Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

SecAF Memo

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.

NEW HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD MEDEVAC UNIT RECEIVES INITIAL HELICOPTERS

State of Hawaii, Department of Defense, Public Affairs Office

Video by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Jackson

Oct. 28, 2016 | 3:15

Kalaeloa, Hawaii -The Hawaii Army National Guard’s newest unit has received three HH-60M Blackhawk helicopters. The Blackhawks were offloaded from a C-17 at the Kalaeloa Airfield today. They will be assembled on-site and operate out of Wheeler Army Air Field until their new facility at Kalaeloa is completed.

Detachment 1, Company G, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment is an aeromedical evacuation unit and is in the process of filling its ranks. The detachment’s mission is to provide MEDEVAC support to military entities. The unit has about 30 soldiers, mostly drill stutus, or part-time forces. The unit will not provide full-time support to civil authorities, but when fully staffed, it may supplement.

This unit is one of the most requested types of units to deploy, with their specialty of MEDEVAC being in high demand abroad.

The new Blackhawk models have a couple of features that differentiate them from the HIARNG’s current UH-60M Blackhawks. These HH-60M have an external hoist, a Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) and the capability to carry six litter patients or six ambulatory (or three of each patients) within its MEDEVAC cabin configuration. The four-person crew is made up of two pilots, one crew chief and one flight medic.

Interview:
00:00:05:00 - 00:00:53:16 Chief Warrant Officer 3, Phillip Wilson, Hawaii Army National Guard

B-Roll
00:00:53:16 - 00:03:16:23

(U.S. Air National Guard Video by Tech. Sgt. Andrew L. Jackson) More