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 Sgt. Yesenia Barajas

23 BEB Soldiers conduct wildland fire fighting operations in Plumas National Forest (Part I)

National Interagency Fire Center

Sept. 3, 2021 | 1:32

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, reinforce control lines to defend structures by mopping up possible hotspots to remove any burning fuels in the area while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, California, Sept. 3, 2021. Mop up operations consist of extinguishing or removing burning material near control lines to make a fire safe, or to reduce residual smoke. U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands. (U.S. Army Video by 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)