<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Technical sergeant is the name of one current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States military . </P> <P> Technical sergeant, "tech sgt" in informal parlance, is the sixth enlisted rank (pay grade E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant . A technical sergeant is a noncommissioned officer and abbreviated as TSgt (with no period in official USAF and other military correspondence). Official terms of address are "technical sergeant" or "sergeant", although many use "tech sergeant" in informal situations . </P> <P> Within air force enlisted ranks, promotion to technical sergeant has historically been the second-most difficult rank to achieve (only the rank of senior master sergeant, capped by federal law, has lower promotion rates) and is the most difficult promotion that most career air force members achieve . A staff sergeant must have served at least 23 months in grade to be considered for promotion to technical sergeant . It normally takes 10--12 total years of service to attain this pay grade . Technical sergeants mentor junior enlisted personnel while preparing themselves for promotion to master sergeant, the entry rank of the senior non-commissioned grades . </P>

What rank is a tsgt in the air force