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 James Hancock

Richard Schumacher Receives 2023 Jerry L. Hayes Award for Metrology

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

May 24, 2023 | 1:52

The 2023 Jerry L. Hayes award was presented to Richard Schumacher, department head for the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona Division Measurement Science and Engineering Department, which serves as the department head for the Navy’s metrology and calibration program and provides weapons interface engineering assessment, strategic weapons surveillance and testing, and test systems assessment.

The Jerry L. Hayes Award was established to pay tribute to the accomplishments of Jerry Hayes, founder of the U.S. Navy's metrology and calibration program and the original technical director of the United States Navy's Metrology Engineering Center and, later, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division Measurement Science and Engineering Department. Mr. Hayes dedicated his career to advancing the quality of technical assessments and measurements within the Navy, the Department of Defense and the nation. Award recipients embody the spirit and vision that enable NSWC Corona to execute this critical mission for the Navy.

NSWC Corona Division is designated as the Navy's Test and Monitoring Systems technical advisor responsible for disseminating calibration guidance to over 2,750 personnel across the Naval enterprise and ensuring accurate and traceable measurements to international standards to reduce the risk of wrong test decisions and improve Fleet lethality. NSWC Corona authors the detailed calibration procedures used to perform nearly 500,000 calibrations each year on the Navy's more than 1.6 million pieces of test equipment; and uses the results from these calibrations to establish and optimize calibration periodicities to ensure the proper risk vs. cost trade-off. In measurement areas where the Navy/USMC are unable to find a suitable commercial solution, NSWC Corona partners with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Army, and the Air Force to ensure that measurement technology is developed in a complimentary manner and that fielded solutions will interoperate across the services.