Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh are expected to unveil the service’s new “Strategic Agility” roadmap on July 30 at the Pentagon. The document is the culmination of months of work and seeks to pull together some 13 of the Air Force’s various lesser roadmaps and strategic “visions” into a single, coherent document. Welsh has called the document a 30-year “call to the future,” which will describe the fundamental capabilities USAF must have circa 2044, and at certain milestones along the way. Much of the document focuses on the Air Force of 2023, and will include a threat assessment, a personnel plan, a science and technology roadmap, and verbiage explaining how USAF fits in with the rest of the Joint Force. A portion—possibly classified—also will explain USAF’s approach to modern warfare, down nearly to the level of weaponeering. Intended to be a “living document,” the plan will also serve as budget priority guidance/deconfliction for USAF’s major commands. The plan was to have been released in June but has been delayed for finishing touches.
As commander of Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been in the middle of almost all U.S. military action in the Middle East, from overseeing airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups to protecting troops as America’s air defense commander for the region. Just before handing over his command to…