The Air Force said Friday it has selected 534 officers in the medical and dental career fields for promotion to major, lieutenant colonel and colonel.
According to statistics provided by the Air Force Personnel Center, the selectees include 299 chosen for promotion to major, including 55 dentists and 244 Medical Corps officers; 159 chosen for promotion to lieutenant colonel, including 30 dentists and 129 Medical Corps officers; and 76 chosen for promotion to colonel, including 13 dentists and 63 Medical Corps officers. The promotions were chosen by the 2016A Medical and Dental Corps central selection boards.
In all, there were 1,305 officers up for promotion. There were 491 up for promotion to colonel, resulting in a 15 percent selection rate. Among in-the-zone officers up for colonel, there was a 57 percent selection rate.
There were 506 officers up for promotion to lieutenant colonel, resulting in a 31 percent selection rate, as well as a 97.4 percent selection rate for in-the-zone officers.
And there were 308 officers up for promotion to major, which meant a 97 percent overall selection rate. All but four of the 302 promotion-eligible in-the-zone officers were selected to become major -- a selection rate of 98 percent -- as were half of the six above-the-zone officers.
The list of selectees can be found here.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
