The Air Force’s Force Shaping Board, which met March 12, identified 1,347 out of 1,626 officers in the 2004 and 2003 year groups to separate from the Air Force by Sept. 29, 2007. A May 7 release states that the officers in question received word from their senior raters on May 2. Options still available for these officers include the Blue to Green—Air Force to Army—and Palace Chase—active to reserve—programs. Time is running out, though, with June 1 and July 1 cutoff dates, respectively.
The Air Force will promote 11.07 percent of eligible master sergeants to senior master sergeant this year, a decline from last cycle that snaps a four-year streak of increases. Out of a pool of 13,315 eligible individuals, 1,474 new E-8s were selected.