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.

Kodiak Care 24 Mass Casualty Exercise

111th Attack Wing

Video by Master Sgt. George Roach

May 16, 2024 | 4:33

A multiservice joint expeditionary readiness medical team from the Innovative Readiness Training program for Kodiak Care 24 undergo a mass casualty exercise designed to task first responders, local emergency management teams and the regional hospital system to determine areas that could use improvement.

For Kodiak Arctic Care 24, personnel from across the U.S. Uniformed Services, under the Innovative Readiness Training program, partnered with the Kodiak Area Native Association to deliver no-c.ost medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary services to residents across geographically dispersed care sites in Alaska’s remote Kodiak Island borough. IRT is exclusive to the United States and its territories and delivers joint training opportunities to increase deployment readiness. Simultaneously, IRT provides key services, such as health care, construction, transportation, and cybersecurity, to U.S. communities. More