Air Force EPB Examples: What to Write in Each Performance Area

A SSgt sits down to write her first EPB for a SrA in her section. She pulls up an old template a friend sent her. It has blocks for Major Duties, Whole Airman Concept and Exceeded Expectations, and the sample opens with "#1 of 14 SrA in the shop." None of that fits the current form. Those blocks are gone, and a ranking like "#1 of 14 SrA" isn't allowed anywhere on an EPB below MSgt.

This post covers the EPB for AB through TSgt: what the sections are, what each one is asking for, and weak and strong examples for each. The rules come from AFI 36-2406, Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems, dated 22 August 2025 and updated since. The examples are made up, so swap in your own numbers. If you're writing for a MSgt or SMSgt, read our senior NCO EPB examples instead, since stratification and promotion statements work differently at those grades.

What the EPB looks like now

A lot of EPB advice online still says "AF Form 910." That was the form for AB through TSgt, and the Air Force has moved past it. Under the current AFI, every enlisted evaluation is an Airman Leadership Qualities (ALQ) evaluation built in myEval, and the output is the Enlisted Performance Brief. AF Form 716 is the offline version, used only with an approved exception to policy.

For AB through TSgt, the rater writes three things.

The duty description describes the job: the position, the level of responsibility, how many people the ratee supervises and the dollar value of what they're accountable for. The AFI says the rater develops it, and it asks for plain English with no jargon.

Next comes one section for each of the four Major Performance Areas. Each area has its own ALQs:

Major Performance Area	ALQs
Executing the Mission	Job Proficiency, Initiative, Adaptability
Leading People	Collaboration, Emotional Intelligence, Communication
Managing Resources	Stewardship, Accountability
Improving the Unit	Decision Making, Innovation

Last is the mandatory comments block, which carries the most recent fitness score.

The higher level reviewer (HLR) marks concur or non-concur, writes at least one performance statement and can recommend up to three future roles. For an eligible SrA, SSgt or TSgt, the EPB also carries a promotion recommendation: Promote, Must Promote, Promote Now or Not Ready Now. The forced distributor awards Must Promote and Promote Now from a limited number of allocations. There is no stratification block below MSgt.

What counts as a performance statement

Paragraph 1.3.3.2 defines it. A performance statement is a standalone sentence with two parts: what the Airman did, and the impact or result. Each section needs at least one, and white space is authorized, so you don't have to fill the box. Paragraph 1.3.4 bans underlining, all caps and bold for emphasis. You can only use acronyms that appear on the Air Force acronym list, which AFPC posts on its website.

Where the old blocks went

Older templates and guides use block names like Major Duties, Whole Airman Concept and Exceeded Expectations. None of those are sections on the current EPB. Here's where that material fits now:

• Scope-setting material from a "Major Duties" block goes in the duty description. It sets the scope; it isn't a place to list accomplishments.
• Leadership and followership material fits best under Leading People.
• Resource stewardship is one of the two Managing Resources ALQs, alongside Accountability.
• Nothing replaces the Whole Airman Concept or Exceeded Expectations blocks. There's no block for off-duty education or volunteering, and no block for your top three wins with a ranking on each one.

Duty description

Weak:

Performs duties as a vehicle maintenance journeyman; responsible for repairing assigned vehicles.

Strong:

Supervises 3 Airmen on a 14-person vehicle maintenance team. Maintains 212 vehicles worth $18M that support airfield, fire and security operations.

The weak version names the job title. The strong version gives the scale the rest of the EPB gets read against: people, equipment and who depends on it. Keep it in the present tense and leave results for the performance areas. Our duty description guide goes deeper.

Executing the Mission

This area is about doing the job well, taking action without being told, and adjusting when the plan changes.

Weak:

Hard-charging Airman who always gets the job done and is a key asset to the section.

Strong:

Traced an intermittent electrical fault on a fire truck that 2 dealer visits had missed, returning it to service in 3 days and avoiding a $14K contract repair.

The weak version is praise with no action in it. The strong version shows job proficiency: a problem other people couldn't solve, what the Airman did and a result someone can check.

