Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

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“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 

Space Force & Air Force announce sweeping changes to maintain superiority amid Great Power Competition

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 Tech. Sgt. Frank Casciotta
History Shorts Ep. 6. The 310th SW and its role in nuclear deterrence during the Cuban Missile Crisis
310th Space Wing
June 17, 2024 | 3:37
Dr. Courtney Short, the 310th Space Wing historian, explores the critical role of the 310th Strategic Aerospace Wing, which is now the 310th Space Wing, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. (U.S. Air Force video by Tech. Sgt. Frank Casciotta and Dr. Courtney Short)

Sources of information in this video came from:

• The Cuban Missile Crisis by Michael Hankins, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian

• Department of State, Office of the Historian

• National Archives: Collection JFK-222: Theodore Sorensen papers

• George Washington University National Security Archives

• John F. Kennedy Library

• Library of Congress Veterans History Project: Bobby McCall Jones Collection

• “A Full Retaliatory Response: When President John Kennedy contemplated nuclear war, what went through the minds of the U.S. bomber crews?” by Tom Jones, Air & Space Magazine

• Evelyn Lincoln Personal Papers, John F. Kennedy Library

• Airpower & the Cuban Missile Crisis by John T. Correll, Air Force Magazine

• Beyond the Wild Blue: A history of the U.S. Air Force by Walter J. Boyne

• My Twelve Years with John F. Kennedy by Evelyn Lincoln

• Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon & Ford by Clint Hill
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Air Force Great Power Competition

 

 

 
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