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. David Marquis

ERDC Researchers, EPA, Corps of Engineers Field Test New National Ordinary High Watermark Data Sheet

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

Oct. 31, 2022 | 1:59

For 10 years, the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) has been working on a national manual and data sheet to identify the Ordinary High Watermark (OHWM) across the United States.

The National Technical Committee for OHWM recently went out into the field to continue with testing the newly released interim draft of the data sheet. Researchers from CRREL the Environmental Protection Agency, and regulators from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers across the U.S. are going to different streams and rivers around Vermont to put the data sheet into use and critique the effectiveness of the manual.