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.

PACIFIC FORTITUDE - Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (Army version)

8th Army

Video by Sgt. Eric Kestner

Aug. 16, 2024 | 6:03

U.S. Army Soldiers with the 1st Armored Division, participate in an emergency readiness exercise that tests their rapid deployment capabilities at Fort Bliss, Texas to South Korea, July - August, 2024. The unit is participating in a deployment readiness exercise in support of Pacific Fortitude, which supports long-standing agreements to the Republic of Korea by deploying forces, drawing and transporting equipment to validate unit readiness and the U.S. commitment to the alliance. The rapid deployment exercise is a standard, routine readiness validation where a U.S. Army unit is tested on its ability to rapidly deploy personnel successfully to a given environment, conduct training and redeploy back to their home station. This exercise also tests the swift deployment and decisive utilization of vehicles and equipment already present on the Korean peninsula. Army Prepositioned Stock-4 or APS-4 are strategically placed caches of warfighting equipment in Korea and Japan that serve as a critical component of the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly project combat power throughout the INDO-PACIFIC. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. Eric Kestner)

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