Temporary authority for the 2026 Chief Master Sergeant promotion cycle allows for a promotion allocation declined by a selectee to go to the next qualified Senior Master Sergeant in the board's order of merit instead of going unfilled.
The change, which Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe announced as "Next-Up Promotions" Aug. 11 at the Air Force Sergeants Association Summit 26, was formalized in a memorandum signed Oct. 13 by Richard L. Anderson, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. The memorandum authorized the 26E9 promotion board to establish a Supplemental Order of Merit Listing (SOML) for each promotion Air Force specialty code before it adjourns.
The memorandum's authority covers the 26E9 Chief Master Sergeant cycle only and expires at the end of that cycle or upon publication of an interim change to, or rewrite of, AFI 36-2502, Air Force Enlisted Airman Promotion and Demotion Programs, whichever comes first.
The SOML does not change how the board scores records, where the cut line falls or who is selected when the list is first released. Placement on the list is not a promotion. "Placement on the SOML does not constitute selection for promotion and creates no entitlement to promotion," the memorandum states.
Over the past four years, 59 Senior Master Sergeants selected for Chief Master Sergeant declined promotion, Wolfe said in his keynote. Under the prior process, those allocations went unfilled for the cycle.
"An Airman's decision to decline a promotion is often a deeply personal one, whether driven by family needs or professional timing. We must treat those decisions with absolute respect," Wolfe said. "However, the critical leadership vacancies left behind are very real, sometimes leaving key operational requirements unfilled for more than a year. Utilizing the board-established order of merit to identify the next Airmen up, we ensure that we remain a merit-based force while placing highly qualified, ready leaders into roles where our Airmen and our mission need them most."
Here is how the new procedure works. The 26E9 board scores records and applies promotion quotas by Control AFSC as it does now, establishing an initial cut line for each promotion AFSC. Once the quota for an AFSC is exhausted, the board takes the next score category (also known as the board grouping on the promotion score notice) of non-selects immediately below that cut line and puts those records in order of merit, using the same scoring procedures and the same board charge. Where records are tied, board members continue scoring the tied records until a clear order exists.
The board then votes to finalize the order. If a majority agrees, the SOML for that AFSC is final and is included with the official board report.
Only the next board grouping below the initial cut line is eligible. Airmen scored below that category would not be considered. A board grouping defined as, all records that received the same total board score, normally a half-point spread in the order of merit.
The list is used in one circumstance. If a selectee declines promotion during the initial 10-day declination window after selections are announced, the Air Force Personnel Center may fill that allocation from the SOML for the same promotion AFSC, in order of merit. Every action taken under the authority is documented in the official board record.
The SOML is separate from the Air Force's existing supplemental promotion processes. Monthly in-system supplemental releases and the senior noncommissioned officer supplemental board continue unchanged; both exist to correct records and eligibility issues for individual Airmen, not to fill a declined allocation. The SOML is also distinct from the board's existing "gray area" procedure, which rescores the score category below the cut line to fill remaining quota before the list is released. The SOML begins where that procedure ends, after all quotas have been applied.
The 26E9 cycle covers Senior Master Sergeants who met eligibility as of July 31, 2026, the promotion eligibility cutoff date. Selections are tentatively scheduled for announcement in November, with promotions effective January through December 2027. In the 25E9 cycle, the Air Force selected 640 of 2,445 eligible Senior Master Sergeants, a 26.18 percent selection rate.
Lessons from the 26E9 cycle will inform how the process is applied to future senior NCO boards; Wolfe said in August if successfully tested, the Air Force plans to continue it with the Senior Master Sergeant and Master Sergeant boards.
Airmen with questions should contact their servicing Force Support Squadron.
