Financing › Air Force COOL
Enlisted Air Force and Space Force
Air Force COOL
Air Force Credentialing Opportunities On-Line
Pays for the credentials tied to your AFSC or Space Force career field — study materials, the prep course and the exam — up to a lifetime ceiling.
What it pays
The numbers people get wrong most often.
- The cap
- $4,500 for your whole career. Not annual, not per fiscal year.
- Prep courses
- Capped at $2,000 per credential goal.
- Study materials
- Capped at $500 per credential goal.
- How many
- Unlimited credentials tied to your primary AFSC or USSF career field, plus up to two unrelated ones — all inside the $4,500.
Who qualifies
The official portal makes the final call. This is the shape of it.
You are likely eligible if
- Enlisted members of the Regular Air Force and the Space Force.
- AGR enlisted on Title 10 or Title 32 orders, with those orders in your AFAEMS record.
- A 5-skill level or higher in your primary AFSC, career series or USSF career field.
- No UIF, referral EPB or control roster status, and no failed or overdue fitness assessment.
- On active-duty status for the full length of the funding request.
You are not eligible if
- Officers. AF COOL is an enlisted-only program, and funding stops if you commission.
- Guardsmen and Reservists in drill status. Active orders are required.
- Anyone within 120 days of separation, and retirees.
How to apply
Submit your funding request no more than 60 days and no fewer than 30 days before your start date.
Finish Virtual Benefits Training
Done once, inside AFVEC. You cannot create a goal until it is complete.
Create your AF COOL education goal
Pick the credential, pick what you need funded — study materials, prep course, exam — and upload our quote.
Get supervisor approval
Your supervisor has 7 calendar days. Miss that window and the system deletes the request.
Submit the funding requests
Generated in order: study materials, then prep course, then exam. Name the vendor exactly as it appears on the AF COOL site.
Wait for the Credentialing Program Office
They review and approve. A purchasing agent then pays the vendor directly.
Train and test
Only after funding is approved and paid. Not before.
Report your result within 30 days
Upload the certification, exam score report or course completion certificate and message the CPO in AFVEC.
Where this actually happens
Funding requests go through Air Force Virtual Education Center (AFVEC). Look the credential up first on DoD COOL. Both are official sites — we do not sit between you and either of them.
What catches people out
Worth reading before you submit anything.
Approval comes first, always
AF COOL pays the vendor directly. There is no reimbursement — if you pay out of pocket before approval, that money is gone. Do not enroll, do not buy the voucher, do not book the exam until the funding is approved.
Missing paperwork triggers recoupment
Unsatisfactory or missing grades make you liable for everything AF COOL paid — exam, prep course, materials and fees. You get 30 days to respond.
A failed exam is on you
AF COOL does not pay for retakes. A first-attempt failure can be appealed by exception to policy, but the second sitting is self-funded.
Not covered
Degrees, CEUs and PDUs, subscription renewals, conferences, travel, prerequisites like drug tests, memberships, hardware.
Governing policy: DoDI 1322.33_DAFI 36-2683, Department of the Air Force Voluntary Credentialing Programs, 8 July 2025, and the AF COOL Handbook v3.0 of the same date.
Checked against official sources in August 2026.
Next steps
Pick the credential, and we will put the quote together in whatever format your portal wants.
thinQtank® Learning is a training provider. We are not the U.S. Army, ArmyIgnitED, Army COOL, the Department of the Air Force, AFVEC, AF COOL, the Department of Defense, Military OneSource, or the Department of Veterans Affairs, and we are not endorsed by any of them. Eligibility, credential approval, funding availability and payment authorisation are decided by those organizations inside their own systems, under their own policies, which change. This page was checked against official sources in August 2026 and is a starting point, not advice about your particular situation. Confirm your own eligibility and current limits in your official portal before you commit to anything.