There's been talk lately of General James N. Mattis and retirement.
Mattis, currently CENTCOM commanding general, is an icon of sorts in the Marine Corps, and arguably the most famous living Marine.
There are various ideas floating around concerning his possible exodus from active duty — Tom Ricks seems to think Mattis is being forced out for asking tough questions about Iran, or for advocating a smaller global footprint for the U.S. military. Others believe he may get promoted, possibly to command in Europe, or maybe even to the top of the military heap as NATO Supreme Allied Commander.
Either way, the loss of Mattis, a Marine for 40 years, would be a blow to the Corps. One Marine officer we spoke with agrees, saying "skilled company grade [officers] and NCOs with multiple deployments ... said they would have decided to stay in based solely on the news of Gen Mattis' appointment [as Commandant]. Love him or hate him, but that's not nothing."
It's been a long road for Mattis, one in which the media often paints him as a cold-anesthetized killer. The reality is that he's also a beloved leader, a thoughtful, sober strategist, and a caring father figure to every young service member he encounters.
An account by John R. Guardiano, a former Marine who not only met but conversed in depth with Mattis, sums up the general's character best.
As published in The American Spectator:
Both the left and the right are wrong about Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis. He is neither the Jack Nicholson caricature of a Marine depicted in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men nor the callous and mad eccentric depicted by George C. Scott in the 1970 movie Patton.
And Gen. Mattis didn’t just talk the talk; he walked the walk. He led from the front. Indeed, on at least one occasion that I know of, the General was bloodied from a firefight or improvised explosive device while out on patrol with junior, enlisted Marines one-third his age. That’s what makes Gen. Mattis such a great warrior: He truly respects and cares for his Marines.
“Guardiano,” he told me, “I don’t give a damn about the officers. If they don’t like what they’re doing, they can get on a plane and leave the Corps — go back where they came from. But I do care deeply about those 18- and 19-year-old Lance Corporals out on the frontlines.”
We've gathered some of his best quotes, taken from this San Diego Union-Tribune profile, unless otherwise specified.
"You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it’s going to be bad."
Mattis has often talked to Marine leaders about staying sharp.
The "dream world" he alludes to is a reference to a complacent attitude -- one that can cost lives if troops aren't vigilant.
"If in order to kill the enemy you have to kill an innocent, don’t take the shot. Don’t create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act."
As a co-author of the military's counter-insurgency manual (with David Petraeus), Mattis has often spoke about following the rules of engagement and being disciplined among a ruthless enemy.
"I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word."
The General is confident in his abilities and that of his Marines -- he led the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade into Afghanistan in 2001, the 1st Marine Division into Iraq in 2003, and led an operation into Fallujah in 2004 dubbed "Operation Vigilant Resolve", and helped to plan the later "Operation Phantom Fury."
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