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.

B-Roll: Cobra Gold 25: 1st LAR Mortars conduct MARFINEX

Marine Rotational Force - Southeast Asia

Video by Sgt. Shaina Jupiter

March 6, 2025 | 2:19

U.S. Marines with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, attached to Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia, fire an M252 81 mm mortar system during the Marine final exercise at Ban Chan Khrem, Chanthaburi, Thailand, March 6, 2025, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2025. Cobra Gold is the largest joint and combined exercise in mainland Asia, held annually in Thailand, showcasing the U.S. commitment to the region by building interoperability, multilateral cooperative arrangements, and advancing common interests through a commitment to allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. MRF-SEA is a rotational unit derived from elements of I MEF executing a U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific operational model that involves training events and exchanges with partner military subject matter experts, promotes security goals with allied and partner nations, and ensures a persistent I MEF stand-in presence west of the international date line. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Shaina Jupiter)  More