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 Jeremy Buddemeier

New arrivals push DO system closer to completion

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District

Dec. 14, 2016 | 0:51

Workers delivered four Speece cones to the downriver Dissolved Oxygen Injection System site, Dec. 14, 2016.

The Speece cones, which are 22 feet tall, 12 feet in diameter at the base, and weigh more than 11 tons, force oxygen into river water and ensure current levels of dissolved oxygen are maintained before the shipping channel is deepened.

The system is scheduled to be operational by December 2017.

When complete, the dissolved oxygen injection system will employ 10 Speece cones – four downriver on Hutchinson Island, and six upriver near Plant McIntosh in Rincon – and process about 150 million gallons of water per day.