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.

Hawai’i governor, congressman welcome shipyard’s newest tradespeople

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility

Video by Claudia LaMantia

Aug. 1, 2025 | 3:07

B-roll. Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility’s Trades Graduation Ceremony at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Aug. 1, 2025. Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green, M.D., was the special guest speaker at PHNSY & IMF’s Trades Graduation Ceremony. Also, in attendance were U.S. Rep. Ed Case and Rear Adm. Chris Cavanaugh, commander, Submarine Forces U.S. Pacific Fleet, who was the featured speaker. The Trades Graduation Ceremony combined graduates of both the shipyard’s Apprentice Program and Worker Skills Progression Program, totaling 191 new certified tradespeople at Hawai’i’s largest industrial employer. The Apprentice Program is a partnership between the shipyard, U.S. Department of Labor, and Honolulu Community College. The four-year program allows apprentices to earn an associate’s degree in applied trades, be nationally certified as journeyworkers in their respective trades by DOL, and work at the shipyard. WSPP began in 2020 as a program to learn trades through classroom instruction, and structured on-the-job learning. In the five-year program, graduates develop the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform complex work at the journeworker level. The 191 students will work in the following areas: shipfitters, sheet metal mechanics, welders, machinists, marine machinery mechanics, electricians, electronic measurement equipment mechanics, electronics mechanics, toolroom mechanics, pipefitters, air conditioning equipment mechanics, fabric workers, plastic fabricators, shipwrights, painters, riggers, non-destructive test inspectors, heavy mobile equipment mechanics, and insulators. PHNSY & IMF mission is to keep the Navy’s fleet “Fit to Fight” by repairing, maintaining, and modernizing the Navy’s fast attack submarines and surface ships. Strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, it is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East. (U.S. Navy video by Claudia LaMantia) More