It appears that some of the airmen of Air Mobility Command think that their commander, Gen. Mike Minihan, has more than a few screws loose. According to a report in military.com – based on sources who insisted on remaining anonymous for obvious reasons – many of those who received Minihan’s memo last week, warning them to prepare for US war against China by 2025, thought it was sent in error. Some were said to be shocked at what they read.
In particular, the section advising airmen to “fire a clip” and “aim for the head” was widely criticized by airmen. “I am not aware of a single incident where an aircrew member has shot someone in the head,” a C-17 pilot told military.com. “His direction completely misses the mark. AMC moves cargo; we are not SEAL Team 6.”
Another officer said fellow airmen noticed Minihan’s use of “clip” instead of the proper term, a magazine, was “inaccurate” and that the advice to “aim for the head” was seen as “dramatic.” Additionally, marksmanship training in the military does not typically teach service members to aim for the head in combat but, rather, to aim for the center mass of a target to increase the chances of landing a shot.
Military.com reports that Minihan has a history of “pugilistic” rhetoric, particularly stressing lethality. The commander is more than pugilistic, however. His repeated exhortations to the men and women of the U.S. Air Force to take pleasure, sexual and otherwise, in killing, is not “tough-guy” military talk, but downright Satanic.
“Lethality matters most,” Minihan said in a speech at the Air Force Association conference last Fall. “When you can kill your enemy, every part of your life is better. Your food tastes better, your marriage is stronger.” Reportedly shouting at times in this speech, he later added: “We are lethal. Do not apologize for it. The pile of our nation’s enemy dead, the pile that is the biggest, is in front of the United States Air Force.” During another speech to airmen last Oct. 27, Minihan ranted that “victory will ride on your shoulders, and the main theme is unrepentant lethality! And if we do that America’s peace, prosperity and prestige is strengthened. That’s all you need to know.”
The Pentagon has distanced itself from Minihan’s remarks — but he has not been dishonorably discharged, as is merited.
“The National Defense Strategy makes clear that China is the pacing challenge for the Department of Defense and our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Jan. 31 statement to news media. Asked about the Minihan memo specifically, the Pentagon forwarded a statement attributed to an unnamed Defense Department official saying, “These comments are not representative of the department’s view on China.”
Minihan is a career C-130 pilot who held a number of staff and command positions in US Pacific Command and US Forces Korea over ten years or so before assuming command of AMC in October 2021. The Air Mobility Command itself is a component command of US Transportation Command, responsible for the operation of cargo and air-refueling aircraft. It has no combat responsibilities and none of its airmen are likely to find themselves assigned to combat inside the first island chain, or anywhere else for that matter.
