The United States’ top military officer warned soldiers graduating from West Point on Saturday to prepare for a “significant international conflict” with Russia and China — a skirmish in which the cadets will fight robotic tanks, ships and planes, he said he.
“You will fight with robotic tanks, ships and planes,” General Mark Milley, America’s senior officer, told more than 1,000 Army officer hopefuls.
“We’ve seen a revolution in lethality and precision ammunition. What was once the exclusive domain of the US military is now available to most nation states with the money will to acquire.’
During his address, Milley, chairman of the Army’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president’s principal military adviser, urged graduates to prepare for the looming conflict – which he said will surely change the way future wars are fought be led.
“The world you are transported to has the potential for a major international conflict between great powers,” began Milley, 63.
“And that potential is increasing, not decreasing.”
The United States’ top military officer, Gen. Mark Milley, warned soldiers graduating from West Point on Saturday to prepare for a “significant international conflict” with Russia and China — a skirmish that will see the cadets attack robotic tanks, ships and planes would fight
Speaking to more than 1,000 aspiring U.S. Army officers, Milley urged graduates to prepare for the current simmering conflict with the burgeoning superpowers — which he says will change the way future wars are fought
Delighted cadets tossed their hats after the general’s impassioned speech to mark the end of their four years at West Point Military Academy
He continued, “Whatever we, the United States, have enjoyed militarily for the past 70 years is rapidly coming to an end, and the United States is indeed being … challenged in every area of warfare — space, cyber, sea, air, and land naturally.’
The US, he said, can no longer sit idly by as a military powerhouse as the two nations continue to demonstrate both growth and a desire for global conquest – Russia with its aggression in Ukraine and China with its recent economic and military growth.
Drawing parallels with the technology seen in the Russian invasion, Milley warned that future wars will be even more complex, with invisible enemies and sophisticated warfare that will see a need for new weapons and strategies from US forces.
“Right now, at this very moment, there’s a fundamental shift happening in the nature of war,” said Milley, a veteran of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
“We are currently facing two world powers, China and Russia, both of which have significant military capabilities and both have an unreserved intention to change the current rules-based order.”
The general went on to say that Putin’s invasion of the former Soviet nation taught the world that “unanswered aggression only encourages the aggressor,” citing America’s failure to act against the autocrat and his already mobilized army.
He then cited some of the recent atrocities committed by Putin’s men, noting campaigns in Bucha and Mariupol in which tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainian citizens were systematically killed as the cities were stormed.
The sacking of the cities comes in response to Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv, prompting Moscow to opt for a sinister campaign against cities in the eastern Donbass region.
The change of strategy followed a long-range, precise approach by the Russian forces, using weapons such as Stinger and Javelin missiles. Now, however, the focus of Putin’s armed forces has shifted to artillery.
“Let us never forget the massacre we just witnessed in Bucha, nor the slaughter in Mariupol,” said Milley, who was appointed to his top position in the US armed forces by former President Trump in 2019.
He told the newly minted warriors, “The best way to honor their sacrifice is to support their fight for freedom and stand against tyranny.”
The urban scenes of Putin’s recent attacks are certain to be more common on future battlefields, according to Milley, with “highly complex and almost certainly decisive in urban areas against elusive, ambiguous enemies combining terrorism and warfare alongside conventional capabilities – all embedded in large civilian populations.” ‘ he warned.
The general then shifted his speech to improved technology seen during the Ukraine conflict and in rapidly developing countries around the world – including China.
He said America must be ready to keep up with the rapidly evolving approach to war and change the way soldiers train, think and of course fight as other nations begin to close the gap between them and the US bridge.
‘You will fight with robotic tanks, ships and planes,’ said Milley. “We’ve seen a revolution in lethality and precision ammunition.
“What was once the exclusive province of the US military is now available to most nation states with the money will to acquire.”
Artificial intelligence — the kind that powers both US and enemy satellites and other breakthrough warfare technologies — “is leading to this profound change,” Milley said, before calling it “the most profound change ever in human history.”
“It will be your generation that will bear the burden and responsibility of maintaining the peace, containing and preventing the outbreak of a great power war,” he then said.
Cadets were filmed lined up in neat lines in uniform during the ceremony and speech and filmed embracing at the end of the impassioned speech.
The cadets successfully completed courses at the New York Academy and were commissioned as second lieutenants in the army.
Upon graduation, cadets are trained in planning, training, and Army operations during the Basic Officer Leader Course.
They then have to choose from more than 36 industry-specific majors before being sent to a three-year Army professional unit.
Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the commencement address to the 1014 Class of 2022 cadets at the US Military Academy