The Air Force plans to hold its next force shaping board on March 12 at Air Force Personnel Center, Randolph AFB, Tex. Targeted are officers in year groups 2003 and 2004. Service officials have said that they plan to cut about 8,000 officers of various ranks in 2007, but the March FSB will look as some 1,000 junior officers. For the 2004 year group, the board will focus on officers in overage career fields. For the 2003 group, the vulnerable officers will include navigators, air battle managers, and space and missile and developmental engineers, as the Air Force tries to balance out the force on its way to cutting some 40,000 personnel overall. Officers identified by the FSB must leave the service by Sept. 29, 2007.
As commander of Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been at the heart of almost all U.S. military action in the Middle East, from overseeing airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups to protecting troops as America’s air defense commander for the region. Just before handing over his command to…