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.

3rd MLR conducts Littoral Zone Reconnaissance Cobra

3d Marine Division

Video by Cpl. Jaylen Davis

May 23, 2024 | 4:34

U.S. Marines with 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and Philippine Marines with 4th Marine Brigade conduct littoral zone reconnaissance with a U.S. Marine Corps Stalker VXE30 unmanned aerial system during the Littoral Zone Reconnaissance Cobra exercise for Archipelagic Coastal Defense Continuum on Naval Base Camillo Osias, Philippines, May 20-23, 2024. LZR Cobra is a bilateral command post exercise between U.S. Marines with 3rd MLR and Philippine Marines with the Coastal Defense Regiment and 4th Marine Brigade aimed at enhancing interoperability, refining tactics, techniques, and procedures, and supporting combined and joint force maritime domain awareness. ACDC is a series of bilateral exchanges and training opportunities between U.S. Marines and Philippine Marines aimed at bolstering the Philippine Marine Corps’ Coastal Defense strategy while supporting the modernization efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Jaylen Davis) More