General Mike Minihan, a four-star Air Force officer, forecasts an impending conflict with China in a memo delivered on Friday and acquired by NBC News.
I hope I’m wrong, said Air Mobility Command commander Gen. Mike Minihan. My instinct is I’ll fight in 2025. All Air Mobility Command air wing commanders and other operational commanders are given the directive by Minihan to “report all major activities to prepare for the China conflict to Minihan by Feb. 28,” according to NBC News.
Because both Taiwan and the United States would hold presidential elections in 2024, Minihan stated the likelihood in the message. As a result, the United States will be “distracted,” giving Chinese President Xi Jinping the chance to make progress on Taiwan.
A “fortified, ready, integrated, and nimble Joint Force Maneuver Team poised to fight and win inside the first island chain” is what Minihan outlines as his goal.
The plan is explained by NBC News as follows:
He orders all AMC employees to “fire a clip into a 7-meter target with full understanding that unrepentant lethality counts most” during the month of February. Take aim at the head. Additionally, he advises everyone to update their emergency contacts and paperwork.
All AMC employees are to “examine their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared,” according to his March directive.
The message further exhorts them to prepare by “aiming for the head” and firing “a clip” at a target. Minihan advises training participants to take certain risks. However, he then adds, “If you are comfortable in your attitude to training, then you are not taking enough risk.” He advises to “run deliberately, not recklessly.”
