Air Force reverses course on Integrated Capabilities Command

WASHINGTON — The Air Force announced today it is reversing plans to create a brand new major command dedicated to revolutionizing service technology acquisition, opting instead to create a new position under an existing apparatus to take on the intended role.

Last year, Air Force officials under the Biden administration revealed plans to set up a new organization known as Integrated Capabilities Command (ICC), one of several key initiatives under a sweeping overhaul dubbed “reoptimization.” A year ago a provisional version of the ICC was established, beginning work as the chief organization overseeing the service’s requirements for buying weapon systems.  

But instead of establishing the new command, the Air Force will transfer the ICC’s intended functions into an existing structure known as Air Force Futures, also known as A5/7, by April 2026. The service will also create a new Chief Modernization Officer role in the process, which the service’s press release said will lead efforts in the following areas:

Strategy and force designMission integration and mission threadsCapability development and requirementsModernization investment prioritization

“This restructuring will accelerate the delivery of combat power, improve efficiency, and shorten the decision timeline,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a press release published by the service.

An Air Force official told Breaking Defense today that Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi will lead A5/7 organizational restructuring efforts. Niemi most recently served as the commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, according to his service biography.

The Air Force paused reoptimization efforts earlier this year, and the decision today to forego the new ICC stems from that review. The fate of other efforts under the sprawling overhaul, which extends to Space Force initiatives as well, remains unclear.

Trump officials for their part haven’t exactly offered a warm reception of reoptimization initiatives. Disagreements within the service over the reoptimization drive also reportedly helped motivate the ousting of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin. Former Air Combat Command chief Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach has since been nominated as Allvin’s replacement.

“I think a lot of the ideas that have been floated around, regardless of where they came from, are important, right?” Meink said in September during a roundtable with reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association conference in Washington, emphasizing a need for readiness and modernization.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not a big believer in the competition side of the house,” Meink continued, apparently alluding to the nomenclature of Biden administration officials who referred to the overhaul as “reoptimizing for great power competition.” Instead, Meink said, “we need to be able to win, period.”