While wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be winding down, the commander of our nation’s second largest Army installation – Ft. Bliss in El Paso – made a prediction that instability around the world will lead to war.

Major General Stephen Twitty said, “It’s probably the most instability that I’ve seen in my 30 years of service and definitely the most instability in my lifetime.”

From ISIS threats in Syria and Iraq, to Russia encroaching on Ukraine, Twitty said instability across the globe is a ticking bomb – just waiting to go off.  He is not convinced the nation is ready.

“When we got to fight, our nation expects us to win,” Twitty said.

“The past 13 years again, Iraq and Afghanistan. We’ve been fighting that threat. We have not been able to train at a decisive action level because we’ve been fighting a war,” said Twitty.

While he believes the U.S. will soon be thrust into another major conflict, not everyone agrees.

“There are other options,” said Gaspare Genna, a Political Science professor at UTEP.

“The military option could possibly be plan B, military option does not necessarily need to be plan A, unless a country is being attacked,” said Genna.

Instead, Genna believes war could be avoided by focusing on economic development and removing corruption.

“These problems are not military problems. These problems are economic, they’re political,” said Genna.

“We cannot just have our head in the sand and think that this complexity doesn’t bring U.S. involvement to it. We’ve got to be prepared to fight at a moment’s notice anywhere around the globe,” said Twitty.

While Twitty doesn’t think soldiers are prepared for another major conflict just yet, he’s getting them ready. A five-month-long training strategy is already underway at Fort Bliss – training that hasn’t been possible in more than a decade because of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I want to put them in an environment that makes it seem like they’re fighting in combat training. Tough and realistic,” said Twitty.

“We hold the lives of one another in our hands and everyone has got to be switched on no matter what you’re doing,” said Ross Coffman, a Fort Bliss Brigade Commander and Colonel.

But it’s hard to prepare for war not knowing who you’re fighting against. While Twitty thinks groups like ISIS are our most pressing threat, Genna said the U.S. is ignoring the super power in the room.

Genna said, “He’s focusing on these very small types of potential conflicts. We do have a larger threat or potential conflict and it has to do with east Asia and China in particular. That’s when you’re going to be talking about World War 3.”

Regardless of who we’ll face on the battlefield, from China to the Middle East, both agree that what happens at Fort Bliss is crucial.  Training could effect not just families here at home, but the course of our nation’s history.

“I will tell you the big thing we got to do is train hard. Sure war is unpredictable and sure some of us may not come home, but it’s my job to ensure that we’re absolutely trained to the best standards we can get. My motto is be ready, be ready, because you just never know, you never know,” said Twitty.

(Information from ElPasoProud.com)