Study guide
8.3 Military Associations & Civilian Programs
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
8.3 Military Associations & Civilian Programs
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The Joint Ethics Regulation, Section 3-210, lists six categories of fundraising and membership activities the Air Force and its personnel may endorse.
The Air Force Assistance Fund comprises the Air Force Enlisted Village, the Air Force Aid Society, and the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation.
Civilian employees do not have rank; their positions are graded, typically under the General Schedule, based on written job descriptions.
Civilian employees earn 13 days of sick leave each year and 13, 20, or 26 days of annual leave depending on length of service, with annual leave capped at 30 days (45 days overseas).
Approximately 53 percent of Air Force civilian employees are covered by labor agreements and are members of the bargaining unit even if they are not dues-paying union members.
Last updated: August 2026
Military and Community Associations
AFH 1 notes that the greater military community includes RegAF, National Guard and Reserve, retirees, and veterans, as well as spouses and family members , and that many associations exist for lobbying efforts, fraternity, and support .
The critical content is the closed list of activities the Air Force and its personnel may endorse , per the Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), Section 3-210, Activities with Non-Federal Entities: Fundraising and Membership Drives :
- The Combined Federal Campaign
- Emergency and disaster appeals approved by the Office of Personnel Management
The Air Force Assistance Fund , comprising the Air Force Enlisted Village , the Air Force Aid Society , and the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation
Other organizations composed primarily of DoD employees or their dependents when fundraising among their own members for the benefit of welfare funds for their own members or dependents, when approved by the head of the DoD Component after consultation with the Designated Agency Ethics Official
- Veterans Service Organizations recognized by the VA
- Installation-recognized Private Organizations per AFI 34-223, Private Organizations Program
The three Air Force Assistance Fund charities are the most reliably tested element. Note also the constraint buried in item 4: the fundraising must be among the organization's own members — an Air Force organization may not endorse a general public solicitation.
This list connects directly to the ethics rules in AFH 1 Section 1D: Title 5, CFR, Part 2635 bars soliciting or accepting gifts from prohibited sources, and the JER list is the narrow set of endorsements that survive that bar.
Civilian Personnel Programs
The Air Force provides civilian personnel services through installation civilian personnel flights — usually located in the force support squadron — and the Air Force Personnel Center .
Position Descriptions
The framing sentence is testable on its own: "Civilian employees do not have a rank. Instead, the positions they occupy are graded, typically under the General Schedule, based upon detailed written job descriptions." Those descriptions are the basis for determining pay, qualification requirements, performance expectations, and appraisal ratings .
Position descriptions historically covered duties, responsibilities, and supervisory controls ; the Air Force has expanded core personnel documents to include qualifications required for recruitment and training requirements for new employees . Supervisors are responsible for core personnel document accuracy and for implementing standard core personnel documents , which save time for supervisors and classification specialists and can serve as templates for unique core personnel documents .
Filling Jobs
Vacancies are filled using recruitment sources and appointing authorities established by the Office of Personnel Management, DoD, and the Air Force . Referral and selection priorities must be observed when filling competitive service positions.
Employees with mandatory selection or priority referral rights normally include those adversely affected by:
- Reduction-in-force
- Involuntary separation
- Demotion
- Transfer of function declinations or transfer of work outside the commuting area
- Overseas returnees
- The spouses of military personnel
Candidates are screened by AFPC , which refers one or more lists of candidates to the supervisor. OPM provides qualification standards written broadly for government-wide application.
Civilian Resource Management
Civilian pay funds cover overtime, awards, bonuses, the student loan repayment program, seasonal and longer-term overhires, voluntary separation incentive payments , and severance pay . Management depends on a team including commanders, senior leaders, human resource officers, financial managers, and manpower officers , using a corporate board structure meeting at least quarterly .
Training and Development
A training-needs survey is conducted annually , but supervisors may request an out-of-cycle training need at any time . References are DAFMAN 36-2689, Training Program and DAFI 36-2687, Civilian Development .
The three primary sources of training — and the priority rule — are heavily tested:
Source Description
Agency (USAF) On-the-job training, in-house training, and Air Force formal schools. OJT and in-house are often the most effective because the supervisor tailors them; in-house is effective when a large number of employees need instruction on common skill requirements
Interagency Training sponsored by other U.S. Government agencies — OPM, the Departments of Army and Navy, Labor, and Agriculture
Nongovernment Seminars, conferences, courses, workshops, and private educational institution curricula
The priority rule: federal regulations require agencies to consider and select government training sources before turning to nongovernmental alternatives — though nongovernmental sources may be considered when agency or interagency courses cannot satisfy the need or when nongovernmental training is more advantageous .
