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 Anaid Balmes, Seaman Annaliss Candelaria, Petty Officer 2nd Class Gregory Pickett II

USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) arrives at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

AFN Guantanamo Bay

June 19, 2020 | 1:00

200619-N-DX072-1001 GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (June 19, 2020) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) arrives at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, June 19, 2020. The ship is en route to her homeport in San Diego after departing Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding Division’s Pascagoula shipyard in Mississippi last week after more than two-years of restoring and modernizing one of the Navy’s most capable warships after it was damaged during a collision in 2017 that claimed the lives of seven Sailors. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is the forward, ready, irreplaceable U.S. sea power platform in the Caribbean. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anaid Banuelos Rodriguez/Released)