Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

Air Force FAQ for Reoptimizing Great Power Competition

“We need these changes now; we are out of time to reoptimize our forces to meet the strategic challenges in a time of great power competition.”

~ Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

The United States faces a time of consequence marked by significant shifts in the strategic environment. To remain ready, the U.S. Air Force must change.

In early 2024, the Department of the Air Force unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in their respective domains while better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition. Through a series of 24 DAF-wide key decisions, four core areas which demand the Department’s attention will be addressed: Develop People, Generate Readiness, Project Power and Develop Capabilities.

Today, the Air Force once again finds itself at a critical juncture—an era of Great Power Competition marked by a new security environment, a rapidly evolving character of war, and a formidable competitor. This new era requires understanding its challenges and the attributes needed to succeed.

Embracing change is not a choice; it is a necessity. The Air Force must “reoptimize” into an enterprise prepared for high-end conflicts and long-term strategic competition.

126th Air Refueling Wing Crash Memorial

126th Air Refueling Wing

Video by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison

March 16, 2022 | 2:49

Please take a moment to remember our fellow 126th Air Refueling Wing team mates and 928th Tactical Airlift Group Airmen that passed away in an aircraft crash 40 years ago, March 19, 1982.
The wing is participating in a Day of Remembrance at the Wonder Lake, Illinois, Fire Department Two, tomorrow, March 19. Lunch is at 11:30 a.m., where the name of each service member lost in the crash will be read. Following lunch, weather permitting, the service will move to near the site of the crash which will include a flyover by the 126th Air Refueling Wing.
March 19, 1982, an Illinois Air National Guard 126th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 tanker exploded in a thunderstorm and crashed from a height of 13,000 feet. Four 126th ARW crew members and 23 passengers were aboard. There were no survivors. The 23 passengers were reservists serving with the 928th Tactical Airlift Group, an Air Force Reserve unit then based at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. More