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. ZaBarr Jones, Capt. Leonard Peralta

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Hosts National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony

94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command

Sept. 20, 2024 | 2:32

The National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony was hosted by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on Sept. 20, 2024. The ceremony is a tradition that allows local veterans organizations, community members, U.S. military personnel, and family members of missing personnel to recognize and honor those unaccounted for from past conflicts.
This year, the American Battle Monuments Commission held a rosette ceremony for over 940 U.S. service members who were declared missing during the Vietnam War and have since been recovered and accounted for. The bronze rosettes serve as a symbol of their recovery and identification.
Capt. Henry Etchberger, commander of the 10th Missile Defense Battery, had the honor of placing a bronze rosette beside the name of Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger on the Courts of the Missing. Chief Master Sgt. Etchberger was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions during the Vietnam War. Capt. Etchberger, a cousin of Chief Master Sgt. Etchberger, was chosen by his family to represent them at the ceremony. (U.S. Army video by Capt. Leonard Peralta and Sgt. ZaBarr Jones)