A plain-English field guide to performance statements that survive review — the four Major Performance Areas, the action + impact rule, the 350-character cap, the acronym policy, and worked EPB examples you can model. Built on AFI 36-2406 (22 Aug 2025) and myEval's hard limits.
A performance statement is one sentence that proves what you did and why it mattered. Under AFI 36-2406, each of your four Major Performance Areas gets a single block in myEval, and the system holds you to a hard 350 characters — spaces included. There is no room for filler: every word has to carry an action or prove an impact.
That constraint is the whole game. A reviewer reading a stack of EPBs rewards the statement that lands one accomplishment cleanly and moves on. The sections below break down the rules the way the system actually enforces them, then show you four before-and-after EPB examples.
Every EPB statement maps to exactly one of four fixed MPAs. The taxonomy is never invented — it comes straight from AFI 36-2406. Before you write, decide which area the accomplishment lives in, then write to that area's intent.
Job proficiency, initiative, and adaptability — how well you do the core job.
Inclusion & teamwork, emotional intelligence, and communication.
Stewardship and accountability of people, time, equipment, and funds.
Decision making and innovation that leaves the mission better than you found it.
Strong statements all share one shape. Hover a component to see it light up in a real statement below; miss any piece and the sentence collapses back into a duty description.
+ + [what you did] →
The action is a finite, past-tense verb you can stand behind: led, rebuilt, audited, recovered— not “responsible for” or “assisted with.” The impactis the consequence, in numbers: a percentage, a dollar figure, a count, hours returned, a rate sustained. If you can't attach a number, you usually haven't found the accomplishment yet — you've described the task.
myEval enforces 350 characters per MPA block and 250 per Higher-Level Reviewer statement. The count includes spaces and punctuation. Going one character over isn't a style note — the field simply won't accept it. The move is to write to the limit, then tighten: cut hedge words, collapse phrases, and let the numbers do the persuading.
Hard cap, system-enforced in myEval. Spaces count.
Higher-Level Reviewer comments are tighter still.
One accomplishment. Finite past-tense verb + measurable result.
Past tense throughout. No “I,” no “my.”
Use only AFPC-approved acronyms, plus AFSCs, MAJCOMs, and weapon-system designators (F-16, KC-135). Spell out anything else or cut it — an acronym a reviewer has to decode is working against you, and an unapproved one is a finding.
When you need to reference protected personal information, use the “Data Masked”marking instead of entering the data. It is a first-class token that satisfies the requirement without exposing anything you shouldn't. Never enter classified or CUI material into any drafting tool, this one included.
Four accomplishments, one per MPA — each shown as a reviewer would first receive it, then rewritten to the standard. The bar reads the 350-character budget; counts are exact. Want more? See 48 EPB examples by MPA.
I'm responsible for fixing the jets and always do a great job keeping them ready to fly.
First person, present tense, no rank or name. “Responsible for” is a duty, not an action — and “great job” measures nothing.
SrA Carter diagnosed and repaired 47 F-16 hydraulic faults during a 90-day surge, sustaining a 98% mission-capable rate and enabling 312 sorties with zero ground aborts.
Rank + name, a finite past-tense verb (“diagnosed”), the specific action, and three hard numbers tying the work to the mission.
Takeaway — Trade the duty description for a verb you can defend and a number you can prove.
Helped train the new Airmen and was a great team player that everyone enjoyed working with.
“Helped” and “was” hide the actual contribution. “Great team player” is an opinion — there is no scope, count, or outcome.
TSgt Nguyen designed a 6-week upgrade plan for 9 new technicians, cutting time-to-qualified 40% and delivering 3 mission-ready crews two months ahead of schedule.
Ownership (“designed”), a concrete program, and a result measured in people qualified and time recovered.
Takeaway — Leadership is provable: who you developed, how many, and how much faster the unit got there.
Managed the section's supply account and was responsible for ordering parts, tracking the budget, and also fixing equipment when it broke, plus I trained other people on the system and helped out wherever needed throughout the year, saving the unit a lot of money and making sure everything stayed organized and accountable for the whole flight at all times.
Eight characters over the cap and trying to be five statements at once. myEval rejects it on length alone — and the reader never finds the one accomplishment.
SSgt Patel audited a $2.4M equipment account, reconciled 1,100 line items, and recovered $180K in excess assets, closing the annual inspection with zero discrepancies.
One idea, sharply told. The dollar figures and the clean-inspection result do the persuading.
Takeaway — When you are over, don't trim adjectives — cut to a single accomplishment and let the numbers carry it.
Always thinking outside the box and comes up with cool new ideas that make the section's workflow way better.
Present tense, no name, and pure cliché. “Cool new ideas” and “way better” give a reviewer nothing to stratify on.
MSgt Reyes led the unit's shift to a USAF-approved scheduling platform across 3 flights, eliminating 40% of recurring conflicts and recovering 12 supervisor hours monthly for 214 personnel.
A real change, scoped (3 flights, 214 personnel) and measured (40% fewer conflicts, 12 hours back per month).
Takeaway — Innovation needs a before and an after — name what changed and quantify what it bought the unit.
Run every statement through this before it goes into myEval.
Brevet drafts to this exact shape, then a deterministic validator checks every rule — the 350 cap, action + impact, the acronym policy — before you paste into myEval. The model suggests language; the validator enforces the law.
Generate an EPB statement →An EPB Performance Statement is a single sentence that documents one accomplishment and its measurable impact for an Airman's Enlisted Performance Brief. Under AFI 36-2406, each of the four Major Performance Areas gets one statement block, entered in the myEval system.
myEval enforces a hard limit of 350 characters per Major Performance Area block, including spaces and punctuation. Higher-Level Reviewer (HLR) statements are limited to 250 characters. Anything over the cap is rejected by the system.
A strong statement is written in third person with rank and last name, uses a finite past-tense action verb, describes one concrete action, and ends in a measurable result — a number, percentage, dollar figure, or time saved. If it reads like a duty description, it is too weak.
Executing the Mission, Leading People, Managing Resources, and Improving the Unit. The taxonomy comes directly from AFI 36-2406 and is fixed — every EPB statement maps to exactly one of the four.
Only AFPC-approved acronyms, plus AFSCs, MAJCOMs, and weapon-system designators. Spell out or remove anything else. To reference protected personal information, use the “Data Masked” marking instead of entering the data — and keep classified or CUI material out of any drafting tool entirely.
This guide reflects the official Air Force evaluation system. Always confirm against the current instruction before you submit: