seven-level

• seven level, 7-level

Shortened from a longer, bureaucratic US military designation (an Air Force Specialty Code), where '7' was code for "Craftsman".

seven-level (plural seven-levels)

1. (military, US) A person who has qualified for "Craftsman" level of skill in the United States Air Force, with more training than "Journeyman" (five-level), but less than a "Superintendent" (nine-level)
   • 1966, The MAC FLYER, volume 13, number 5, Directorate of Safety, Headquarters Military Airlift Command, page 29:

     I asked how they were doing and they said they couldn't figure out the T.O. and were waiting for a seven level to explain it to them. I went back to my truck and told maintenance control we'd need a seven level radio man.

   • 2003, Air Force Logistics Management Agency, Year in Review, 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 169:

     Follow-on training would take place after completion of the basic apprentice or craftsman courses. Three-level students would attend ATHRS training, and select 7-level students (approximately 49 per year) would attend AFBDS training.

   • 2003, Department of Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Program Annual Report to Congress 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 107:

     The Civil Engineer (CE) Readiness Flight Officer and seven-level Craftsman courses provide flight leaders and mid-level NCOs with the background and the technical information that is necessary for effective management of the CE Readiness Flight and contingency response operations.

   • 2005, Richard R. Simmons, A Long Hard Ride, AuthorHouse, page 116:

     While I was assigned to the parachute shop, although I was in charge and was the senior NCO in charge of two other SSgt's and seven airmen, I was still only a five level and could not be promoted to TSgt without making a seven level.

2. Short for seven-level screwdriver.
   • 1966, Joseph McElroy, A Smuggler's Bible, Harcourt, Brace & World, page 228:

     [H]e takes from the breast pocket of his khaki shirt the little seven-level screwdriver he took from Michael Amerchrome: Plastic handle insulates, so seven-level may be used as low-voltage shorting bar, though the metal pen- (pocket-) clip on the handle's side makes you wonder; large enough for a firm grip; light enough to be used as a mallet on delicate components; small diameter of shank permits its use as a probe in confined places or as a chisel to scrape away corrosion between narrow-printed circuit channels; when magnetized, the small shank can retrieve metal parts that fall into restricted spots ....

   • 2002 June 28, Jerry Helms, “IFF vs. Transponders”, in rec.aviation.military‎ (Usenet), message-ID <PO4T8.44199$781.24239@news1.central.cox.net>:

     >>> A 'tweaker' being a very small screwdriver. I first met that term in 1955.
     >>We called them 7-Levels in ADC.
     > Why?
     A 5-level is a term for a journeyman technician (3-Levels are trainees), and a 7-level was management-expert technician.
     I'm not sure of the history, but it went something like the only difference between a 5-level and a 7-level was the size of his screwdriver.