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.

Tina Adams Sings National Anthem at POW MIA Recognition Ceremony, Governor Proclamation

Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs Office

Video by Spc. Stephen Wright

Sept. 15, 2017 | 2:19

The Governor of the state of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, proclaimed Sept. 15, 2017, as POW-MIA Recognition Day.

A ceremony was held at the state capitol, recognizing the service members who were Prisoners Of War (POW) or are still considered to be Missing In Action (MIA).

Tina Adams sings the National Anthem at the beginning of the ceremony.

One specific WWII Veteran was to be recognized. Mr. Robert W. Lents, a WWII Navy veteran, was captured on March 3, 1942, when his submarine, the USS Perch (SS-176) engaged in naval warfare in the Java Sea with forces from the Japanese Iperial Navy. His submarine was severely damaged, crewmen were injured and forced to abandon the vessel.

Lents was held captive by the Japanese for three and a half years until he was liberated on Sept. 18, 1945. Lents was unable to attend the ceremony as he hails from Fayetteville, Ark. and unforseen circumstances prevented his attendance.

(U.S. Army National Guard video by Spc. Stephen M. Wright) More