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.

Interview with Fort McCoy Wildlife Biologist David Beckmann about 32-year career, Part III

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office

Video by Scott Sturkol

Sept. 14, 2022 | 5:04

Wildlife Biologist David Beckmann with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch discusses his job as a wildlife biologist Sept. 14, 2022, during this interview at Fort McCoy, Wis. Beckmann began working at Fort McCoy in 1990 as a contractor after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and then later as a government civilian — all as a wildlife biologist. Beckmann has been a longtime coordinator of Fort McCoy's deer management program, pest control program, and has supported invasive species control, endangered species programs, and much more. Beckmann's work, along with the rest of his team's in the Natural Resources Branch, has earned awards at the Department of Defense, Secretary of the Army, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and in other areas. Work that Beckmann has been a part of has been some of the first of its kind in natural resources management in the United States. On Sept. 30, 2022, Beckmann retires from Army service. (Video by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.) More