The Air Force will continue to offer voluntary separation and retirement programs for enlisted airmen in Fiscal 2012 as part of its continuing force-shaping measures. The Air Force’s end strength will continue to surpass congressionally mandated levels this fiscal year, according to service manpower officials. “Extraordinarily talented airmen have answered our nation’s call,” said Col. Kenneth Sersun, Air Force military policy division chief. “With so many airmen wanting to serve, we now have more airmen serving than the authorized 332,800 end strength funded by Congress.” The voluntary programs will focus on airmen in “non-critical, overage specialties.” Eligible airmen are urged to begin applying immediately for limited active duty service commitment waivers, transfers from the active duty to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, or to make the switch to the Army. (Randolph report by Eric M. Grill) (See also Too Much of a Good Thing from Air Force Magazine’s archives.)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…