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.

MLK and Civil Rights Movement pop-up museum

62nd Airlift Wing

Video by Master Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes

Jan. 15, 2021 | 5:06

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18, 2021, the 62nd Airlift Wing is proud to present the MLK and Civil Rights Movement pop-up museum at the McChord Field Chapel Support Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The museum highlights the life and legacy of Dr. King as well as his fellow leaders, the impact of youth and celebrities and how the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s led to laws and future fights for civil rights. The museum also highlights many other key players in the civil rights movement, such as Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy whose death sparked the movement; Malcolm X and the Black Panthers; the Little Rock Nine; and a Wall of Leaders display.

Every year, the third Monday in January is observed in honor of the birth of Dr. King on Jan. 15, 1929. He was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the CRM, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. More