CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
It's that time of year again for many of our best and brightest Airmen to vie for their next rank.
Over the years, I have found three keys to success with the Weighted Airman Promotion System. First, familiarize yourself with all the components making up the weighted factors. Second, know what materials you need to study, and lastly, reduce your last minute stress level by creating a plan in advance to prepare you for testing day.
WAPS is designed to give everyone a fair chance at being promoted to the next appropriate rank. For those testing for staff sergeant, technical sergeant and master sergeant, there are six weighted factors. Points are given for each factor separately and eventually, are combined for a total score. WAPS consists of two tests: the Specialty Knowledge Test and the Promotion Fitness Examination; each worth 100 points. Maximum points for the categories making up your final score are 40 points for time in service, 60 points for time in grade, 25 points for decorations and 135 points for enlisted performance reports. The highest score a member can receive is 460 points.
Make sure you know what material you need to be studying. You can access the WAPS Catalog online at https://www.omsq.af.mil, which is published every August and identifies the study materials by Air Force Specialty Codes. The Professional Development Guide is listed as Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241. It also lists which Career Development Course applies to your next promotion cycle, to include the CDC volume and the date it was published. For those career fields without CDCs, the applicable study references will be identified. Remember, it is your responsibility to know what material you need to study to adequately prepare for your promotion.
Preparing for your promotion test can be stressful. Airmen can alleviate unnecessary stress by doing a few things. First, check your data verification record located on the virtual military personnel flight on the Air Force Portal Web site. The DVR allows you access to your decorations, EPRs, time-in service, time-in-grade and other factors that are scored within WAPS. As you can see, you are able to total several of your weighted factors before your test day.
Second, study habits differ from person to person. Each person has their own learning style. Whether you are an auditory, visual or hands-on learner, you should create different study techniques that will maximize your study time. The key is to find out what works for you and stick to it. The key for me was to write out study goals, which indicated what times of the day I planned on studying and what material I wanted to cover during each study session.
Where you study can be just as important as when. Find a location that suits your needs and allows you to meet your study goals. Make sure your surroundings have the right amount of lighting, find a quiet place with minimal background noise, and most important, find a place where you are comfortable. These are just a few things that need to be considered when preparing for the big test day.
Remember it's your promotion to make. Take the time to understand the system. Find what materials you need and develop a study plan that works for you. Study hard and I wish you all the best of luck.