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.

NYC Veterans Day Parade 2023

USAG Fort Hamilton

Video by Mark Getman

Nov. 11, 2023 | 1:00

U.S. Army Col. Brian Jacobs, Fort Hamilton Garrison Commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Hill, Garrison Command Sergeant Major, represented Fort Hamilton alongside New York Army National Guard Soldiers with the 369th Sustainment Brigade, greeting the crowd from the Army’s float during the New York City annual Veterans Day parade on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023.

The U.S. Army served as the featured service branch, with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George, participating at the wreath laying ceremony at the Eternal Light Flagstaff prior to the start of the parade and viewed the marchers from the reviewing stand.

The parade commemorated key military anniversaries including the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, the 50th anniversary of U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, the 40th anniversary of the Beirut barracks bombing and Grenada invasion, and the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.

Billed as the nation's largest Veterans Day event, with over 20,000 marchers in three hundred elements, the NYC parade has been a Veterans Day tradition since 1919. (U.S. Army photo by Mark Getman) More