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Air Force leaders implement new warfighting planning process

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Robert Barnett
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
Air Force leaders directed the implementation of a new approach to planning to better meet future threats. The team focused on this effort will be led by Maj. Gen. Clinton Crosier.

“The Air Force needs to plan across stove pipes to prepare for warfare of the future,” Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said. “This will change the way we develop Air Force programs and budgets to face threats from high-end adversaries.”

In today’s technologically competitive, multi-polar world, the Air Force must be able to innovate and operate faster and more effectively than its potential adversaries. However, under the current force design model, planning and development are sub-divided into 12 core functions, such as rapid global mobility and air superiority, managed across seven major commands.

In October, Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein initiated an interim effort to move forward an Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability.

Wilson and Goldfein charged Crosier with leading a 70-person team to develop the AFWIC way forward. The team is made up of Airmen from across the Air Force.

“Warfighting in the 21st century is all about multi-domain integration, agility in decision-making, and speed of action. We must consistently innovate, integrate and field capabilities more effectively than our adversaries,” Goldfein said. “AFWIC will help us evolve and transform our processes and organizations to meet the challenges of future warfighting.”

AFWIC will explore and wargame innovative solutions, develop an integrated family of concepts, and direct capability development efforts across the Air Force.

This organization will also develop a single, multi-domain strategy that will identify, guide, and prioritize future force development. That will improve Air Force agility, readiness, and lethality in the joint fight, Goldfein said.