The Air Force will continue to offer voluntary officer-separation measures in Fiscal 2012 in order to help the service draw down to its Congressionally authorized end-strength level of 332,800 active duty airmen by the end of that fiscal year. Under the Fiscal 2012 officer 10-8 commission waiver program, eligible officers in certain competitive categories may seek to retire with reduced active commissioned service. Those categories are: line of Air Force, line of the Air Force-judge advocate general, chaplain, biomedical service corps, and medical service corps. Officers ineligible for that program—including some colonels eligible for a selective early retirement board next year—may seek to separate under another initiative: the Fiscal 2012 officer limited active duty service commitment program, according to Air Force manpower officials. (Randolph release) (For more on USAF’s force management activities, read Too Much of a Good Thing from Air Force Magazine’s 2011 archive.)
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.