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.

Nelson Dellis - Memory Conversation Part 3

Air Force Research Laboratory

Video by Kevin D Schmidt

Jan. 19, 2022 | 01:00:47

In this edition of QuEST, Memory Champion Nelson Dellis continues his discussion on memory athletics, memory palaces, and person-action-object encoding methods.

Key Moments and Questions in the video include:
Nelson and Kevin discuss memory demonstration - memory palace
Nelson walks through how to encode and store a deck of cards
Speed Cards (name of the event) - current record 12.74 seconds - uses the system
Nelson explains:
Scored on number correct and then time if all are correct
52 cards - turn each value of each card into an image - make more memorable
Create memory palace
Nelson uses (Dominic O’Brien’s system) - each numeric value a phonetic sound
Card values - Ace=A, 2=B, etc
Card suits - Hearts=H, Clubs=C, Diamonds=D, and Spades=S
Encode the alphabet from the cards with an intuitive image
52 images with 52 cards, will need 52 locations for memory palace;
Chunking the information into sets of three, i.e. person-action-object (PAO) will minimize the number of locations within a memory palace
Nelson recommends encoding people first for card memorization
How to encode sets of three cards in PAO
Complicated encoding systems for card pairs
Decisions on updating memory palace images

Case Number AFRL-2024-2589 More