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.

WHINSEC Interagency Crisis Action Planning Course Graduation

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

Video by Jorge Burgos-Villamil, Milton Mariani Rodriguez

April 23, 2025 | 25:04

Today, 16 students from Colombia and Mexico completed five weeks of training in which security force personnel are prepared in individual tasks associated with skills and knowledge to function as advisors or planners in crisis management during military operations or initial response activities in collaboration with the interagency and multinational community. At the conclusion of the course, students receive training in advising decision-makers in the skills, tasks, and employment of advisors in crises when interacting with the population. More