Airman
An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's military. In some services it can refer to any service member, equivalent to the term soldier or sailor, and in some it is also a specific enlisted rank. Both men and women with this rank are called airmen. Some services have replaced the term airman with the gender-neutral term aviator. Airman may refer to civilian aircraft pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians as well. For example, the United States Federal Aviation Administration has used the term airman in its civil aviation regulations. The term airwoman is occasionally used in both military and civilian contexts.
By country
New Zealand
Royal New Zealand Air Force
"Airman" was a former general term used to describe service members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Following the Royal Air Force, the RNZAF now refers to its personnel as “aviators.”United Kingdom
Royal Air Force
"Airman" and "airwoman" were formerly general terms used to describe members of the Royal Air Force, particularly other ranks. In 2021 those terms were changed to the gender-neutral term "aviator".United States
United States Air Force
In the U.S. Air Force, "airman" is a general term which can refer to any member of the United States Air Force, regardless of rank, but is also a specific enlisted rank in the Air Force. The rank of airman is the second enlisted rank from the bottom, just above the rank of Airman Basic, and just below that of Airman First Class. Since the Air Force was established in 1947, all of the various ranks of "airman" have always included women, and in this context, the word "man" means "human being". Former U.S. Air Force ranks included Airman Second Class and Airman Third Class. The current E-2 pay grade rank of Airman was called Airman Third Class from 1952 to 1967.File:720th Special Tactics Group airmen jump 20071003.jpg|thumb|U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 720th STG parachute jumping out of a C-130J Hercules aircraft during water rescue training in the Florida panhandle
A person with the rank of Airman Basic is typically promoted to the rank of Airman after six months of active duty service in the Air Force, if that member had signed up for an enlistment period of at least four years of active duty. On the other hand, an enlistee could be promoted to the rank of Airman immediately after completing Air Force basic training given one of several additional qualifications:
- Having completed at least two years of a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps while in high school.
- Having achieved the Eagle Scout rank from the Boy Scouts of America, or the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
- Having earned 20 college semester credit hours.
Where they also receive a retroactive pay increment that brings them up to the pay grade for an Airman upon their completion of basic training.
While at the rank of Airman, the duties of enlisted personnel include adjusting to the Air Force way of military life and becoming proficient in their Air Force duty specialties. Note that upon leaving basic training, all Airmen enter a period of many weeks or many months of training at Air Force schools in their duty specialties that they and the Air Force have selected for them depending on their aptitudes and interests, and the needs of the Air Force. For Airmen with high aptitudes, some of these training programs include more than one school and take a year or more to complete.
Airmen are often nicknamed "mosquito wings" due to the insignia's resemblance to a mosquito's small wings.
Army Air Corps
From 1926 to 1941, the Army Air Corps served as the armed service for aviation, the now diminished service, referenced the term airman for its primary operating roles. In the former Army Air Corps the term of aviator applies to navigators, air crew, mechanics, flight instructors, nurses, chefs, and support personnel. Historically it is mentioned when referring to the Tuskegee Airman, which was a squadron of African American pilots in World War II. By the end of World War II the Army Air Corps would be diminished, and in 1947 the Air Force was founded and adopted the term of Airmen, and used it for members of its service.Navy
In the U.S. Navy, Airman is the enlisted rank that corresponds to the pay grade of E-3 in the Navy's aviation field, but it is just below the rank of Petty Officer Third Class, pay grade E-4. The name of Airman though different in duties it is loosely related to that of Seamen. This term is also referred to a fireman, in engineering, and hospitalman in medical duties, respectively. The Airman rank is identified by its distinct green stripes. Particularly, opposite that of Seamen, its duties since 1922 when the very first aircraft carrier was established in the first world war have been air bases, maintaining navy aircraft, and that of aircraft carriers through tying down and refueling planes both domestically and abroad.Regarding the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a U.S Navy youth development program the term: "Airman" explicitly refers to a participant who participates in flight school with U.S. Navy and Coast Guard personnel and reservist. The term is often tied to the own division's website, alternatively referred to as a squadron. The common and correct terminology for the flight school participants is the terminology of "Sea Cadet" or "Seamen" which is referred to by multiple magazines, media outlets, personal journals, and newspapers. The term in particular in the public-eye is almost never used and is most often never referred to in un-involved Sea Cadet organizations in the United States. Most credibly, it is within papers such as legal documents, where it is mentioned by the official 9 latin characters, as "Sea Cadets" and the longform with 13 characters as "Sea Cadet Corps". While uncommon in popular culture as a terminology it does in turn offer benefits for its participants, including a possible private pilot license though this amount of training is commonly portrayed as unachievable for most Sea Cadets unless well educated or gifted. The FAA's requirements have often made it stringent for most international Sea Cadets in their exchange program, as per a 2022 statement by the FAA requiring them to be well knowledgeable in reading, writing, and understanding English. This claim has been discredited by other Sea Cadets, instead stating it only takes time, dedication and hard work.