The Air Force’s summer and fall involuntary-separation boards will consider 4,000 fewer airmen for separation. The service’s leadership chose to reduce the number primarily in order to maintain manning in nuclear-related jobs. “Establishing full manning in our nuclear positions underscores the vital importance of this mission,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said June 13. “Budgetary uncertainty regarding proposed force-structure actions is also driving us to retain more airmen in some career fields,” she said.