DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... New Secratary of Defense

No doubt he has the military credentials only problem is the position was set up to be run by a civilian . Gonna be an interesting ride back to Cold War era mentality and with this pick it just picked up momentum . Defense company lobbyists the country over just got an early Xmas present .


Here’s What You Need to Know About James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, Trump’s Pick For Secretary of Defense
Mark Thompson @MarkThompson_DC 10:43 PM

Recommended by
Retired Marine general James “Mad Dog” Mattis is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to become Secretary of Defense. The next commander-in-chief is betting that Congress will give the tough-talking leatherneck the waiver he needs to run the Pentagon well short of the seven-year ban on retired military officers serving as the Pentagon’s civilian boss.

“We are going to appoint ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as our Secretary of Defense,” Trump to a rally Thursday night in Cincinnati.

Early indications from Capitol Hill suggest Congress will exempt Mattis from the ban on a retired military officer serving as Defense Secretary until he has been retired for at least seven years.


“He is without a doubt one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops,” said Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who chairs the armed services committee and will conduct Mattis’ confirmation hearing. McCain made it clear that, to him, the ban is a non-issue. “America will be fortunate to have General Mattis in its service once again,” he said in a statement.

A 66-year-old lifelong bachelor, Mattis spent his final years in uniform as head of U.S. Central Command from 2010 to 2013, responsible for the arc of crisis stretching from Egypt to Afghanistan. His hawkish views toward Iran, Pentagon officials say, led the Obama Administration to ease him out of that sensitive post and into retirement.

Mattis has returned the favor. In August, he told TIME that the Administration’s war on ISIS has been “unguided by a sustained policy or sound strategy [and is] replete with half-measures.”

“Jim Mattis a warrior-monk-intellectual,” says Barry McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general, adding that Mattis “would badly scare the enemies of the United States.” Mattis was — and still is — loved by his fellow Marines, who revere him as much for his willingness to endure hardship as his pithy quotes: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” He also is known to pack a copy of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.

“This is a great pick, but it’s vitally important that he be paired with a deputy deeply schooled in budget and procurement processes,” adds Charles Dunlap, a retired Air Force major general now teaching law at Duke University.

During his 44 years in uniform, part of Mattis’ attraction was his willingness to offer his unvarnished, and sometimes, impolitic, opinions. “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,” Mattis said in 2005. “So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.”

But Dunlap cautioned that Mattis may be in for a surprise when he swaps his uniform for a suit. “I believe than some retired generals are less politically astute than they think they are, and they may not fully appreciate the polarized environment they are diving into,” he says. “When an officer takes the uniform off and dons the politician’s attire, much of the deference and even some of the hard-earned respect goes with it. “

When Congress created the position of Defense Secretary, along with the Department of Defense, in 1947, it said that a military officer would have to be out of uniform for seven years before becoming eligible for the job. Mattis retired from the corps in May 2013, leaving him more than three years short of meeting that requirement, which was instituted to ensure civilian control of the military.

President Truman sought, and won, from Congress an exception when he nominated George C. Marshall to run the Pentagon in 1950. The five-star Army general had already served as Secretary of State when Truman asked him to run the U.S. military in the dark early days of the Korean War. In giving Marshall’s appointment a green light, Congress made clear it was granting a one-time waiver.

Its approval was “not to be construed as approval by Congress of continuing appointments of military men to the office of Secretary of Defense in the future,” it said. Following Marshall, it added, “no additional appointments of military men to that office shall be approved.” It remains to be seen if Trump and Mattis can turn that around.

So one of the biggest knocks (rightfully so) on Hillary was her war hawk mentality against Russia. Once again, completely fair and the biggest reason I hated her bar none. However, this pick doesn't settle my nerves that Trump (more like the Republican Party) won't be War crazy. If we go to war with Iran, best of luck to the Republicans in 2018.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-l...m=.0a5718eb2802


-------------------------


Donald Trump has professed that he's not much of a reader. He told The Washington Post over the summer that he had not read biographies of presidents because he does not have the time and that he makes the right decisions "with very little knowledge other than the knowledge I [already] had, plus the words ‘common sense,’ because I have a lot of common sense and I have a lot of business ability." When Fox News host Megyn Kelly interviewed Trump in her prime-time special in May, she asked him about the last book he'd read. "I read passages, I read … 'areas,' I'll read chapters," he said. "I just, I don't have the time."

