Like-minded
25th Sep 2007, 04:28
I know James - he is a good, strong, no-nonsense man, and NATO would only profit from his blunt words and action bias.
traight-talking Mattis tapped to lead JFCom
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 24, 2007 12:22:05 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The recent nomination of Lt. Gen. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis to take the helm of U.S. Joint Forces Command will put one of the Corps’ most popular leaders and intellectual devil dogs at the helm of the military’s transformation as it continues to fight counterinsurgency in Iraq and other global unconventional threats.Mattis, a frank-talking officer whose nomination and expected promotion to four-star general was announced Sept. 12, also would become NATO’s supreme allied commander for transformation once he is confirmed by the Senate this fall.
Mattis, 57, is a career infantry officer with combat experiences in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where he led an infantry battalion with Task Force Ripper, and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where he led 1st Marine Division through subsequent security and stability operations in 2004.
...
To most leathernecks, Mattis is considered a real war fighter, a leader with almost mythical, rock-star status like Chesty Puller and Al Gray.
Mattis moves at ease talking with young infantrymen, senior commanders and Iraqi counterparts. He often refers to Marines as “my fine young men.” His official biography is very Marine: Simple, short and to the point. It doesn’t mince words, noting only his command billets and omitting staff assignments.
Mattis, who is not married, has made a life out of the Corps. His infantry career has been punctuated by command assignments at just about every level, from platoon to division to expeditionary force.
Leading 1st Marine Division into Iraq in spring 2003, Mattis coined the phrase “no better friend, no worse enemy,” which has become a de facto division motto.
On the eve of the 2003 invasion, Mattis penned his commander’s intent and charge to his Marines in a letter that’s since been shared, re-posted, e-mailed and spread across the Internet.
“The time has come to end his reign of terror,” he wrote of their mission to unseat Saddam Hussein. “On your young shoulders rest the hopes of mankind.
...
Perhaps the most-publicized comments by Mattis came during a panel discussion at a San Diego defense industry conference in 2005. It was a few words — “it’s fun to kill people” — that was caught on tape and re-aired internationally.
“You go into Afghanistan and you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil,” he said. “You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway, so it’s a helluva lot of fun to shoot them. You know what I mean. It’s a good fight.”
Those words, televised and reported internationally, drew “bravo Zulus” from some and shame from others.
Then-commandant Gen. Mike Hagee “counseled” Mattis about his choice of words. “He agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully,” Hagee said in a statement.
Mattis’ words came during the Feb. 1, 2005, panel discussion on the war’s lessons learned, and he spoke about the war and how “the ferocity and the skill of our troops overwhelms the enemy.”
Mattis admitted to the audience that “I like brawling” and noted that the military must ensure “we are advertising, recruiting [and] selecting the right kind of people to go into this fight so you’re not out there with people that have any misunderstanding of what this is all about.”
-JFCom-MCTimes
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
traight-talking Mattis tapped to lead JFCom
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 24, 2007 12:22:05 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The recent nomination of Lt. Gen. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis to take the helm of U.S. Joint Forces Command will put one of the Corps’ most popular leaders and intellectual devil dogs at the helm of the military’s transformation as it continues to fight counterinsurgency in Iraq and other global unconventional threats.Mattis, a frank-talking officer whose nomination and expected promotion to four-star general was announced Sept. 12, also would become NATO’s supreme allied commander for transformation once he is confirmed by the Senate this fall.
Mattis, 57, is a career infantry officer with combat experiences in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where he led an infantry battalion with Task Force Ripper, and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where he led 1st Marine Division through subsequent security and stability operations in 2004.
...
To most leathernecks, Mattis is considered a real war fighter, a leader with almost mythical, rock-star status like Chesty Puller and Al Gray.
Mattis moves at ease talking with young infantrymen, senior commanders and Iraqi counterparts. He often refers to Marines as “my fine young men.” His official biography is very Marine: Simple, short and to the point. It doesn’t mince words, noting only his command billets and omitting staff assignments.
Mattis, who is not married, has made a life out of the Corps. His infantry career has been punctuated by command assignments at just about every level, from platoon to division to expeditionary force.
Leading 1st Marine Division into Iraq in spring 2003, Mattis coined the phrase “no better friend, no worse enemy,” which has become a de facto division motto.
On the eve of the 2003 invasion, Mattis penned his commander’s intent and charge to his Marines in a letter that’s since been shared, re-posted, e-mailed and spread across the Internet.
“The time has come to end his reign of terror,” he wrote of their mission to unseat Saddam Hussein. “On your young shoulders rest the hopes of mankind.
...
Perhaps the most-publicized comments by Mattis came during a panel discussion at a San Diego defense industry conference in 2005. It was a few words — “it’s fun to kill people” — that was caught on tape and re-aired internationally.
“You go into Afghanistan and you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil,” he said. “You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway, so it’s a helluva lot of fun to shoot them. You know what I mean. It’s a good fight.”
Those words, televised and reported internationally, drew “bravo Zulus” from some and shame from others.
Then-commandant Gen. Mike Hagee “counseled” Mattis about his choice of words. “He agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully,” Hagee said in a statement.
Mattis’ words came during the Feb. 1, 2005, panel discussion on the war’s lessons learned, and he spoke about the war and how “the ferocity and the skill of our troops overwhelms the enemy.”
Mattis admitted to the audience that “I like brawling” and noted that the military must ensure “we are advertising, recruiting [and] selecting the right kind of people to go into this fight so you’re not out there with people that have any misunderstanding of what this is all about.”
-JFCom-MCTimes
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!