Retired Marine Corps Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis is a top contender for secretary of defense in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. The two met Saturday for an hour, after which Trump called Mattis the “real deal.”
Mattis most recently served as the head of U.S. Central Command. A lifelong bachelor, he is known as the “warrior monk” for his knowledge of ancient and military history.
The four-star general is revered by many for his leadership and also known for his blunt words.
Here are seven quotes -- or “Mattisisms” -- from the retired general on war, leadership and the U.S. Marines:
A fellow Marine Corps officer says this was Mattis’ simple philosophy. If he didn’t like an assignment he was given, his attitude was to always do the best that he could.
Mattis shared this quote with his Marines as a rule to live by, Thomas E. Ricks writes in “Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq.”
Mattis joined the Marine Corps when he was just 19. He's considered one of the more intense military intellectuals and owned a huge personal library, according to Ricks' book.
This quote is from a letter Mattis wrote to his Marines the night before the March 2003 Iraq invasion.
Mattis delivered these remarks during his speech at the Marine Corps University Foundation’s 2014 Semper Fidelis Award Dinner on Feb. 22, 2014.
“Marines who can do the necessary ‘rough work,’ but without becoming evil by doing so, despite an enemy who has opened apocalyptically the aperture for who they target, to include even women and children," Mattis said. "It’s all the more important today that we hold to our precious legacy of ferocious, ethical combat performance. For in a world awash in change, Americans need to have confidence in the everlasting character of our Marines.”
According to CNN, Mattis said he “should have chosen his words more carefully” after receiving counsel from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael Hagee, for comments he made during a 2005 panel discussion about fighting the Taliban.
"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people,” Mattis said at the time to the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. “I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”
Mattis continued, “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
Gen. Hagee defended Mattis’ comments in a statement provided to CNN: "While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war. Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor."
In a Marines video posted on Oct. 13, 2016, Mattis revealed his “leadership lessons” from his 41-year long career in the corps.
"It’s not popularity -- with all the favoritism that comes with trying to be a popular person as a leader. That’s a road to failure," Mattis said. "But affection that you create in a unit, an affection so strong that the troops will stick by one another and carry out the mission even in peril."
from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2gfaKrW
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