Perhaps a man he has reportedly selected as his Secretary of Defense will rub off on him. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, nicknamed "Mad Dog," is known for his gruff and blunt quotes. ("Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everybody you meet.") He's been hailed for his battlefield successes, his strategic mind and his bond with rank-and-file soldiers. He's been called a "warrior monk" and has a disdain for PowerPoint.

[How Trump naming Mattis as Pentagon chief would break with 65 years of U.S. history]

But Mattis -- who, notably, would need a legislative waiver to be confirmed since he only retired in 2013 -- is also frequently noted for being an avid reader steeped in history. Michèle Flournoy, the former undersecretary of defense who was widely thought to be a likely front-runner for the same job had Clinton won the election, told NPR Mattis "would be an outstanding candidate," calling him a "student of history." Sen. John McCain, in a statement endorsing Mattis on Monday, called him a "forthright strategic thinker."

New America senior adviser and former Washington Post military correspondent Thomas Ricks wrote in Foreign Policy last month that Mattis pushes "himself and others to stretch their minds," pointing out how his reading habits set him apart from Trump. "He prepared a reading list for his officers before deploying to Iraq in 2004 and required that it be studied," Ricks wrote. "Start reading the works of Sir Hew Strachan, Mattis’ favorite strategist."

In a blog post from 2013, the year Mattis retired, military historian Jill Russell shared a 2003 email, with his permission, that Mattis had written and which had been widely circulated within the Marine Corps. A colleague had asked why it is important for officers to take time to read and study.

Mattis wrote that "the problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men's experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others' experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men." His reading, he wrote, provides guidance and perspective. "It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead."

[Want to support the troops? Give them good military leaders]

He ran through a litany of books about history and military history that had guided him -- from T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" to Liddell Hart's biography of Civil War Gen. Sherman to Bruce Catton's "Grant Takes Command," noting its lesson on the "need for commanders to get along," with " 'commanders’ relationships' being more important than 'command relationships.' "

"Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun," he wrote. "I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn’t waste their lives because I didn’t have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields."

More recently, in mid-October, Mattis hailed the importance of reading twice in a video posted by the Marines about leadership lessons from his career. Asked by one Marine about what books he recommends, he pointed to a required reading list, saying that such books should help young officers realize "you as a young leader will never face anything worse than what fighters have faced in the past." He called out Eugene Sledge's book "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa," ("you'll find the spirit of the Marine Corps overcoming the most difficult combat conditions," he said), noting the list "requires you to do a lot of reading because there are many different styles of leadership. You must stay authentic to who you are but at the same time we expect you to lead in no uncertain terms."

Another Marine asked how he keeps developing as a leader. Mattis said: "You stay teachable most by reading books. By reading what other people went through. I can't tell you the number of times I looked down at what was going on on the ground or I was engaged in a fight somewhere and I knew within a couple of minutes how I was going to screw up the enemy. And I knew it because I'd done so much reading. I knew what I was going to do because I'd seen other similar situations in the reading. I knew how they'd been dealt with successfully or unsuccessfully."

I thought it was noteworthy of what Maj.Gen. Michael Ennis had to say about General Mattis:

“He personally wrote hand-written notes to every parent whose son or daughter was killed under his command,” said Ennis. “He cares deeply. He also works very hard to keep his Marines from being killed unnecessarily.”

Says a lot to me about the man.

He will not be the Secretary of Defense as he has not been out of the Military for 7 years and the Democrats say they will block his appointment and anything that tries to overcome that rule.

I think that there is a reason that Trump announced him at this rally, and told people to contact their representatives.

I think that this was a brilliant choice by Trump. I didn't vote for the guy, but he has made some really good choices thus far.

