Nearly 1,100 noncommissioned officers who have been tagged as retraining eligible for Fiscal 2006 are staring down separation alley if they don’t opt for retraining into one of 30 undermanned specialties before the May 15 deadline, said Air Force Personnel Center officials. So far this year, the Air Force has only retrained 442 out of a goal of 1,069. Officials also noted that targeted airmen who decline to be retrained might scotch any chance of switching to another service, the Air National Guard, or Air Force Reserve Command. Ouch!
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.