Air Force Reworks Command Structure for Modern Threats
The U.S. Air Force is moving away from key components of a major structural overhaul introduced during the previous administration, signaling a strategic shift in how the service organizes and executes its core functions. According to the Dec. 4 article titled “US Air Force drops parts of previous administration’s revamp,” published by Defense News, the service is rescinding portions of the 2020 overhaul originally spearheaded by then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and former Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett.
The changes in question were part of what the former leadership called the “Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability,” or AFWIC, and were aimed at transforming the way the Air Force manages tasking, assignments, and operational planning. That reorganization created several Deputy Chief of Staff positions focused on specific mission areas—categorized under “operations,” “strategic deterrence and nuclear integration,” and “warfighting integration,” among others—intended to better align the service with future conflict scenarios, particularly near-peer competition.
However, current leadership has found that parts of this model created organizational redundancies and, in some cases, hindered efficiency. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, now overseeing the service’s strategic direction, has emphasized a need to adapt more flexibly to rapidly evolving threats. In statements accompanying the policy reversal, officials noted that while the 2020 reforms were well-intentioned, they lacked the agility and cohesion required to execute operational imperatives in today’s contested global environment.
Specifically, the Air Force is deactivating the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, Integration and Requirements, known as A5/7, and returning many of its roles and responsibilities to other existing offices. The move is intended to centralize strategy development and acquisition planning—functions that had become fractured under the previous model. Officials also cited the importance of aligning operational readiness with the Department of Defense’s broader modernization goals.
While not a wholesale rejection of the 2020 framework, the rollback reflects a desire to streamline command structures and ensure that warfighting capabilities are developed and fielded with greater coordination. The revamped approach aims to provide better support to the Air Force’s core mission elements—air superiority, global strike, rapid mobility, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—at a time when emerging military technologies, including advanced missiles, drones, and space-based systems, are reshaping the nature of conflict.
This organizational recalibration also comes amid rising global tensions and shifting defense priorities, particularly as the United States turns its strategic focus toward countering threats from China and Russia. The Air Force has been under pressure to accelerate modernization efforts, deploy new systems faster, and integrate capabilities across domains—a demand that leaders argue requires a more streamlined and dynamic command structure.
As of now, it remains to be seen how the restructuring will impact ongoing programs or long-term planning. However, the decision underscores a broader Pentagon trend toward rebalancing institutional processes to better compete in a technologically advanced and geopolitically complex world. The Air Force’s leadership insists that the revised structure will not diminish innovation but will foster more coherent and actionable strategies in support of national security objectives.