Wanna bet a beer? ...

Dems are running around like blowhards now getting their names in the press ... Chuck was saying yesterday or the day before ... the classic liberal lines ...

the repubs want to kill our elderly and i won't stand for it .. it's so old .. and so FALSE ...

BTW ...

GREATEST ANNOUNCEMENT EVER ...

so "un-presidential" and so TRUMP ... *L* ..

Shhh ... we can't let anyone know cause were not announcing it til Monday ....

I was ROLLING watching that ...

Pray he comes within 4 hours of me .. I'M THERE!!!!!!!

So Trump made an appointment and the democrats hate it?

*LOL* ... that's great DC ... thanks for the *L* ...

I'll take that bet . I am torn over the choice because on one hand I like the guy and the way he handles himself and his history of being a good leader of men . On the other hand his recent military involvement precludes him from the post . The only exception I was Marshall who was in a class all of his own .

Would hate to see this man's legacy brought into question by politicians looking to grind axes .

Your on sir ...

I'll take a yuengling light please ...

j/c

I like the pick. A strong, take no guff kind of guy. I haven't really responded to his choices with the exception of having Steve Bannon in his ear. Because his other appointments haven't been a huge disappointment nor what I consider a huge improvement. The fact he's putting billionaires in charge of some things worries me a bit but I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic.

However, I really like the Mattis appointment.

I think Palin for VA is a good pick. She's a person I believe genuinely cares for veterans and wouldn't try to screw them over.

Romney would be my #1 ... he's great at turning thing around ..

Scott Brown or Pete Hegseth would be great also ..

Palin would be my 4th choice ... and thats not a slam on Sarah .. i just think the other 3 would be STUDS ...

Where do you put Palin though? It doesn't matter what I think of her, but I believe in rewarding loyalty. She was loyal and supportive of Trump when it wasn't popular.

If he chooses her I will be happy ... i forgot about the loyalty aspect witch seems to be very very important to Trump ..

I just really love the other 3 ..

I'd be thrilled with Sarah ... i've always had alot of respect for her and thought she got a real raw deal because of where she's from, how she talks and the fact her personalities a little different ..

Alaska abhors Palin. Alaska loved her before she went to a national stage; once on the national stage she went full blown right wing. She acted as a moderate here, and she's a "subject not to be discussed" in this sate.

Further reading on the subject.

And another.

Might not be putting her anywhere...

Palin slams Trump Carrier deal as 'crony capitalism'
BY PAULINA FIROZI - 12/02/16 05:24 PM EST

Article

Dear Sarah, after 8 years of this failed administration you would be a breath of fresh air to this country, no matter what the liberals at The Atlantic and Guardian have to say! I hope we can welcome you aboard the Trump Train.

That's a classic case of putting your snowshoe in your mouth.

She is an empty headed twit. I dont want her appointed to anything. She needs to go away.

Thanks for the reads Rocket .... never seen this nationally then or now ...

I read the novel first .. took me awhile to "digest" it all ... before i read the 2nd one .. i thought .. i wonder how this will end ... i also hoped it wasn't as long .. *L* ..

It seems like she loves Alaska and was "swept away" with the "fame" ... and left Alaska behind ... and Alaskans felt "slighted", rightfully so ... sounds like she left the state way better off than when she got there ...

I wonder if the state would ever forgive her if the right circumstance came around and she "apologized" the right way and put her best foot forward and wanted to help what seems to be in her heart home again ...

I also wonder if she'd ever want to ... on two fronts .... did it cost her too much personally OR is she actually the person that wants the big stage and wants to be in the spotlight all the time ..

Good stuff ... thanks again for the reads ..

Thats pretty funny considering the source ... *L* ...

Do you have a crush on Sarah Palin or something? She doesnt date old men.

Right on cue .. *LOL* ..

How about just a one night stand?

Her daughter Bristol may be down. What's another kid from another father?

HEY I am a dirty old man not a perv

My question is: Could she stand one night? *L*

or would she go for two?