AUGUST 17, 2021 – The Department of the Air Force recently published the Calendar Year 2022 Air and Space Force Selection Board schedules, identifying when thousands of Airmen and Guardians will compete for promotion, helping shape and develop the force.
The upcoming schedule will see several changes from previous years, ranging from accelerating some promotion boards, adding a new Line of the Air Force developmental category, and supporting two separate board schedules for the Air and Space Force.
“While the Space Force promotion boards are intermingled throughout 2022 with the various Air Force boards, their consolidated boards will look at Guardian promotions for sergeant through master sergeant in May, major through colonel in October, and senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant in November,” said Col. Scott Arcuri, U.S. Air Force Selection Board Secretariat chief. “The October field grade officer board will be Space Force’s second consolidated officer board as a separate service.”
In order to ensure the department has the force it needs, the Lt Col LAF-C (Combat Support) DevCat board will convene in January 2022, separate from the remaining LAF DevCats (A/F/I/N/X) meeting in March.
Other CY22 changes include:
- Lt Col LAF-C (Combat Support) Board in January 2022
- Lt Col LAF-X (Cross Functional Operations) Board in March 2022
- Colonel LAF (A/C/F/I/N/X) and Chaplain Board accelerated to March/April 2022
- Colonel MC/DC/NC/BSC Board accelerated from traditional September timing to June 2022
“Having separate developmental categories for the LAF gives us added flexibility to balance and sustain the force by decoupling board timing when necessary,” Arcuri said. “In this case, the Combat Support AFSCs will meet their board two months earlier than last year, which allows earlier processing of the results and earlier pin-on dates to address shortages in some LAF-C career fields.”
In July, the Secretary of the Air Force approved a new LAF developmental category, LAF-X (Cross Functional Operations).
“The new category consists primarily of Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) who now have their own Air Force Specialty Code,” Arcuri added. “LAF-X consists of only Majors and above, so officers in the LAF-X DevCat will compete for lieutenant colonel in March and for colonel in March/April.”
The Colonel LAF and Chaplain boards will be held in late March/early April, about three months earlier than in 2021. Similarly, Medical, Dental, Nurse and Biomedical Sciences Corps candidates meeting their colonels board will compete in June, three months earlier than they did in 2021.
“This continues a trend of moving the Colonels’ promotion boards earlier in the year to better align with the Colonel assignment process,” Arcuri added.
The Selection Board Secretariat conducts nearly 200 boards per year for both the Air and Space Force. These include all general officer promotion and federal recognition boards; active duty officer promotion and continuation boards; officer special selection boards and special selection review boards; enlisted promotion boards for sergeant through chief master sergeant (Space Force) and master sergeant through chief master sergeant (Air Force); and other boards as directed by the SecAF.
“We are challenging the status quo and making necessary changes today so we are ready for tomorrow,” Arcuri said. “The decisions and changes made for the upcoming board schedules were deliberate and focused on ensuring we have the right mix of Airmen and Guardians who can compete, deter and win in the high-end fight.”
For more information on the selection boards, visit the myPers website.
By Tony Whaley, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs