The Tongue and Quill
AFH 33-337, 27 MAY 2015
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Getting Started
The official biography is unique among all the written products discussed in The Tongue and
Quill—the official biography is a public affairs communication tool similar to a news release.
As such, it follows the style guidance for a news release developed by the Associated Press (AP)
and adopted by the Air Force (see below). The official biography has multiple sections—some
are required while a few are optional. For some, the requirement depends on your status (officer,
enlisted or civilian), flight rating, and joint experience. Special considerations are annotated
where applicable. In addition, the following general guidance applies:
• Format: use [Arial font, size 9] for all text and entries; bold the headings (e.g., EDUCATION);
use [Arial font, size 13.5 BOLD] for the identification line; all line spacing is 1.15.
• Length: Final drafts should be no more than two pages in length when printed.
• Use a single space after a period or punctuation mark in the narrative.
NOTE: The official biographies available on the Air Force Portal may be different from the
standards presented in this chapter—customs and standards have changed over time. Check
with your chain of command for command-specific guidance in preparing an official biography.
Associated Press (AP) Style Guidance for Official Biographies
• Acronyms: Spell out acronyms on first use; minimize the use of military jargon.
• Adjectives: For brevity, minimize the use of adjectives (e.g., “successfully led…”).
• Months and Dates:
o Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. are abbreviated when used with a day
(e.g.Jan.1, 2015), and spelled out when used only with year (e.g. January 2015)
o March, April, May, June, and July are always spelled out.
o Use commas to separate the day from the year in the “Month Day, Year” format
(March 3, 2014) but not when the day is omitted (March 2014).
o If frocked, say only “Frocked” and do not include a date of promotion.
• Rank: Follows Air Force journalistic style.
o Spelled out fully in the identification line using all capital letters.
o Abbreviated rank is used in the narrative with the name of the member.
o Generic rank (e.g., “the colonel” or “the general”) is used when the name is omitted.
• State names
o All states are spelled out completely when they stand alone without a city.
o Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah are always spelled out.
o Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md.,
Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., N.C.,
N.D., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., and Wyo.
may be abbreviated when used with a city.