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WASHINGTON — The Air Force will convene a force-shaping board July 14 to consider eligible officers for involuntary separation, according to an Air Force Personnel Center memo obtained by Stars and Stripes.
Competitive categories for separation include line of the Air Force (LAF), judge advocate, biomedical sciences corps, dental corps, medical service corps and nurse corps, according to AFPC.
LAF is a competitive promotion category which includes all officers except chaplains, judge advocates and all medical corps officers.
The board will affect the following active duty personnel:
LAF captains and first lieutenants in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 accession year groups. Judge advocates with a Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2011 date of rank to captain. Lieutenant colonels and lower-ranking officers in the competitive medical categories in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 accession groups. Officers who are not selected for retention must separate by the end of this year.
Officers who will not meet the board include:
Those who have an approved date of separation before Dec. 31, 2014. Those who entered active duty later than July 15, 2012. -Lieutenant colonels and lower-ranking officers possessing a core specialty code of 42B, 42P, 42S, 46S, 47H, 47P, or 47S; or a DAFSC of X46FX. Officers possessing a primary specialty code of 42GXA, 46NXE, 46YXP, 47GXA, 47GXD, 47GXE, 47GXF, 47GXG, or 47GXH. Officers with an approved separation date after Dec. 31, 2014, remain eligible for consideration by the board, and their date of separation will be moved up to Dec. 31, 2014, if they are not selected for retention.
Officers forced to separate will not have to repay unearned portions of education assistance funds, special pay, bonuses or other monetary incentives. They are also entitled to the following transition assistance program benefits:
Permissive temporary duty. 180 days extended medical care for themselves and their families. An identification card that grants commissary and exchange privileges for two years. When it comes to Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits, if an airman transferred his or her benefits before being selected for involuntary separation, the airman’s service obligation will be treated as complete. However, if an airman attempts to transfer benefits for the first time after board notification of selection for involuntary separation, the airman will not be allowed to transfer those benefits, according to AFPC.
Officers not selected for retention are entitled to full separation pay if they have at least six years of active service but less than 20 as of the separation date. Officers can also apply for voluntary separation pay if they have at least six years of active service but less than 20 years of service as of Sept. 29, 2014.
The FSB only applies to active duty officers, not those in the Air National Guard or Reserve. Those selected for separation should contact the Guard, Reserve or Air Force Civil Service if they are interested in transition opportunities for continued service within the total force, according to AFPC.
The FSB is one of many methods that the Air Force is using to meet force reduction and manpower goals in an era of budget constraints. Air Force officials have said that the service may eliminate as many as 25,000 airmen positions over the next five years.
The force-shaping board will convene at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.
Harper.jon@stripes.com Twitter: @JHarperStripes
