350 characters, spaces included
Each performance statement block on an Air Force EPB or OPB holds 350 characters. Every character counts: letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation.
What counts
- Letters and numbers, one each.
- Every space between words. Spaces before the first word and after the last aren't counted by Brevet, and it drops them when you copy.
- Every punctuation mark, one each, such as . , ; : ' " - / ( ) $ % & # + = ! ? [ ] ~ @
So Led 12 Airmen. is 14 characters: three letters, a space, two digits, a space, six letters and a period.
The limit for each block
Each EPB block
Executing the Mission, Leading People, Managing Resources, Improving the Unit.
Each OPB MPA block
The same four blocks, the same limit.
Higher Level Reviewer Assessment
The HLR's push line.
OPB Duty Description
Written in the present tense.
DAF Form 1206
Your award cycle sets the line budget; about 95 characters a line at 12-point Times New Roman, up to about 28 lines on one page.
On an OPB, the ALQ writing guide advises about two statements per block, at roughly 150–175 characters each, so both fit.
Why a count changes when you paste
Word processors swap in curly quotes, long dashes and a one-character ellipsis as you type. A form can count and store those differently: a statement that reads 348 in one place can read 352, or show boxes, in another.
Whenever you copy from Brevet, it turns them into plain characters first:
- Curly quotes become straight quotes.
- En and em dashes become a hyphen, keeping any spaces around them.
- Non-breaking and narrow spaces become ordinary spaces, and two or more spaces become one.
- The ellipsis character becomes three periods, ..., which is two characters more.
- Accented letters become the plain letter, and Brevet tells you when it made that change.
Every count Brevet shows is the count after that, so the number on screen is the number you paste.
Count and check yours
The character counter counts a statement the same way. Check a statement adds the acronyms and the format, section by section. Starting from rough notes? Draft an EPB statement or an OPB statement; every draft is sized to fit.
Sources
AFI 36-2406 (22 Aug 2025, incorporating Change 1, 27 May 2026) for the EPB and OPB, and DAFMAN 36-2806 for the DAF Form 1206. Confirm against the current instruction and your rater's guidance.