JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas, Jan. 6, 2014 (AFNS) – The Air Force will convene an enhanced selective early retirement board here June 16 to consider eligible officers for early retirement, Air Force Personnel Center officials said today.
ESERB, a new authority granted in the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, applies to regular, active-duty majors through colonels.
The board is one of several fiscal 2014 force management programs that have been or will be implemented during fiscal 2014 to help achieve manpower and force structure goals as the service focuses on 2015 and beyond, said Lt. Col. Rick Garcia, the AFPC retirements and separations branch chief.
Officers eligible for this board include active-duty biomedical sciences corps and medical services corps lieutenant colonels who have been once non-selected for promotion to the next higher grade, and active-duty, retirement-eligible line of the Air Force, LAF-judge advocate, chaplain, nurse corps, BSC and MSC majors.
Senior raters as of the Jan. 17, 2014 accountability date will prepare a retention recommendation form for each of their eligible officers, and will provide those officers with completed copies of their RRFs by May 16, 2014.
Eligible officers who do not want to meet the retention board can apply Jan. 14-May 16 for voluntary retirement, and can use other FM programs, such as the limited active duty service commitment waiver, to enable them to retire with a Jan. 1, 2015 effective date. Officers may continue to apply for voluntary retirement after May 16, but they will remain ESERB eligible and will meet the board. Officers with a retirement approval date on or before June 13, 2014 will not meet the board.
Eligible officers who use other FM programs to enable them to retire voluntarily may be required to repay funds, Garcia said. For example, officers who do not complete the active-duty service commitment incurred for transferring their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to a family member may have to pay back the monetary value of any transferred benefits used by a family member. Officers selected for retirement by the board, however, will not have to repay those benefits.
“The board will be conducted using the Electronic Board Operations Support System, so we recommend that you review your records for accuracy and update information well before the board convenes,” Garcia said.
To review your records, go through the Portal or myPers to the Personnel Records Display Application on the secure applications site.
All separating and retiring Airmen must attend a transition assistance program offered at their local Airman and Family Readiness Center. TAP includes congressionally mandated pre-separation counseling, a required five-day TAP workshop, veterans benefit briefings which include details on disability, one-on-one assistance to develop an individual transition plan, and a capstone which requires commander concurrence that the member has met all career readiness standards.
Other related services include employment resources, financial planning/management, spouse employment assistance, relocation assistance and general information and referral.
“We highly encourage all Airmen affected by force management programs to sign up early for a TAP class,” Garcia said. “Force management coupled with routine separations and retirements activity will have a significant impact on availability. So waiting until you learn the results of the board may prevent you from getting into a conveniently-scheduled class.”
For more information about ESERB, including full eligibility and preparation requirements, go to myPers at https://mypers.af.mil. Enter PSDM 13-126 in the search window.