Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

“I’m extremely proud of the Space Force and all the good it has accomplished. But, as good as we are, as much as we’ve done, as far as we’ve come, it’s not enough. We are not yet optimized for Great Power Competition.”

~ Chief of Space Operations
Gen. Chance Saltzman

The establishment of the U.S. Space Force was a direct response to threats arising from Great Power Competition in the space domain. Nevertheless, our legacy roots leave us sub-optimized for the security environment confronting us today, and we must finish fine-tuning the service to continue meeting its National Defense Strategy responsibilities

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.

The space domain is no longer benign; it has rapidly become congested and contested.

We must enhance our capabilities, develop Guardians for modern warfare, prepare for the high intensity fight, and strengthen our power projection to thrive and win in this new era of Great Power Competition.

Video by Lance Cpl. Juan Anaya

Funeral Flyover With HMLA-369 B-Roll

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

March 25, 2021 | 0:32

U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1Z Vipers with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct a funeral flyover of Pvt. Cruz, March 25, 2021 above Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, California. Pvt. Cruz was posthumously presented the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with a machine gun platoon attached to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division in combat against enemy Japanese forces in Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands on the night of November 22, 1943. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Juan Anaya)