Senior civilian and military leaders at the Department of the Air Force on February 12 announced a sweeping plan to realign, refocus, and reoptimize the Air Force and military. space force To ensure continued superiority in these areas, while at the same time deterring an era of great power competition and better equipping us with the services to win when necessary.
In summary, the changes were published on February 12 and approved by the Secretary of the Air Force. frank kendallperforming the duties of the Deputy Secretary. Christine JonesAir Force Chief of Staff General David Albin and Space Operations Officer General Chance Saltzman This is one of the most extensive realignments for the Air Force and Space Force in recent history.
“Today, we are announcing 24 key decisions that address our current force and ability to remain competitive,” Kendall said in announcing the changes and the rationale behind them. . “We need these changes now. There is no longer time to reoptimize the military to meet strategic challenges in an era of great power competition.”
While this change is a combination of short-term and long-term initiatives, senior leaders emphasized the need for speed. “Time is running out,” Kendall reiterated, urging action on change.
The changes included in the plan are grouped into four main categories: talent development, readiness generation, project strength, and capability development, and include:
The development of human resources
• Consolidate force development functions under an expanded Air Force Human Development Command to provide Air Force personnel with a common mission-focused development and training path.
• Expand the technical track for officers and create a technical track for non-commissioned officers. Re-introducing Warrant Officers into IT and Cyber fields to maintain technical leadership in these highly perishable skills.
• Develop “mission-ready airmen” through training that focuses on the combination of skills required for wartime operational mission readiness.
• Continue to transform leadership development and training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Officer Training School, and ROTC to prepare new officers to effectively lead Airmen and parents in great power competition.
• Redesign career paths to create guardians who meet the demands of high-tech work.
get ready
• Reorient Air Combat Command to focus on building and presenting rapid response forces to combatant commanders.
• Conduct large-scale exercises and mission-focused training involving multiple operational plans to demonstrate and rehearse complex, large-scale military operations.
• Incorporate closed/limited notice operational readiness assessments and inspections for the Air Force and Space Force to reflect the requirements of the pacing challenge.
• Data-driven and risk-informed restructuring of key processes related to aviation reserves and weapon systems to improve weapon system health.
• Introducing Space Force readiness standards that reflect operations in conflict situations rather than in a benign environment.
• Conduct a series of nested exercises with the Space Force. The exercise increases in scope and complexity, fits into broader divisions of the Air Force-level framework, and is evaluated through a military-level data-driven process to measure readiness.
project power
• Structuring Air Force operational wings as mission-ready “units of action” classified as deployable, immediate combat, or combat-initiated wings. Each airline has a unique structure, and the concept of Agile Combat Employment or ACE support has been redesigned to ensure each wing is ready to execute its mission with its assigned Airmen and units. .
• Establish relationships between fighter wings and base commands. Fighter wings focus on mission-level combat readiness, and base commands focus on supporting fighter wings and operating the base during competition, crisis, and conflict.
• Elevate AFCYBER to an independent service component command, reflecting the importance of the cyber mission to the joint force and the Department of the Air Force as a whole.
• Formalize the Space Force Combat Squadron as an action unit, complete activation of remaining Space Force service components, and accelerate implementation of the Space Force Generation Model.
ability development
• Create the Department of the Air Force's Joint Capabilities Office to lead capability development and resource prioritization to advance Air Force modernization investments.
• Establish a Competitive Activities Office to oversee and coordinate sensitive activities through a combination of efforts.
• Create a program evaluation and evaluation office to promote structure and incorporate a more strategic and analytically-based approach to resource decisions.
• Establish a joint capabilities command and develop competitive operational concepts, joint requirements, and prioritized modernization plans aligned with force design.
• Create a new Information Control Systems Center within Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to strengthen and increase the Air Force's focus on command, control, communications, and battle management. Cyber; Electronic Warfare. information systems; enterprise digital infrastructure;
– Strengthen support for nuclear forces by expanding the Nuclear Weapons Center within AFMC to the Air Force Nuclear Systems Center. This will provide comprehensive material support for nuclear power projects. A two-star general will be appointed as executive officer of the intercontinental ballistic missile program.
• Refocusing the Life Cycle Management Center within AFMC as the Air Superiority Systems Center to synchronize competitive development and product support for aircraft and weapons.
• Establish an integrated development office within AFMC to provide technology assessments and roadmaps. This facilitates coordination and integration of mission systems across the center and provides technical expertise to assess the feasibility of operational concepts.
• Create a new field command, Space Futures Command, to develop and test concepts, conduct experiments and wargames, and design mission areas.
