I__. - International Military Testing Association

The USAF Occupational Measurement Squadron:
Its Organization, Products, and Impact
Joan T. Brooks
William J. Carle
Johnnie C. Harris
Paul P. Stanley II
Joseph S. Tartell
USAF Occupational Measurement Squadron
The- USAF Occupational Measurement Squadron (USAFOMS) represents the operational
application of two major thrusts in industrial psychology in the Air
Force : personnel testing and occupational analysis. Each of the USAFOMS’s
four major programs reflects in its own way how these important technologies,
which began as research efforts, have been applied to real-world problems to
support Air Force mission accomplishment. Out of personnel testing grew the
USAFOMS’s Occupational Test Development Program and the Professional Development
Program. Out of occupational analysis grew the Occupational Analysis
Program and the Training Development Services Program.
A Brief History of the Squadron
In 1970, the implementation of the Weighted Airman Promotion System (WAPS)
triggered the establishment of a new organization within the headquarters of
the Air Training Command (ATC), with the cryptic title of “Detachment 17.”
Detachment 17 consisted of two branches, one responsible for test development,
the other for occupational analysis. In 1974, the Air Force-wide
impact of this organization's missions was recognized when it became the USAF
Occupational Measurement Center. In October 1990, the unit, which is located
at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, was renamed the USAF Occupational Measurement
Squadron. The USAFOMS Commander also sits on the staff of the Deputy
Chief of Staff for Technical Training as the Director of Occupational Mea-
surement.
The Occupational Test Development Proqram
In the 1950s and 196Os, pencil-and-paper tests were mainly used in training
programs, to assess trainee progress. The implementation of WAPS, however,
made tests a critical factor in enlisted career progression.
The idea of WAPS was to take the mystery out of the promotion system by
making every aspect visible to those competing for promotion. Under WAPS,
airmen compete for promotion to the ranks of staff sergeant (E-51 through
master sergeant (E-7) with other airmen in the same Air Force specialty (AFS)
on the basis of a single score. This single WAPS score is the sum of six
‘component measures (See Table 11, with USAFOMS tests accounting for up to 44%
of the total. Most airmen take two tests: the Specialty Knowledge Test
(SKI) measures knowledge of the Air Force specialty and the Promotion Fitness
Examination (PFE) tests knowledge of general military subjects. Because the
other, non-test factors typically do little to disperse promotion competi-
tors, the SKT and PFE are often the deciding factor in determining who gets
promoted.
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