AETC Form 29B was the Air Education and Training Command pre-departure safety briefing and travel itinerary form used to sign military personnel out for leave, temporary duty, or a permanent change of station. It has been replaced by AF Form 4392, which now serves as the standard accountability document for technical training students traveling off-installation.1Naval Postgraduate School. Current Students – US Air Force Element If your squadron hands you paperwork labeled “29B,” you are probably looking at an outdated version or a locally produced sign-out sheet. Ask your Military Training Leader which document your unit currently requires before you fill anything in.
What the Form Covered
29B was more than a sign-out pass. Unit commanders were required to ensure that military personnel under age 26 received a hazard briefing before departing on leave, TDY, or a PCS. The briefing addressed risks tied to recreational activities and travel by private motor vehicle, and it could be delivered individually or to a group by a commander, first sergeant, flight commander, immediate supervisor, or military training manager.
The form also required departing members to disclose plans for high-risk activities: skydiving, scuba diving, motorcycle racing, hang gliding, bungee jumping, or white-water rafting. Anyone planning those activities had to schedule a follow-on briefing with the chain of command to discuss the specific hazards. A reminder ran on the form to contact the unit commander, first sergeant, or command post if you were involved in an accident or emergency while away.
Filling Out the Travel Itinerary
Part III, the “Proposed Travel Itinerary,” asked for a day-by-day plan. You checked the mode of transportation (private motor vehicle, airplane, bus, train, or other) and entered the departure date and final destination. For each day of travel, you entered the departure point, the arrival point, the length of the rest period, and the approximate mileage. Leadership used this section to flag unrealistic driving distances or missing rest stops before signing off on the trip.
Filling Out the Safety Briefing Sign-Off
Part IV was the administrative record of the briefing itself. You filled in your name, grade, and organization, then signed and dated the form to acknowledge you had received the briefing. The person who delivered the briefing also signed, which created the paper trail that the command had met its duty to warn. Without both signatures the form was incomplete and the departure could be held.
What Replaced It: AF Form 4392
AF Form 4392 is the current accountability document for student travel during technical training.1Naval Postgraduate School. Current Students – US Air Force Element At Fort Meade, for instance, students traveling beyond 100 miles but within the 250-mile leave radius must file a completed AF Form 4392 regardless of age so the unit can account for them. Travel beyond the 250-mile radius typically requires an exception-to-policy approval from the commandant along with approved leave through the home station.2Defense Information School. Prior Service/TDY Students
Radius limits and approval requirements vary by installation and student status. Prior-service students on TDY often have different rules than non-prior-service Airmen in initial skills training. Your squadron’s student guide or MTL will have the current local policy. The core process still mirrors what 29B required: fill out the form with your destination and travel details, get it reviewed and signed by your chain of command, and keep a copy accessible in case you are recalled.
Conduct Rules That Still Apply Once You Sign Out
Signing out on a pass does not suspend the standards of conduct that apply to military personnel. The Air Force enforces a zero-tolerance policy on underage drinking. For Airmen of legal drinking age, the “0-0-1-3” responsible drinking standard applies: zero underage consumption, zero impaired driving, no more than one standard drink per hour, and no more than three drinks in an evening.3Goodfellow Air Force Base. 0-0-1-3 “Drink Responsibly” Program A standard drink is one 12-ounce beer, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, or a 5-ounce glass of wine.
Most installations also publish a list of off-limits establishments where trainees are prohibited from entering. Your squadron should hand this out during in-processing. Visiting an off-limits location, even briefly, carries the same disciplinary consequences as missing curfew. When in doubt about a venue, check with your MTL before you go.
What Happens If You Violate the Terms
Returning late, traveling beyond your authorized radius, or ignoring the conditions on your pass can lead to anything from a verbal counseling to formal action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Article 92 covers failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, and a court-martial can impose punishment at its discretion for a violation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 892 – Art 92 Failure to Obey Order or Regulation In practice, most first-time curfew violations at the technical training level result in phase setbacks, extra duty, or loss of pass privileges rather than a court-martial, but the legal authority exists and some commanders use it.
Inaccurate information on your sign-out paperwork creates its own problem. If leadership cannot reach you at the phone number or address you listed, you can be reported absent without leave even if you fully intended to return on time. Fill every field accurately, keep your phone charged and on, and check back in through the CQ desk before your curfew, not at it.