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.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.