Washington (Agencies): The U.S. Air Force is set to launch a new exercise next summer, named REFORPAC, aimed at testing its deployment strategies in a potential conflict with China.
This exercise is part of the Air Force’s broader “reoptimization” effort to prepare for future high-end conflicts.
“We’re calling our summer exercise [20]25 REFORPAC, so going back to the Pacific on a larger scale,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin.
The 14-day exercise will involve units from Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the continental United States, practicing operations across vast distances in a complex environment.
REFORPAC will be integrated into the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s (INDOPACOM) campaign plans and the Pacific Air Forces’ approach to supporting those plans.
The exercise will also be tied into the biennial Talisman Sabre exercise conducted with Australia.
The exercise is reminiscent of the Cold War-era “Return of Forces to Germany” (REFORGER) exercises, where the U.S. practiced moving large numbers of troops across the Atlantic to defend West Germany.
Post-Cold War, the need for such large-scale exercises diminished, but the Air Force is now pivoting back to this model to prepare for great power competition.
The reoptimization plan aims to address what Gen. Allvin describes as a “fragmented” Air Force that has been crowdsourcing for deployments.
The new model will see wings training and deploying together, ensuring readiness for high-end conflicts.
“Until you’re there, doing it over a period of time, you’re not really going to uncover the warts that you might not have discovered by doing it in pieces,” Allvin said.
“You have to do it in a realistic scenario, so that’s going to come next summer”.
Six months into the reoptimization effort, Allvin expressed surprise at the rapid progress but emphasized the need to move even faster.