General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis Announced As Trump’s Defense Secretary: It’s Official


It did not come as a surprise when president-elect Donald Trump announced that General (ret.) James Mattis will be his Secretary of Defense. Speaking in Crown Coliseum in North Carolina last night as part of his “thank you” tour, Trump confirmed what he had already stated in a rally in Cincinnati last Thursday and implied numerous times over the past couple of weeks.

In the stadium not far from the Fort Bragg military base, Trump called the 66-year-old retired general and lifetime marine onto stage, introducing him to the roaring crowd by his moniker, “Mad Dog,” a nickname that General Mattis was given following his admirable leadership in the 2004 Battle of Fallujah in Iraq according to a report by CNN. “Mad Dog plays no games, right?”

General Mattis is also known as the “Warrior Monk” because in the four-star general’s nearly five-decade-long military career he has never married or had children. According to a profile in the Telegraph, General Mattis enlisted in the marines when he was 19-years-old. By the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003, “Mad Dog” Mattis had been promoted to the rank of major general. He fought in the Persian Gulf War, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq. General Mattis has also overseen U.S. military action in Syria and Yemen. In 2007 he was appointed as the head US Joint Forces Command and Nato Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, and in 2010 he was again promoted to the head of Central Command. All of this make it clear that Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense is a real soldier’s soldier.

Genral Mattis head of Central Command
[Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

According to an analysis in Forbes, General Mattis is “one of the most gifted warfighters of his generation.” Trump, and others, have compared him to General George S. Patton, America’s most famous, hard-charging combat general of the Second World War. Since 9-11, military political figures have been pulled from academic and administrative positions rather than active service. This has, in many ways, detached the political class of the military from combat. Loren Thompson from Forbes explains that General Mattis’ appointment marks a shift away from these politician-soldiers.

“Secretary of Defense Mattis will restore clarity of purpose to the Pentagon’s mission, treating war like the unsentimental contest of wills it has always been.”

General Mattis’ appointment is not without controversy, however. U.S. laws require that military be retired for at least seven years prior to becoming the Secretary of Defense. In order to be confirmed into the Pentagon’s top position, Congress must first pass a special law. President-elect Trump and General Mattis both expressed their expectation that the congressional amendment would go forward.

James Mattis and Donald Trump
[Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

“With our allies strengthened, and our country strengthened, I look forward to being the civilian leader so long as the Congress gives me the waiver and the Senate votes to consent,” said Mattis during the rally in North Carolina. Trump similarly expressed his hope that the congressional waiver be enacted for the second time since 1947, as reported by CBS News.

“If he didn’t get that waiver, there’ll be a lot of angry people.”

With Democrats uncertain about whether or not they will attempt to block the motion to permit General James Mattis’ appointment to Secretary of Defense, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, it seems likely that “Mad Dog” Mattis will receive the dispensation and take the Pentagon’s highest civilian office once Trump is sworn in. Although he has been in active combat duty for decades, General Mattis echoed Trump’s platform of withdrawing from foreign conflicts unnecessary for American security. Before inviting the President-elect back to stage, General Mattis expressed his gratitude and desire to bring American troops home.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to our troops, their families.”

[Featured Image by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images]

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