{"id":626,"date":"2020-09-04T14:32:06","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T12:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/?p=626"},"modified":"2020-09-04T14:32:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T12:32:06","slug":"csaf-outlines-strategic-approach-for-air-force-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/csaf-outlines-strategic-approach-for-air-force-success\/","title":{"rendered":"CSAF Outlines Strategic Approach For Air Force Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

CSAF Outlines Strategic Approach For Air Force Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Source: US Air Force; issued Sept. 02, 2020)<\/p>\n

ARLINGTON, Va. — In his first major pronouncement as Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., declared Aug. 31 that the service must go fast, must collaborate more effectively with Congress and military, industry and allied partners, and \u201cmust accelerate the transition from the force we have to the force required for a future high-end fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t predict the future, but we can definitely shape the future,\u201d Brown said during a media roundtable in which he presented the 8-page strategic approach entitled, \u201cAccelerate Change or Lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I think we have a window of opportunity to accelerate some of those changes. And personally, I\u2019d rather drive than ride. I\u2019d rather try to help shape what\u2019s going on versus sitting back observing and being impacted by what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Brown, \u201cthe document itself is really about why we need to change and foreshadow some aspects of the \u2018what\u2019 and the \u2018how.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must rise to the occasion,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The directive is a mixture of Brown\u2019s expectations for what is required to ensure air superiority and for the Air Force to fulfill its mission to defend the United States and its interests. Though only eight pages, the document spans a range of critical topics that touch on doctrine, Air Force culture, and the changing threats and adversaries the nation confronts.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Air Force must accelerate change to control and exploit the air domain to the standard the nation expects and requires from us. If we don\u2019t change \u2013 if we fail to adapt \u2013 we risk losing the certainty with which we have defended our national interests for decades,\u201d Brown warns in the document.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly through collaboration within and throughout will we succeed. The Air Force must work differently with other Department of Defense stakeholders, Congress and both traditional and emerging industry partners to streamline processes and incentivize intelligent risk-taking. Most importantly, we must empower our incredible Airmen to solve any problem. We must place value in multi-capable and adaptable team builders, and courageous problem solvers that demonstrate value in diversity of thought, ingenuity and initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

In explaining why the steps must be taken, Brown is blunt about the stakes and about the risks as well as the realities of a new strategic environment defined primarily by threats from \u201cpeer competitors\u201d such as China and Russia.<\/p>\n

The document drives home the point with a sub-headline declaring, \u201cGood Enough Today Will Fail Tomorrow.\u201d That sub-headline follows one in the previous section stating, \u201cUncontested U.S. Air Force Dominance Is Not Assured.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow\u2019s Airmen are more likely to fight in highly contested environments, and must be prepared to fight through combat attrition rates and risks to the nation that are more akin to the World War II era than the uncontested environment to which we have since become accustomed,\u201d Brown says in the document. \u201cThe forces and operational concepts we need must be different. Our approach to deterrence must adapt to the changes in the security environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the stark language relating to potential attrition, Brown was direct.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we ignore the problem and don\u2019t talk about what\u2019s at risk and the potential for high attrition rates and we just continue on the path we\u2019re on, then shame on us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my jobs as Chief of Staff of the Air Force is to provide \u2026 my best military advice. As I provide that advice as we go forward, I\u2019ll also articulate the risk \u2026 I think I owe it to the Air Force, to our senior leadership, a discussion on what the potential is. When you talk about a peer competitor at a high-end fight that is one of the facts that we have to be thinking about. We can\u2019t just wish that part away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, many of the actions and the emerging culture Brown outlines in his strategic approach have been underway, driven in part by the demands of the 2018 National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n

Foremost among them, is the continued push to fully integrated joint warfighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must focus on the joint warfighting concept, enabled by Joint All-Domain Command and Control and rapidly move forward with digital, low cost, high tech, warfighting capacities,\u201d the document states.<\/p>\n

The document puts Brown\u2019s personal stamp on the process for ensuring the Air Force continues to successfully transform itself to not only confront peer powers but to adopt a command and control structure that includes air, land, sea, cyber and space as well as seamless connections with other services and allies.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s strategic approach embraces a cultural shift that \u201crequires greater integration across the services to deny competitors an exploitable seam between the high-ground domains and the cyberspace that connects and enables effects across them all. As Airmen, we must think differently about what it means to fly, fight and win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy calls on Airmen to be \u201cmulti-capable and adaptable team builders, as well as innovative and courageous problem-solvers, and demonstrate value in the diversity of thought, ingenuity and initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The desire for innovation and problem solving, Brown\u2019s document says, must take place as leaders continue pushing \u201cto streamline bureaucracy to the greatest extent possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Brown\u2019s strategic approach demands both accountability and introspection. \u201cWe must candidly assess ourselves and address our own internal impediments to change,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n

It adds, \u201cWe must design our capabilities and concepts to defeat our adversaries, exploit their vulnerabilities and play to our strengths. And we must be able to frame decisions and trade-offs with both a near and long-term view of what value our capabilities provide throughout the lifecycle of performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s strategic approach acknowledges the progress already made under current Department of the Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, her predecessor Heather Wilson and former Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein.<\/p>\n

More is needed, he says, and complacency or a reduction of effort and focus cannot occur.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we have made progress, our Airmen need us to integrate and accelerate the changes necessary to explore new operational concepts and bring more rapidly the capabilities that will help them in the future fights,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n

All of this change, Brown says, is likely to occur at a time of tightening budgets. That demands \u201cruthless prioritization\u201d of programs and actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLikely future budget pressures will require the most difficult force structure decisions in generations. We cannot shy away from these decisions,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n

The changing nature of national security, Air Force operations and changing budgets, demands that, \u201cwe must candidly assess ourselves and address our own internal impediments to change,\u201d Brown asserts in the strategic approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn doing so, we must acknowledge the realities of the fiscal environment to ensure that the U.S. Air Force is gaining the most value and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. To be successful, the U.S. Air Force must continue its future design work and accelerate the evolution and application of its operational concepts and force structure to optimize its contribution to Joint All Domain Operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he describes a challenging future, Brown closes with a note of optimism based in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have done this before, and together we can do it again,\u201d Brown says in the document.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s U.S. Air Force, and its assumed dominance, was shaped by highly innovative and courageous Airmen throughout our storied history,\u201d the Strategic Approach says. \u201cSeeing the need for change, they forged new technologically-advanced force structures and developed novel operational concepts that paved the way for the many successes we have achieved. We can do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSAF_22_Strategic_Approach_Accelerate_Change_or_Lose_31_Aug_2020<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CSAF Outlines Strategic Approach For Air Force Success (Source: US Air Force; issued Sept. 02, 2020) ARLINGTON, Va. — In his first major pronouncement as Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., declared Aug. 31 that the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":630,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions\/630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}