Introduction:

“WAPS Calculator” is a project written in .Net 2.0 (Originally Visual Basic 4) It was originally written as my Senior Project in Computer Science in 1998.

In hindsight, this app would have been made more sense as a Web app. However, in the mid to late 90’s hosting solutions for server based apps were expensive. It would have more than likely been done in client-side JavaScript.

Background:

WAPS (Weighted Airmen Promotion System) is the way enlisted members of the Air Force get promoted. Essentially, it is a total raw score of Enlisted Performance Reports (EPRs), Time-in-Service (TIS), Time-in-Grade (TIG), and Awards and Decorations.

Time-in-Service (TIS) - Members are awarded two points for each year they have in the military. Maximum number of TIS points is 40.

Time-in-Grade (TIG) - Air Force members are awarded one-half of a point for each month they have time-in-grade. Maximum number of TIG points is 60.

Enlisted Performance Reports (EPRs) - Promotion ratings on the EPR range from "1," the lowest possible rating, to "5," the highest possible promotion recommendation rating.

When converting EPR ratings to promotion points, only reports for the last five years are used, not to exceed ten reports. The first step is to multiply each promotion-rating by its "time-factor," the older a report is, the less it is worth in promotion points. The most recent report is multiplied by a time-factor of 50, the next oldest by a time factor of 45, etc ((50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5).

Once that's accomplished, the results are multiplied by 27. The results for all the reports are then added together, and the total is divided by the sum (adding together) of all of the time-factors used (Max being 135 points).

Awards and Decorations - Air Force members receive promotion points if awarded certain military decorations (up to 25 points):

• Medal of Honor – 15
• Air Force/Navy Distinguished Cross - 11
• Defense Distinguished Service Medal - 9
• Distinguished Service Medal - 9
• Silver Star - 9
• Legion of Merit - 7
• Defense Superior Service Medal - 7
• Distinguished Flying Cross - 7
• Airman’s/Soldier’s/Navy-Marine Corps/Coast Guard/Bronze Star/Defense
• Meritorious Service Medals/Meritorious Service Medal - 5
• Purple Heart - 5 Air/Aerial Achievement - 3
• Air Force/Army/Navy/Joint Services/Coast Guard Commendation Medal - 3
• Air Force Recruiting Ribbon - 2
• Air Force/Navy/Coast Guard/Joint Services Achievement Medal - 1

The users for this would be any enlisted member of the Air Force that was eligible for promotion. At the time of this writing, there are roughly 260,000 enlisted members on active duty (seems to be getting smaller every year). I would estimate about 70 percent of those members would be eligible for promotion and could benefit from the calculator.

Features:

• Calculates promotion points
• Prints results
• Graphs/charting
• Historical information for both promotion numbers and rates
• Ability to create user files which save user settings and data

Technical Details:

• .NET 2.0/C# (WinForms)
• Access database backend
• GDI+ (graphs)

Status:

No longer used.

Updates: