“I hope I’m wrong,” Minihan wrote. “My intuition says we will fight in 2025. Xi has secured a third term and has set up a military council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential election is in 2024, giving Xi a reason. The US presidential election will be in 2024 and President Xi will be America in turmoil.Xi’s team, reason and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
Minihan then instructed airmen eligible to use the weapon, sometime in February, to “fire the clip at a seven-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality is paramount.” to.
“Aim for the head,” he said.
Minihan’s memo encourages the thousands of troops under his command to prepare for war in several other ways. ‘ and should be more proactive about training, he instructs.
“Run deliberately, not recklessly,” he wrote. “If you’re confident in your approach to training, you’re not taking enough risks.”
The memo, first reported by NBC News on Friday, dated Feb. 1, which is still days away, was distributed to Minihan’s subordinate commanders. After the memo began circulating on social media, Air Force spokeswoman Maj. It builds on last year’s fundamental efforts by the Air Mobility Force to Future conflicts, if deterrence fails. “
Before taking over Air Mobility Command in 2021, Minihan has held various influential roles in the Pacific since 2013. That includes serving as Deputy Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command., Covering China and Taiwan from September 2019 to August 2021.
The general’s memo aligns with the Pentagon’s efforts to reset its 20-year counterinsurgency war in the Middle East, and the Biden administration’s efforts to repel Russian aggression as it seeks to send billions to Ukraine. We continue to provide dollar security assistance.
Senior U.S. officials have warned for some time that a rising China could launch an attack on independently governed Taiwan. The Pentagon under President Biden and his predecessor, President Donald Trump, has declared China to be a major long-term concern because of Beijing’s rapid military expansion and assertive behavior in recent years. .
But US officials have offered mixed messages about whether and when China will try to take Taiwan. In 2021, then-Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Gen. Phil Davidson, predicted that Beijing could make such an attempt by his 2027.
Given China’s concerns, the Pentagon has sought to expand military partnerships with willing partners across the Pacific. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Japanese governments revealed that Marine units on Japan’s island of Okinawa would be converted into units capable of island-hopping in the region and directing long-range missiles at enemies.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a news conference on Jan. 11 that the United States had observed “very provocative behavior” by Chinese forces trying to push international norms during meetings with Japanese officials. rice field. However, he also downplayed concerns that China might soon launch an attack on Taiwan.
“We’ve seen an increase in air activity,” Austin said. “…There has been increased surface ship activity around Taiwan. Again, I believe they are trying to establish a new normal, but whether that means an invasion is imminent? Regardless, I seriously doubt it.
Minihan, who enlisted in the Air Force as a C-130 pilot, used to attract attention with his harsh and colorful language.
In September, at a military conference outside Washington, he said the Air Force had caused the largest “death pile of our enemies” within the U.S. military.
“Lethality is paramount,” he added, according to the military publication Tusk & Purpose. “If you can kill your enemies, every part of your life will be better. Your food will taste better. Your marriage will be stronger.”
