WASHINGTON — Months after pausing the initiative, the Department of the Air Force announced it is mostly abandoning a sweeping organizational overhaul launched under the Biden administration, though it will retain a handful of reforms.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Air Force revealed that key changes under the Biden-era “Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition” plan have been “terminated” by new leadership. Among the initiatives the service will no longer pursue: a “reorientation” of Air Combat Command, a new apparatus called Airman Development Command that would have taken over the existing Air Education and Training Command, and, as previously announced, the establishment of an Integrated Capabilities Command that was set to craft requirements for the service.
The Air Force also will no longer stand up a program assessment and evaluation office, opting instead to place the program into the existing office of studies and analysis. Three new centers — one for Air Force Material Command information dominance, a second for Air Force nuclear systems, and a third for air dominance — will also no longer come to fruition. The release said those centers have been “terminated in favor of more effective sustainment and support approaches.”
The Air Force said organizations like Air Forces Central and Air Forces Northern will remain as numbered air forces subordinate to Air Combat Command, rather than being moved out from under that command as reoptimization dictated. The service will further forgo a plan to establish new Air Base Wings.
Still, not all reoptimization ideas have been cast aside. The Air Force will continue carrying out large-scale exercises meant to test the mettle of airmen deployed in challenging environments like the Indo-Pacific. The service will additionally stick to hiring warrant officers for cyber and information technology in an effort to beef up technical prowess among its ranks, and will keep smaller offices like one focused on integrated capabilities.
Airmen should also expect no or limited notice inspections to continue, as well as receiving training outside their speciality under a concept known as Multi-Capable Airmen. Certain revamps to the Space Force were part of the reoptimization plan too, though the Air Force’s press release largely does not address changes specific to the Space Force.
The reoptimization plan, billed by Biden officials like former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall as necessary to counter China, had already mostly been on life support under the Trump administration, where the proposed changes rankled the service and reportedly helped drive the ousting of former Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin. In September, new Air Force Secretary Troy Meink didn’t mince words when Breaking Defense asked him how he felt about strategic reforms pursued by Kendall.
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“I think a lot of the ideas that have been floated around, regardless of where they came from, are important, right? I take a little bit different approach to that,” Meink told reporters then. “I’ll be honest, I’m not a big believer in the competition side of the house,” he continued, an apparent reference to the full name of “Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition.”
Instead, Meink said, “we need to be able to win, period.”
In announcing the death of reoptimization, Meink and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach acknowledged that though the service isn’t changing as drastically as previously planned, it still had to keep up with the times.
“As our adversaries and the strategic environment continue to evolve, our approach to ensuring a credible and ready force must also adjust,” Meink and Wilsbach said in a memo to commanders outlining the reversal of reoptimization initiatives, according to the service’s press release. “Air superiority is not guaranteed. Through flexibility and clear-eyed assessment, our Air Force will continue to fly, fix, and fight now and into the future.”