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Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

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Department of the Air Force
 

 

 

LATEST NEWS

 

“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
 

Air Force & Space Force announce sweeping changes to maintain superiority amid Great Power Competition

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.

 

Gen. Paxton - Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Gifford Navy Cross Ceremony
Marine Forces, Special Operations Command
Video by Sgt. Scott Achtemeier
June 17, 2014 | 11:42
U.S. Marine Corps General John M. Paxton Jr., Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, awards the Navy Cross Posthumously to Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Gifford, Critical Skills Operator with 2D Marine Corps Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, at Stone Bay, aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C. June 17, 2014. Gunnery Sgt. Gifford was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on 29 July 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Scott Achtemeier / RELEASED) More


Space Force Great Power Competition

 
Department of the Air Force