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.

Coast Guard rescues Loggerhead Turtle

U.S. Coast Guard District 5

Video by Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Johnson

June 12, 2017 | 0:59

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson, a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter based out of Cape May, New Jersey, along with members of the Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute and members of Sea Turtle Recovery rescue a loggerhead turtle approximately 3-miles east of Cape Henlopen near Lewes, Delaware, June 12, 2017.

The crew of the Lawrence Lawson were on patrol when they spotted an ailing sea turtle and monitored it for approximately one hour and noted the turtle had growths on it and appeared to be unable to dive.

Crewmembers, along with scientists, used a cargo net aboard the Lawson to secure the ill turtle and then brought it into the stern notch of the ship and then bring it to shore for rehabilitation and recovery.

U.S. Coast Guard video by crew of Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson More