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.

Angola MEDREX Operating Room

U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

Video by Spc. Alisha Grezlik, Master Sgt. Dave Thompson

Nov. 16, 2022 | 1:22

Members of a 12-person U.S. Army medical team assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve's 807th Medical Detachment (Deployment Support), partner with Angolan Armed Forces medical professionals to deliver surgical treatment to local patients during the Angola Medical Readiness Exercise (MEDREX) held at the Hospital Militar Principal in Luanda, Angola, Nov. 8-18, 2022.

MEDREX is a medical training exercise, planned and executed by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), that allows military health specialists from the U.S. Army and their African partners to exchange medical practices, procedures and techniques that build and strengthen treatment capabilities, resulting in lasting relationships between medical professionals. More