WASHINGTON –
The Air Force will delay its selective early retirement board for colonels by six weeks, personnel officials announced June 29.
There will be no changes to the Lieutenant Colonel SERB previously announced.
During a recent review in preparation for the July 2010 colonel SERB, Air Force officials identified 125 additional SERB-eligible colonels. As a result, the Air Force has notified the colonels and is delaying the SERB to Aug. 30. The deadline for colonels to voluntarily apply for retirement is being extended to Aug. 20and the mandatory retirement date for colonels selected by the SERB is being moved to Feb. 1, 2011.
Delaying the SERB allows newly identified eligible colonels time to prepare and make decisions. It also affords previously notified SERB eligible colonels additional time to consider applying for early retirement.
"The original O-6 SERB selection criteria was established using a colonel's date of rank and total active commissioned service date," said Col. Tom Deale, director of the colonel management division. "Based on further review, the date of rank within a given competitive category is the only permissible seniority-related criterion to determine SERB eligibility."
"Strictly using the date of rank, as required by law, made more colonels eligible," he added.
Newly affected colonels have been notified of their eligibility, according to Colonel Deale.
"I sent a personal email to every affected colonel," said Colonel Deale. "We want to ensure they have all the information they need to make an informed decision based on their specific situation."
As a result of the revised criterion, all SERB-eligible colonels will have at least six weeks to decide if they want to consider voluntary retirement, according to the colonel.
Additionally, based on current and projected manning forecasts, the Secretary of the Air Force also removed the JAG career field (colonels only) from consideration as one of four competitive categories originally scheduled to meet the SERB. The Secretary determined that additional reductions in JAG colonels would lower manning to a critical level.
The SERB is part of the Air Force's force management measures announced in March.
"Implementing force management measures is difficult because they have a profound impact on peoples' lives," said Brig. Gen. Sharon Dunbar, director of force management policy. "It's absolutely imperative that we conduct them correctly."
For more information on the SERB process, visit the Air Force Personnel Center personnel services website or contact the Total Force Service Center at (800) 525-0102 or DSN 665-5000.