Quote:The head of the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command, Gen. Mike Minihan, has issued an ominous warning about a looming future high-end conflict against China, likely over Taiwan. In response, he is ordering leadership under his command to work to ensure their units are as prepared as they can be for this potentiality. This goes right down to demanding that various personnel visit the shooting range to make clear that "unrepentant lethality matters most," with Minihan imploring them to "aim for the head."

These remarks and others from Minihan are included in a two-page internal memo, seen below, that has emerged on social media. TSgt. Zachary Boyer, a spokesperson for Air Mobility Command (AMC), confirmed to The War Zone that this document, which is future-dated February 1, is indeed authentic. AMC oversees the bulk of the Air Force's aerial refueling tankers and cargo aircraft, among other responsibilities.

"I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022," Minihan's memo says bluntly by way of introduction. "Taiwan's presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. [The] 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."

"We spent 2022 setting the foundation for victory," he adds. "We will spend 2023 in crisp operational motion building on that foundation."

Still, AMC needs to "go faster," Minihan continues, adding that this will be the first of at least eight monthly directives from him. "Drive readiness, integration, and agility for ourselves and the Joint Force to deter, and if required, defeat China" (emphasis in the original).

A slide showing the OT&E requirements identified during the Fall PHOENIX Rally event, which took place last year, lists numerous organizational, training, and equipment-related items. Only one item, "Go-Pills," a term used to describe stimulants prescribed to pilots and other aircrew for very long duration missions, is marked with a green check mark, denoting it was already being "Completed / Ready for implementation" at that time. A number of others, including organization efforts to further improve "max endurance" and the acquisition of equipment related to things like "palletized munitions" are marked with yellow checks to indicate "In-Work / Some level has been accomplished."



There are also a number of unchecked boxes. These include a separate mention of palletized munitions operations in the training category, as well as equipment to help with things like "theater ballistic missile awareness" and command and control.

The most intriguing part mentions work on a concept for how to launch around 100 commercial-of-the-shelf drones from a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. TSgt. Boyer, the AMC spokesperson, told The War Zone that is nothing to add "at this time" about the KC-135 drone launcher concept plans.
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"I’m not interested in being the best Air Force on the planet," he said in a statement included in the recent 60th Air Mobility Wing's story about personnel training with their M4s. "I’m interested in being the most lethal force the world has ever known."