Leading People

For a SrA, this is usually training and teamwork. For a SSgt or TSgt, it's the people they supervise and what those people can now do.

Weak:

Outstanding supervisor and mentor; my go-to SSgt for any tasking.

Strong:

Paired each of 4 new Airmen with a qualified trainer and ran weekly task checks, qualifying all 4 on 11 core tasks 5 weeks ahead of the section's usual timeline.

"My go-to SSgt" reads like a compliment, but it's an implied stratification. Paragraph 4.11.1.3 lists "my go-to SNCO" as a banned example, and the rule applies to anyone other than the senior rater. The strong version shows what the SSgt set up and what it produced.

Managing Resources

Stewardship covers time, equipment, people, money and facilities. Accountability covers owning your actions and your team's.

Weak:

Responsibly managed section supplies and equipment.

Strong:

Audited the section's $84K bench stock and turned in $11K in excess parts, freeing funds the flight used to buy 2 diagnostic scanners.

Reported a $2K parts-ordering error to the flight chief the day it was found, then added a second check to the order process; the section had no ordering errors in the next 6 months.

The first statement is stewardship and the second is accountability. The AFI's definition of Accountability includes transparency, so owning a mistake and fixing the process counts.

Improving the Unit

Decision Making and Innovation. This is where process fixes go, and where a TSgt's EPB should show the most reach.

Weak:

Innovative leader who drives continuous improvement across the flight.

Strong:

Proposed moving tire work from the main bay to an unused wash rack, which freed a lift and cut the repair backlog from 31 vehicles to 12 in 2 months; the flight approved it as the permanent layout.

The statement names the decision, what it changed and the result. "Innovative leader" names none of those.

HLR comments for a TSgt

Weak:

#1 TSgt in the squadron; promote to MSgt now.

Strong:

Led 9 Airmen through a 4-month deployment and brought all 9 home fully upgraded on their core tasks; select for flight NCOIC.

The weak version has two problems. Only a senior rater can stratify, and only on senior NCO EPBs, so "#1 TSgt" is out. Paragraph 4.15.2 prohibits pushes to the next higher grade for AB through TSgt, so "promote to MSgt" is out too.

What the HLR can write for these grades is a statement of fact about promotion, such as "STEP promoted to TSgt," or a push to a commissioning source, such as "Selected for Officer Training School." Future roles can't act as veiled promotion statements. The AFI's own example is that a SSgt can't be recommended for section superintendent, because that's a MSgt job.

Rules that send AB–TSgt EPBs back

• No ranking of any kind. That includes "#1 of 14," "top Airman in the flight" and anything else that ranks the ratee against peers. Paragraph 1.12.7 also prohibits test scores and relative standings among peers, and paragraph 1.12.11 bans stratifications based on awards, so "1st of 47 nominees" is out. You can still say the Airman won Airman of the Quarter.
• Almost no PME comments. Paragraph 4.16.3 allows only selection for an official PME award or completion of the Senior Enlisted Joint PME I or II web courses. "Completed Airman Leadership School" doesn't go on the EPB.
• Decorations only if approved or presented during the rating period. You can't recommend a decoration in the EPB. Combined Federal Campaign goals and dollar totals are also prohibited.
• The rater writes the EPB. Paragraph 1.6.3.6 encourages the ratee to send inputs but says no one can direct a ratee to write any part of their own evaluation. Send your supervisor facts and numbers, not a finished draft.
• No classified information. Paragraph 1.3.2 says to use "Data Masked" if an entry would release classified information.

When the cycle was quiet

Not every cycle has a big win. Look for coverage of an empty position, a recurring problem you fixed, or a training load you carried. Our guide to writing a strong evaluation after a quiet rating period covers where to find that material. If you work in cyber, our cyber Airman EPB examples apply these sections to network and defense work.

Draft each section, then check it against the AFI

RapidEPR's bullet tool has an EPB Section (Enlisted) format. You pick the section and the rated grade, so a SrA's Executing the Mission statement and a TSgt's Improving the Unit statement come back as different kinds of writing. It also has Duty Description and HLR Assessment formats. Check every draft against your own facts and the AFI before you route it.

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