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.

USS Gerald R. Ford Wolverine of the Day

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

Video by Chief Petty Officer Gary Prill

March 17, 2023 | 5:21

The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) USS Gerald R. Ford's (CVN78) March 10-17 Wolverines of the Day. March 10, Cryptologicical Technician Technical 2nd Class Jacob Ibbetson, from San Diego, California. March 11, Electrician's Mate 3rd Class Brandon Hunnicut, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. March 12, Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman David Lowery, from Rio Vista, Texas. March 15, Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Jacob Sumner, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. March 16, Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Keith Cardinal, from Hazel Park Michigan. March 17, Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Lukenson Merilien, from Cap-Haitian, Haiti. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean executing its Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), an intense, multi-week exercise designed to fully integrate a carrier strike group as a cohesive, multi-mission fighting force and to test their ability to carry out sustained combat operations from the sea. As the first-in-class ship of Ford-class aircraft carriers, CVN 78 represents a generational leap in the U.S. Navy’s capacity to project power on a global scale. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Simon Pike) More