, and swapping them is a common trap.
The 1958 revision states three general functions of the U.S. Armed Forces :
Support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Ensure, by timely and effective military action, the security of the United States , its possessions, and areas vital to its interests.
Uphold and advance the national policies and interests of the United States.
The agreement also directs each service to make use of the personnel, equipment, and facilities of the other services in all cases where economy and effectiveness will be increased — the origin of the joint-efficiency logic that runs through the rest of Chapter 5.
- Specific Functions by Service
- United States Army
The land-based branch . Mission: "To fight and win our nation's wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders."
Specific functions — organize, train, and equip land forces for:
- Operations on land, including joint operations
- The seizure or defense of land areas , including airborne and joint amphibious operations
- The occupation of land areas
- United States Navy
Mission: maintain, train, and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. The Navy includes naval combat and service forces, naval aviation, and the Marine Corps , and is organized primarily for prompt and sustained combat at sea . AFH 1 notes it is the largest, most capable navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet.
Five specific functions: operations at sea including joint operations; control of vital sea areas, protection of vital sea lanes, and suppression of enemy sea commerce ; support of occupation forces as required; seizure of minor enemy shore positions reducible by landing forces within the fleet organization; and naval reconnaissance, antisubmarine warfare, and protection of shipping .
United States Marine Corps
Five specific functions, the first of which is the identity item: provide marine forces with supporting components for service in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases , and the conduct of limited land operations connected with them. The others: develop, in coordination with the Army and USAF, the phases of amphibious operations pertaining to landing-force tactics, technique, and equipment; provide detachments and organizations for service on armed vessels of the Navy ; provide security detachments for protection of naval property at naval stations and bases; and provide missions and detachments for service in foreign countries as required to support national policies and interests.
United States Coast Guard
The status rule is heavily tested. The Coast Guard is a military service and a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces at all times. It is a service in the Department of Homeland Security except when operating as part of the Navy on declaration of war or when the President directs.
Major functions include enforcing federal law on, under, and over the high seas and U.S. waters; maritime air surveillance or interdiction ; administering and enforcing safety-of-life-and-property regulations; developing and operating aids to maritime navigation, icebreaking facilities, and rescue facilities ; operating icebreaking facilities beyond U.S. waters under international agreement; oceanographic research ; and maintaining readiness to function as a specialized service in the Navy in time of war , including Maritime Defense Zone command responsibilities.
United States Air Force
The USAF includes all military aviation forces, both combat and service, not otherwise specifically assigned , and is organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained air offensive and defensive operations . It provides the means for coordination of air defense among all services .
Eight specific functions — organize, train, and equip air forces for:
- Air operations including joint operations
- Gaining and maintaining general air supremacy
- Establishing local air superiority where and as required
- The strategic force of the United States and strategic air reconnaissance
- Airlift and support for airborne operations
- Air support to land forces and naval forces , including support of occupation forces
- Air transport for the Armed Forces, except as provided by the Navy
- Developing weapons, tactics, technique, organization, and equipment of USAF combat and service elements
Note the deliberate contrast in items 2 and 3: air supremacy is general; air superiority is local . Reversing them is the classic distractor.
United States Space Force
The Department of the Air Force is composed of air, space, and cyberspace forces , and the USAF and Space Force together are "the nation's principal air and space forces." The DAF provides global vigilance, global reach, and global power .
The Space Force, within the Department of the Air Force , has five specific functions :
- Provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space
- Provide prompt and sustained space operations
- Protect the interests of the United States in space
- Deter aggression in, from, and to space
- Conduct space operations
The repeated phrase "in, from, and to space" is the wording to memorize; distractors typically shorten it to "in space."