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.

RPG qual at Yavoriv CTC BROLL

45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Video by Sgt. Anthony Jones

May 4, 2017 | 2:17

BROLL of Yavoriv Combat Training Center instructors teaching soldiers of the Ukrainian army's 1st Airmobile Battalion, 79th Air Assault Brigade how to operate RPG-7 and RPG-22 rocket-propelled grenades during the Battalion's training rotation at the CTC located on the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, near Yavoriv Ukraine, on May. 4.

CTC trainers, partnered with Soldiers of the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, are teaching troops of the Ukrainian army's 1st Airmobile Battalion, 79th Air Assault Brigade how to employ RPGs during the battalion's rotation at the CTC. The 45th IBCT is deployed as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine and is paired with soldiers from several nations dedicated to improving the CTC's ability to train soldiers and build professionalism within the Ukrainian military. More