Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

SecAF Memo

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.

349th AMW 75th Anniversary, C-124 Globemaster II

349th Air Mobility Wing

Video by Senior Airman Shelby Horn, Kenneth Wright

Sept. 17, 2018 | 2:40

In 1966 our wing was re-designated the 349th Military Airlift Wing, under the leadership of Military Airlift Command. This was the same year we gained the Douglas C-124C Globemaster II. Nicknamed “Old Shaky,” this powerful aircraft was the Air Force’s primary heavy-lift transport aircraft during most of the 1950s and 1960s.
Powered by four large Pratt & Whitney R-4360 piston engines, each producing 3,800 horsepower, the C-124 could carry more than 68,000 pounds of cargo. Inside this behemoth was a 77-foot cargo bay that included two overhead hoists that could each lift up to 8,000 pounds.
The training and readiness of 349th Airmen during this time paid dividends in 1968 when the wing was ordered to active duty following the seizure of the USS Pueblo. At that time, many of our Airmen were deployed throughout the Air Force to augment active duty airmen, providing critical support to the war efforts in Vietnam. More