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.

Wake Island: Where America's Day Really Begins

15th Wing

Video by Senior Airman Michael Reeves Jr.

July 5, 2017 | 2:44

Wake Island: Where America's Day Really Begins is a multimedia piece produced by the 15th Wing Public Affairs office at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. It covers the history of Wake Island Airfield and Airmen of the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center Detachment 1. It also highlights the environmental partnerships with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Pacific Air Forces, and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Wake Atoll falls under 11th Air Force and Alaskan Command. Airmen assigned to Wake Atoll, serve a 365-day unaccompanied tour. The atoll is roughly 2,300 nautical miles west of Oahu. The mission of Wake Island Airfield is to provide U.S. and foreign governments transpacific aircraft movements through en route services and emergency response.

(U.S. Air Force video by Senior Airman Michael Reeves Jr.) More