21.3 Foundational Competencies & Behaviors

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

21.3 Foundational Competencies & Behaviors

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

AFH 1 defines foundational competencies as observable, measurable patterns of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform successfully across an Air Force career.

Foundational competencies are grouped into four categories — Developing Self, Developing Others, Developing Ideas, and Developing Organizations — each addressed in its own AFH 1 chapter.

Occupational competencies are specialty-specific; foundational competencies apply broadly across enlisted, officer, and civilian members and all organizational levels.

AFH 36-2647, Competency Modeling, is the reference for both competency types and the source the SJT informational guide directs examinees to review.

A competency is the underlying pattern; a behavior is the single observable action that provides evidence of it — the SJT presents behaviors and asks you to judge them against the competency.

Last updated: August 2026

Competency Versus Behavior

AFH 1 Section 7A supplies the definition the SJT rests on:

"Foundational competencies are observable, measurable patterns of knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform successfully across a USAF career. The Foundational competencies are enduring and encompass attributes the USAF believes are critical to mission success."

They "prepare Airmen to operate successfully across the widest array of USAF tasks and requirements, and to adapt in a constantly changing operational environment," are "broadly applicable across (enlisted, officer, and civilian) USAF members, spanning all occupations, functions, and organizational levels," and "form the framework for force development in the USAF."

A competency is the pattern; a behavior is a single instance of it. You cannot observe "Accountability" directly. You can observe whether someone owns a mistake , holds a subordinate to a standard fairly , or shifts blame — and each of those observations is evidence for or against the competency.

That relationship is the whole SJT task. The scenario describes behaviors (what people did). The four options are behaviors (what you could do next). Your job is to judge each candidate behavior against the competency the scenario is testing, and identify the strongest and weakest.

The Three Competency Types

AFH 1 distinguishes three, and the exam tests the distinctions:

Type Definition

Core competencies "Big picture concepts that the USAF does, or is expected to do or know, all the time" — "a key set of abilities or qualities at the heart of the organization's reason for being" that enable the Air Force to create airpower effects . Some are unique to the USAF ; others are aligned across the branches

Occupational competencies "Required of Airmen within a specific workforce category or specialty" — the technical and functional knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform that function's mission successfully

Foundational competencies Broadly applicable across all members, occupations, functions, and organizational levels; the framework for force development

The reference for both occupational and foundational competencies is AFH 36-2647, Competency Modeling — the same publication the SJT Informational Guide tells examinees to review.

A clean discriminator: occupational competencies belong to your AFSC; foundational competencies belong to every Airman. The SKT tests the former. The SJT tests the latter.

The Four Categories

AFH 1 groups foundational competencies into four categories, "each of these competency categories is addressed in subsequent chapters of AFH 1" :

Category AFH 1 chapter What it covers

Developing Self Chapter 15 Accountability and self-management, perseverance, self-control, resilience, and communication — military, written, spoken, and electronic

Developing Others Chapter 14 Teamwork, developing people, service mindset, and leadership

Developing Ideas Chapter 16 Cognitive processes, critical thinking, informed decision-making, and handling uncertainty

Developing Organizations Chapter 13 Strategic thinking and results focus, resources and organizational structure, and change and problem solving

This is the single most efficient fact in SJT preparation. All four categories map onto AFH 1 chapters that are tested on the knowledge half of the exam — Chapters 14 and 15 for both grades, and 13 and 16 additionally for E-6. Studying those four chapters prepares you for both halves of the PFE at once.

And the content lines up directly with the ALQs. Chapter 15's accountability, self-control, and communication ; Chapter 14's teamwork, develops people, and leadership ; Chapter 16's decision-making and innovation ; Chapter 13's strategic thinking and results focus — these are the same behaviors the ALQ definitions describe, taught in narrative form.

A Repeatable Method for Ranking Responses

Use the same four steps on every scenario. Consistency matters more than cleverness on an SJT.

Step 1 — Name the competency

Ask: what is this scenario actually about? Most scenarios have one primary competency and one or two secondary ones. Use the ALQ list as your checklist — accountability, collaboration, communication, decision making, adaptability, initiative, innovation, stewardship, emotional intelligence, job proficiency.

Step 2 — State the behaviors that demonstrate it

For whichever competency you named, recall what strong and weak look like. For accountability , strong looks like owning the error, addressing it directly, following through; weak looks like deflecting, letting it slide, or blaming someone else.

Step 3 — Evaluate all four options against those behaviors

Score each as strong, adequate, weak, or unacceptable . Look first for automatic-reject patterns — options that are unethical, unsafe, outside regulation, or that avoid the problem entirely. Those are your least-effective candidates.

Step 4 — Take the ends of the ranking

The strongest option answers the most effective question; the weakest answers the least effective question. If two options seem close, ask which one better engages the actual problem in both directions — that one ranks higher.

A Worked Example

Scenario. You supervise a four-person team. One Airman has arrived 15 minutes late three times in two weeks. Another team member has made a sarcastic comment about it. Your flight chief has not said anything.

• Option Response
• A Wait another week to see whether the pattern continues, to avoid overreacting
• B Speak with the Airman privately, ask what is going on, restate the standard, and follow up
• C Correct the Airman in front of the team so everyone sees the standard enforced
• D Recommend disciplinary action through the first sergeant without speaking to the Airman first

Step 1 — Competency. Primary: Accountability . Secondary: Emotional Intelligence and Collaboration (the team climate is already affected).

Step 2 — Behaviors. Strong accountability: address it directly, gather information, hold the standard, follow through. Weak: ignore it, address it publicly, or jump straight to the most severe action.

Step 3 — Evaluate.

• A — weak. Avoids the problem; the pattern is established and the team has noticed
• B — strong. Direct, private, gathers information first, restates the standard, follows up
• C — unacceptable. Public correction damages trust and climate; it fails emotional intelligence outright
• D — weak. Skips the supervisory action clearly within your own authority and escalates first

Step 4 — Ends. Most effective: B. Least effective: C.

Why C rather than A for least effective? Because A is passive and C is actively harmful. Doing nothing lets a problem persist; humiliating an Airman in front of peers creates a second problem and damages the team the scenario says is already strained. When choosing between a passive option and a harmful one, the harmful one is worse.

That distinction shows up often, and it is the one place where "avoids the problem" is not automatically the least effective answer. Note that the official sample item has no actively harmful option — which is exactly why avoidance ("ignore the NCO") is keyed worst there.

Why the Method Beats Intuition

The informational guide states that keys are retained only where there is clear consensus among Chief Master Sergeants, behavioral scientists, and E-7/E-8 subject matter experts, using "guidance on successful actions provided by the Air Force foundational competencies."

That means the answers are anchored to a published standard , not to a test writer's preference. Airmen who try to guess what the writer wanted tend to score inconsistently. Airmen who name the competency, recall its behaviors, and rank all four options against them are doing exactly what the SME panel did — which is the closest thing to reverse-engineering the key that the format allows.

Practice the four steps on every sample item in the informational guide until naming the competency takes a few seconds. That speed is what lets you finish the last section of a two-hour exam without rushing.