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.

Hawaii National Guard aids in search and recovery efforts after Maui wildfires

National Guard Bureau

Video by Master Sgt. Amber Monio

Aug. 14, 2023 | 1:00

More than 100 Hawaii National Guard members were mobilized Aug. 9 to assist with search and recovery efforts after several wildfires swept through the island of Maui. The Lahaina fire was the most devastating and destructive of three large wildfires which erupted on the island Tuesday causing nearly 100 fatalities, with those numbers expected to rise. The Hawaii National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) team is trained to respond to CBRNE incidents in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX within six hours of formal alert in order to assist local, state and federal agencies in conducting consequence management by providing capabilities to conduct casualty decontamination, medical triage and treatment, casualty search and extraction and fatality search and recovery in order to save lives and mitigate human suffering. (U.S. Air National Guard video by Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson, edited by Master Sgt. Amber Monio) More