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 Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Akiyama

Coast Guard Cutter Aspen conducts aids to navigation in Humboldt Bay

U.S. Coast Guard District 11

April 23, 2019 | 5:52

Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in San Francisco, retrieved Humboldt Bay Entrance Lighted Whistle
Buoy HB #9, which had broken free from its mooring, and reestablished Humboldt Bay Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy HB #2 off the coast of Samoa, California, April 23, 2019. The crew of the Aspen traveled to Humboldt Bay to recover displaced aids to navigation and attempted to restore missing navigational aids to assist mariners in transiting the Humboldt Bay entrance. U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Akiyama.