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 U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
