The Air Force does plan to hold a reduction in force board in June to identify approximately 600 officers in select year groups—1995, 1996, 2000, and 2001—to involuntary separate from the service by Jan. 29, 2008. Service officials said in January that a RIF was possible if USAF didn’t get enough volunteers. As of March 1, about 2,210 officers had opted to leave the service and take voluntary separation pay—an option that now remains open until March 31.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…