Technical sergeant - wikipedia Technical sergeant This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2012 ) Technical sergeant is the name of one current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States military. Contents 1 United States Air Force 2 United States Marine Corps 3 United States Army 4 See also 5 References 6 External links United States air force Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Air Force Technical sergeant, `` tech sgt '' in informal parlance, is the sixth enlisted rank ( pay grade E-6 ) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant. A technical sergeant is a noncommissioned officer and abbreviated as TSgt ( with no period in official USAF and other military correspondence ). Official terms of address are `` technical sergeant '' or `` sergeant '', although many use `` tech sergeant '' in informal situations. Within air force enlisted ranks, promotion to technical sergeant has historically been the second-most difficult rank to achieve ( only the rank of senior master sergeant, capped by federal law, has lower promotion rates ) and is the most difficult promotion that most career air force members achieve. A staff sergeant must have served at least 23 months in grade to be considered for promotion to technical sergeant. It normally takes 10 -- 12 total years of service to attain this pay grade. Technical sergeants mentor junior enlisted personnel while preparing themselves for promotion to master sergeant, the entry rank of the senior non-commissioned grades. High year of tenure was reduced from 22 to 20 years in the 1990s, back to 22 years for a short time after 2001, and back to 20 years in 2013. Historical promotion rates : Year Promotion rate Avg time in service 20.85 % 10.69 years 2011 24.94 % 10.61 years 2012 22.77 % 10.58 years 2013 15.03 % 10.78 years 2014 17.43 % 10.53 years 2015 23.55 % 10.16 years 2016 22.35 % 9.51 years 2017 31.96 % 9.19 years United States Marine Corps Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Marine Corps Technical sergeant was a rank in the United States Marine Corps until 1958. From 1941 until 1946, the rank was equivalent to grade 2, ranking with gunnery sergeant and other technical ranks with which it shared its insignia. From 1947 until 1958, the rank was reclassified as E-6 and became the sole rank in this grade. The rank was renamed gunnery sergeant and elevated to E-7 after the reorganization of grades in 1959. United States army Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Army The rank of technical sergeant existed from after World War I until 1948 when the rank was renamed sergeant first class. In 1920 the army combined several battalion / squadron level `` staff '' NCO ranks, including battalion quartermaster sergeant, battalion supply sergeant, ordnance sergeant, hospital sergeant, three grades of master sergeant ( junior grade ), and six additional senior - level technical and specialist ranks into the new technical sergeant rank. In 1942 when rifle squad leaders became staff sergeants, platoon sergeants were promoted to technical sergeants. In 1948 the army renamed technical sergeant to sergeant first class. See also United States Air Force portal United States military pay United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia U.S. Army World War II Enlisted Ranks U.S. Army World War I Enlisted Ranks References Jump up ^ Air Force Instruction 36 - 2618, The Enlisted Force Structure, Air Force E-Publishing Jump up ^ High year of tenure changes take effect in 2013, Air Force Personnel Center Jump up ^ Air Force to release technical sergeant promotion list, Air Force News Service, 6 June 2010 Jump up ^ Officials announce E-6 selection stats Archived 2013 - 03 - 09 at the Wayback Machine., Air Force Personnel, Services, and Manpower Public Affairs, 16 June 2011 Jump up ^ Officials release TSgt promotion stats, 19 June 2012 Jump up ^ Air Force selects 5,654 for technical sergeant Archived 2013 - 06 - 29 at Archive.is, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs, 25 June 2013 Jump up ^ AF selects 6,684 for promotion to technical sergeant Archived 2015 - 09 - 23 at the Wayback Machine., Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs, 26 June 2014 Jump up ^ ( 1 ), Air Force Times, 9 June 2015 Jump up ^ ( 2 ), Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs, 21 July 2016 Jump up ^ ( 3 ), Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs, 20 July 2017 Jump up ^ Perrenot, P. United States Army Grade Insignia Since 1776 ( 2009 ) External links hide United States enlisted ranks Pay grade → Branch of service ↓ E-1 E-2 E-3 E-4 E-5 E-6 E-7 E-8 E-9 Army PVT PV2 PFC SPC -- CPL SGT SSG SFC MSG -- 1SG SGM -- CSM -- SMA Marine Corps Pvt PFC LCpl Cpl Sgt SSgt GySgt MSgt -- 1stSgt MGySgt -- SgtMaj -- SgtMajMarCor Navy SR SA SN PO3 PO2 PO1 CPO SCPO -- CMDCS MCPO -- CMDCM -- FORCM, FLTCM -- MCPON Air Force AB Amn A1C SrA SSgt TSgt MSgt -- 1st Sgt SMSgt -- 1st Sgt CMSgt -- 1st Sgt -- CCM -- CMSAF Coast Guard SR SA SN PO3 PO2 PO1 CPO SCPO MCPO -- CMC -- Area CMC, CGRF - CMC -- MCPOCG Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Technical_sergeant&oldid=846435743 '' Categories : Enlisted ranks of the United States Air Force Military ranks of the United States Army Air force ranks United States military enlisted ranks Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Webarchive template archiveis links Articles needing additional references from October 2012 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from April 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Italiano Русский Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 18 June 2018, at 19 : 38 ( UTC ). 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Question: how long does it take to become a tech sergeant in the air force
Answer: 10–12 total years of service