Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the new Air Force chief of staff, used his first pronouncement to call for those in uniform, U.S. allies and industry to quickly accelerate the service’s transition to a force prepared to fight future conflicts.
“We can’t predict the future, but we can definitely shape the future,” Brown said during an Aug. 31 media roundtable, during which he unveiled his eight-page strategic plan.
Failure to move quickly to “control and exploit the air domain” could lead to the end of the long-standing dominance the U.S. has held, Brown said. Doing so would require collaboration among all stakeholders, and empowerment of airmen to solve problems they encounter, he added.
“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,” Brown said.
These necessary changes must take place in a time defined by budget constraints, Brown said.
“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,” Brown said. “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.”
