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 Scott Sturkol

Fort McCoy RTS-Maintenance Wheeled Vehicle Recovery Operations Course 2023 Training: Winching out a mired vehicle, Part V

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office

July 25, 2023 | 1:49

Soldiers at Fort McCoy, Wis., for training in the Regional Training Site-Maintenance Wheeled-Vehicle Recovery Operations Course work together to winch out a military vehicle from a mire pit during training July 25, 2023, at the installation Vehicle Recovery Site on North Post. The 17-day course covers operation and maintenance of recovery vehicles and use of standard procedures to rig and recover military wheeled vehicles. Related training tasks include oxygen and acetylene gas welding; boom and hoist operations; winch operations; and recovery of mired, overturned, and disabled vehicles. RTS-Maintenance holds several sessions of the Wheeled-Vehicle Operations Course each year and trains Soldiers from both active- and reserve-component forces. (U.S. Army Video by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)