Does anybody here have any tips, advice, or preparation information for a quartely awards board?

Here is one that is often overlooked, at least at Army boards. You are almost always going to hear: "Tell the board a little bit about yourself". Many Soldiers don't give this enough thought. "It's my life, I know it, I don't need to practice it." WRONG. Write out your bio, make sure it is concise and says what you want to say. Then MEMORIZE and REHEARSE what you wrote. This does two key things: 1. It keeps their interest and prevents you from meandering verbally (kills the "Uh") and 2. Makes you sound confident, and because it comes before questions you don't know the answer to, it MAKES you more confident. If they make you march and do facing movements, swing your arms (not kidding, people get wound too tight and forget) get a fresh haircut, doesn't have to be more military than you normally get, don't get a high and tight just to impress, but it should be new for the board so all the lines and tapers are crisp. Do NOT sit down with your dress uniform jacket on until the board. Keep it on a hanger. I have seen people drive to their board wearing their jacket, makes ugly creases in the back. If there is a study guide, little bits at regular intervals is better than a huge cram right before. Good luck.

If you're asking for advice, I'm guessing this is your first board. So the biggest thing is just relax. Don't stress out over it. If you "fail" your first board, just use it as experience for the next board.

So don't stress out is the biggest piece of advice.

Uniforms... make sure they are ALL ready to go and looking nice. I don't know about you, but when I was in, I had my regular duty uniforms, and a set of uniforms set aside for inspections. I know people that haven't worn their uniforms since boot camp, so they don't even fit. Others that don't have proper rank, etc. But then the board comes out and people are rushing to the tailors to get their stuff fixed. Make sure your uniforms are good.

Knowledge... I'm sure you learned stuff in boot camp. That stuff doesn't go away. Random trivia. Famous battles. Well known members of your branch. Whatever you can reabsorb, do so. But like I said, don't stress out, because you don't know what they're going to ask you. Also familiarize yourself with the chain of command. I've known a couple guys who didn't even know who their CO was... despite him walking into our office every morning. Uniform regulations... if you're a male, expect to get at least one question about female uniforms and vice versa... females can expect one question about male uniforms. Most board members like to throw this trick question in because most service members typically only focus on their uniform and not the uniforms of others.

Last piece of advice I can give you is to have some bearing. I've seen people sweating bullets walking into a board. Stay Calm, Cool, and Collected. If you answer a question wrong, who cares. Stick to your answer and get some points for military bearing at least.

First off, congrats.

While I did not serve in the Air Force, I think most boards are the same between the branches. I'll provide you with words that were given to me as I prepared for my first promotion board. First, get plenty of sleep the night before. Wake up, eat a good breakfast. Be ready and confident. Remember, those that sit on the board put their pants on one leg at a time like you do. Lastly, breath and don't lock your knees. Everyone there has been exactly where you are about to be.