Exclusive: The Admiral Who Must Prevent War With China
U.S Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo’s force covers more than half the earth’s surface. His goal? Winning without fighting.
Samuel Paparo, a four-star admiral, is tasked with preventing a potential war with China. In 1986, as a college student, Paparo watched the movie Top Gun and noted that the hero of the film was actually the quiet, hard-working character, Iceman, not the flashy Maverick. This observation mirrors Paparo's career path, as he chose to become a disciplined, quiet four-star admiral who commands the U.S. Pacific Command, responsible for the largest geographic combatant command in the world.
China's President Xi Jinping has stated that Taiwan's unification with the mainland is an "historical inevitability," and Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary. Admiral Paparo's mission is to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, an event that would challenge the foundations of a global system underpinned by American hegemony. His command oversees 400,000 military and civilian personnel, a Pacific Fleet of 200 ships, including five aircraft carrier strike groups, and over 1,000 aircraft.
During a meeting between President Donald Trump and China's Xi, the public faces the White House, while the unseen force behind American military power is under Admiral Paparo's command. He must ensure U.S. power remains pre-eminent, even as wars consume resources and upheaval at the Pentagon raises the stakes of pushing back. Paparo's approach is to "provide a deterrent capability so that we never go to war in the first place" and is not seeking to become a wartime leader, but rather a great peacetime deterrer.
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
