For some 200 colonels and more than 400 lieutenant colonels the Fiscal 2007 Selective Early Retirement Board meeting next week will decide whether they must retire by the end of the fiscal year. The number meeting the SERB is down by about 60 officers from just over a month ago. At that time, USAF officials told the Daily Report that the board must select 200 officers to retire early.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.