OK. I met James Mattis. He actually complimented me on my work. This was when he was a quirky little bachelor Brigadier General with glasses. Not someone who goes forward in the USMC (you need to be 6'+, have a square jaw and a wife). But God put him in the right place at the right time. After 9-11, we needed to send a Marine Expeditionary Force to Afghanistan. And a standard MEU (Unit) wasn't going to be enough, so we needed a MEB (Brigade). And doctrinally, the person who commands a MEB in Afghanistan is the DCG of I MEF, a Brigadier General. And the rest is history. Anyway, it pains me that his nickname is "Mad Dog" because he is the coolest, sanest, smartest warfighter I've ever had the pleasure to meet. And what with him being up for Trump's SecDef, Mattis quotes keep popping up in my Facebook feed. So here's a couple really good ones: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” “The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.” “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.” “Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.” “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.” “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.”
You're trying for something here. I'm not sure what it is. I don't even know that you do. But you're trying something, so congrats on that at least.
