Mike Minihan, a Four-star Air Force General, released a memo this past Friday in which he put forth a warning to the officers under his command that he has a feeling that there is war coming on the horizon — most likely meaning against China within the next two years.
Minihan, who reportedly ended up sending out the memo to all of the air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders, is the person responsible for close to 50,000 service members and over 500 planes within the Air Mobility Command.
As reported by NBC News, which was able to get its hands on a copy of the general’s memo, Minihan put out a warning that the elections slated to take place in 2024 — seemingly meaning both the ones within the United States and Taiwan — could end up causing a stir so strong that china could feel powerful enough to try and instigate its plans to make a move on Taiwan while the rest of the world is preoccupied.
“I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” he stated. “Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
The general ordered his officers to create a new set of plans in preparation for a possible war against China. He instructed them to report back to him to offer up their various plans — and any efforts they have already started to get rolling — at no point later than February 28.
Minihan also put forth a series of steps that the officers should be carrying out as part of their attempts to get ready, claiming that his overall goal is to create “a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain.”
He continued in order to lay out what they should be doing over the course of the coming few months starting with the coming February: “Fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head.”
Back in March, he made the suggestion that they should ensure that their legal affairs were dealt with in case they ended up deployed, stating that they should “consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared.”
One spokesperson for the Air Mobility Command did officially confirm that such a memo was indeed real and had been put out to ensure that the officers under Minihan’s command were entirely prepared to act if all attempts at deterrence ended up failing.
“This is an authentic internal memo from General Minihan addressed to his subordinate command teams. His order builds on last year’s foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready the Mobility Air Forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail,” the spokesperson explained this past Friday to NBC News.
In the wake of the outlet choosing to go public with the obtained memo, the Department of Defense released its own stating, claiming, “These comments are not representative of the department’s view on China.”