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.

Time lapse: Barge traffic moves through port of Pittsburgh at sunrise

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District

Video by Michel Sauret

March 1, 2024 | 0:26

B-Roll time lapse of towboats navigating through the port of Pittsburgh, shot from the West End Bridge.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is known as the “Headwaters District” because the city’s point is where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge to form the Ohio River, which connects the region to many of the inland waterways for the rest of the nation. The district manages the waterways and watersheds that flow throughout significant parts of the northeastern United States. The district operates 23 locks and dams, saving shippers and consumers approximately $4 billion in transportation costs annually compared to using other means, such as trucks or rails.

Transporting commodities on the waterways is four times less expensive than trucks and 33 percent cheaper than using rail. Towboats can push up to 15 barges on the river at once. A single barge can hold the same amount of material as 70 large semi-trucks or 16 rail cars. A 15-barge tow would be equivalent to more than a thousand semi-trucks on the road, causing 13.9 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District video by Michel Sauret) More