A United States Air Force general has predicted a war with China will start in 2025 and has warned officers that they must prepare.
The four-star general sent a memo to US officers, predicting that the United States will be at war with China in a mere two years.
In a signed message to the officers he commands, he wrote that his " gut tells" him of this impending fight.
The memorandum, which was sent out on Friday January, 27, outlines to the troops that they must ready and prepare by firing "a clip" at a target, and "aim for the head."
The message was sent out by General Mike Minihan, who is the head of Air Mobility Command and previously served as deputy head of Indo-Pacific Command.
He said the US’s main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China.
In the private memo to his top commanders, Gen. Minihan also: “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025."
He said that China will be keeping a close eye on Taiwan’s presidential elections next year, as they would offer Xi Jinping a reason to escalate military aggression in the region.
Gen. Minihan said: “Xi secured his third term [as Communist party general secretary] and set [sic] his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason."
“Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025,” he concluded.
Following this, the general has laid out his goal for preparing and building “a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain.”
While it remains It is unclear exactly which island chain General Minihan is referring to, the Air Mobility Command Gen. Minihan heads has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes.
The letter is addressed to all air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders, and orders them to report all major efforts to prepare for the China fight to Minihan by February 28.
The signed memo also directs all Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders to prepare for the China fight to Minihan.
The four-star general added that all personnel should “fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head.”
He also orders all personnel to update their records and emergency contacts, reported NBC news.
And for March, the general asks all AMC personnel to “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”.
Gen. Minihan also told his troops they should account for some risk in training, stating: “Run deliberately, not recklessly”, adding that “if you are comfortable in your approach to training, then you are not taking enough risk”.
General Minihan also indicated the use of commercial drone swarms as a peek into one US capability that is likely to be considered in case of conflict with China.
The KC-135 units have been asked to prepare for “delivering 100 off-the-shelf size and type UAVs from a single aircraft,” according to the memorandum.
An AMC spokesperson confirmed in a statement Friday that the memo is real.
They said: “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.”
According to Eric Sayers, a former Indo-Pacific command adviser, Minihan understands the China threat “better than almost anyone in uniform”, The Financial Times reports.
Sayers said: “The language in the memo is stark and will make some uncomfortable, but memos of this sort are neither drafted for public consumption or as a sophisticated intelligence assessment of the potential for conflict."
He added that people should interpret the document as “controlled correspondence to Minihan’s subordinates that he expects them to act with a sense of urgency to enhance the command’s readiness”.
