Airman basic (AB) is the lowest enlisted rank in the United States Air Force immediately below airman. The male form of rank designation also applies to women. The pay grade for airman basic is E-1.
As opposed to all other USAF enlisted and officer ranks, airman basic has no rank insignia affiliated. The lack of uniform insignia for airman basic is the reason for the nickname "slick-sleeve"; all other enlisted Air Force ranks wear stripes and chevrons on their uniform sleeves.
In accordance with Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure, the term of address for an airman basic is "Airman Basic" or "Airman".
History
When the U.S. Air Force was split from the U.S. Army on July 26, 1947, it inherited the U.S. Army's enlisted ranks; the lowest U.S. Air Force enlisted rank became "private" (falling immediately below private, E-2), which wore no rank insignia.
In March 1952, the Air Council and United States Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg adopted a number of changes to the U.S. Air Force enlisted rank structure that had been recommended by studies made in 1950 and 1951. On April 24, 1952, Air Force Regulation 39-36 was published, changing the name of the lowest enlisted U.S. Air Force rank to "basic airman"—whose holders still bore no insignia—immediately below the new "airman third class".