5 Takeaways From the New Air Force Chief’s Vision ‘Accelerate Change, or Lose’
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By Mackenzie Eaglen
September 12, 2020
The Air Force’s new chief didn’t waste time or mince words in his vision document, aptly entitled “Accelerate Change, or Lose.†General Charles Brown, Jr., is sending up flares, and policymakers should pay attention. The time is ripe, he asserts, while still in the early years of a new defense strategy, having just stood up a new service in the Space Force, and during a pandemic. Here are the five key takeaways.
1. The Risks Are Real
A "large and growing body of evidence" suggests America's armed forces will lose in great power competition if they fail to adapt, Gen Brown notes. If the Air Force doesn’t change, the service risks “losing a high-end fightâ€â€”and along with it, airmen, credibility and security. The consequences of failure, the chief says, are profound.Outright mission failure is very real. Capital losses are not just possible, but likely, in the next big war. In clear words targeted at an audience much wider than the Air Force, Gen. Brown says Americans cannot wish away the risks. Nor can the Air Force afford to shy away from tough conversations with key stakeholders, including the other services, civilian leaders, industry and Congress. Additionally, the service seeks a better balance of risks across these groups. What might an example of better risk sharing mean exactly? Air Force leaders keep sending up budgets that buy more strategy outcomes, as they've been directed. But Congress keeps shooting down their proposals to retire significant numbers of aircraft to free up funds to better win the competition with China. The U.S. has just 157 heavy bombers. Some should be retired, and others preserved to keep longer the ones with the most life left.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/09/12/5_takeaways_from_the_new_air_force_chiefs_vision_accelerate_change_or_lose_577188.html