Training conducted away from the work site is requested, approved, and documented on Standard Form 182, Authorization, Agreement and Certification of Training .
Performance Planning, Appraisals, and Awards
Employees learn duties from their core personnel document and expectations from performance plans developed annually at the start of a rating cycle . Performance standards prescribe how accomplishment of a particular element or duty will be measured.
The performance appraisal is the basis for actions to identify and correct work performance problems, recognize and reward quality performance, improve productivity, and grant periodic pay increases . Supervisors rate performance against each element's standards, then render an overall summary rating . Employees who fail one or more performance elements are administered an unacceptable appraisal and are given an opportunity to improve.
Performance awards named by AFH 1: performance cash, time-off, and quality step increases .
Standards of Conduct
DAFI 36-147, Civilian Conduct and Responsibility , and the Joint Ethics Regulation cover mandatory and prohibited activities. All employees adhere to the USAF core values — the same three that bind military members.
Required Prohibited
Furnishing testimony in official investigations and hearings, consistent with protections against self-incrimination; paying lawful debts and taxes ; being present for work unless authorized to be absent; complying with health, safety, and other proper instructions; presenting a positive public image ; complying with reasonable dress and grooming standards ; maintaining professional relationships Discrimination and sexual harassment ; drug and alcohol abuse ; misuse of government purchase cards ; misuse of government computers, vehicles, and other equipment ; taking bribes ; conducting personal business at work ; criminal behavior off-duty that reflects adversely on USAF employment
AFH 1 notes the Air Force does not attempt to list all possible forms of improper conduct but emphasizes that misconduct will not be tolerated .
Civilian Pay
System Structure
General Schedule Pay expressed as an annual salary . 10 steps per grade ; within-grade increases start at one-year intervals , slowing to two- and three-year intervals at higher steps. All GS rates in the United States include locality pay ; overseas rates do not and are approximately 10 percent lower . Scales normally increase in January through the legislative process
Federal Wage System Consists of wage grade, wage leader, and wage supervisor . Five steps per grade ; increases start at six-month intervals , slowing to eighteen-month and two-year intervals . Pay expressed as hourly wage rates , which vary more between local areas than GS and may be increased annually on an area-by-area basis throughout the year
The 10 steps versus 5 steps and annual salary versus hourly rate contrasts are the standard discrimination items. The reference is AFI 36-128, Pay Setting and Allowances .
Work Hours and Leave
Most civilians work a regular tour of duty — normally five eight-hour days, Monday through Friday . An uncommon tour of duty is a 40-hour basic workweek that includes Saturday and/or Sunday, or fewer than five days but not more than six days of a seven-day administrative workweek.
Two alternate work schedules may be implemented by organization commanders:
Flexible work schedules — employees start and end work at different times
Compressed work schedules — 80 hours in a pay period in fewer than 10 workdays ; the most common is four nine-hour days each week, an eight-hour day in one week, and a regular day off in the other
Civilian leave:
- Category Amount
- Sick leave 13 days each year , with no cap on accumulation
- Annual leave 13, 20, or 26 days depending on length of service
- Annual leave accumulation cap 30 days for most employees; 45 days for employees working overseas
Leave is charged and taken in 15-minute increments . Illness or injury keeping an employee from work should be reported to a supervisor during the first two hours of the duty day . Jury duty, dismissals for extreme weather, and absences excused by the installation commander are not charged to annual leave.
Unions and Dispute Resolution
Approximately 53 percent of Air Force civilian employees are covered by labor agreements between unions and installations or major commands — and AFH 1 makes the key point that they are members of the bargaining unit even if they are not dues-paying union members . Unions have legal status under federal law.
The labor relations officer or specialist in the civilian personnel section is the usual liaison between supervisors and management officials and union officials , and speaks for management in routine communications.
Dispute resolution splits by coverage: labor-management contracts must include a negotiated grievance procedure for bargaining unit members, most starting with alternative dispute resolution using outside neutral facilitators or mediators. Supervisors, managers, and employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement follow different grievance procedures , and administrative grievances are decided by USAF officials, usually the installation commander or designee , though outside fact finders may be used .