James N. Mattis

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James Mattis (2017)

James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950 in Pullman , Washington ) is an American military man. He was the United States Secretary of Defense in the Trump Cabinet from January 20, 2017 to January 1, 2019 .

Mattis is a General a. D. of the US Marine Corps (USMC). He was from 2007 to 2010 commander of US Joint Forces Command and served in personal union from November 2007 to mid-2009 at the same time as the Supreme Allied Command Transformation of NATO . From August 2010 to March 2013 Mattis was commander in chief of the US Central Command , a Joint Military force-border regional commands of the United States Armed Forces , based in Tampa , Florida .

On December 20, 2018, President Trump announced Mattis' resignation on February 28, 2019. Mattis cited Trump's decision the day before to withdraw a large part of the US armed forces stationed in Syria as the reason .

Military career

Mattis joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969 . Appointed second lieutenant in 1972, he later served as first lieutenant on an infantry and fire support platoon in the 3rd Marine Division . For Captain promoted, he took command of a rifle company of the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade. Later, as a major, he was subordinate to the Portland , Oregon recruiting station . During Operation Desert Shield / Storm , Lieutenant Colonel Mattis commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Infantry Regiment and took over this regiment after being promoted to Colonel .

As brigadier general , Mattis commanded the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and then Task Force 58 during Operation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan . As major general , he was in command of the 1st Marine Division from 2002 to 2004 during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and later during the stabilization operations as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom .

Mattis was then promoted to Lieutenant General and was Commanding General of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico from 2004 to 2006 and Deputy Commandant of Combat Development at USMC Headquarters in Washington, DC During this time, Lieutenant General David Petraeus began creating of the FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency field manual . This manual was finalized under James F. Amos ; it is (as of mid 2019) the current policy of the US Army for Counterinsurgency ( counterinsurgency ).

On August 14, 2006, Mattis took command of the I. Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) at Camp Pendleton , California , as well as the Marine Corps Forces of Central Command . A year later, on 28 September 2007, Mattis' nomination for the post of commander of was US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and the associated NATO gobs of Supreme Allied Command Transformation from the Senate Armed Services Committee of the US Senate confirmed. Mattis handed over the command of the I MEF to Samuel T. Helland on November 5, 2007 . With this transfer of command, responsibility for some outstanding decisions in the military court proceedings of the Marines, who are charged with war crimes in Iraq , passed to his previous deputy and now successor Helland. Four days later, on November 9th, Mattis took over from Lance L. Smith at JFCOM and NATO.

Mattis is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico , the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the National War College .

After France in 2009 integrated command structures of NATO had returned, received in return the French Général d'armée aérienne Stéphane Abrial to the post of Supreme Allied Command Transformation . Mattis has only been the JFCOM commander since then. In May 2010, General Raymond T. Odierno was nominated to succeed Mattis.

Mattis (left) with then Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (2013)

On July 21, 2010 Mattis was nominated to succeed General Petraeus for the post of Commander of the US Central Command . In July / August 2010 he handed over command of the JFCOM to his deputy Lieutenant General Keith M. Huber . From August 11, 2010 to March 22, 2013, Mattis was ultimately the commander of US Central Command . He was succeeded by General Lloyd J. Austin III. (US Army).

Quotes

In the Iraq war and in the following occupation , he commanded the 1st US Marine Division deployed there. In a US air raid on Makar el Dhib on May 19, 2004, more than 40 people from a wedding party are said to have been killed , according to the television station Al-Arabija . At a press conference, Mattis declined an apology and justified the attack with the words: “ How many people go to the middle of the desert… to hold a wedding 80 miles (130 km) from the nearest civilization? These were more than two dozen military-age males. Let's not be naive. "(German:" How many people go into the middle of the desert to celebrate a wedding 130 kilometers away from civilization? That was more than two dozen men of military age. Let's not be naive. ")

From a panel discussion in San Diego , California on February 3, 2005, Mattis was quoted as saying: “ Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling. 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. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. "(German:" Well, I have to say, fighting is a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun ... It's fun to shoot a few people. You go to Afghanistan and you run into people who have their wives for five years Long beat up because they weren't veiled. People like that aren't real men anyway. So it's a lot of fun to shoot them. ") After these statements met public criticism, Mattis announced that he had chosen his words more carefully should.

Further statements by Mattis have come down to us, such as “ Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet. ”(German:“ Be polite, be professional, but be prepared to kill everyone you meet. ”) And“ That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot. There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim. It's really a hell of a lot of fun. You're gonna have a blast out here! "(German:" That means there are some assholes in the world who simply have to be shot. There are hunters and victims. With discipline, skill, obedience and vigilance you will decide whether you are a hunter or a victim. It is real a lot of fun. You're going to have a great time out here! ")

Such statements and practices resulted in Mattis being nicknamed "Chaos" and "Mad Dog". Trump took up the latter when he announced in late November 2016 that he would propose "Mad Dog Mattis" as Secretary of Defense. Mattis himself mentioned his nickname "Mad Dog" during the Senate hearing in connection with the appointment as Secretary of Defense and said it was given to him by the press.

Secretary of Defense

James Mattis at his inauguration at the Pentagon with US Vice President Mike Pence (left)

Mattis was nominated for the post of Secretary of Defense of the United States on December 2, 2016 by then President-elect Donald Trump . Under the National Security Act of 1947, a candidate must have served in the military for at least seven years to serve as Secretary of Defense. In the case of Mattis, Congress passed an exemption, which Trump signed on the day of his inauguration . This last happened in 1950 in favor of George C. Marshall . On the same day, the US Senate approved Mattis' appointment with 98 votes in favor and one vote against.

On December 20, 2018, President Trump announced that Mattis would step down from his ministerial office at the end of February 2019. In his resignation letter, Mattis revealed differences to the president's policy. Among other things, he urged respect in dealing with allies. He will resign so that the President can have a defense minister with whom he is more in agreement. The announcement of the resignation came the day after President Trump announced that he would withdraw US troops from Syria and is considered an obvious criticism of the measure. A few days later, Trump moved the resignation date forward to January 1, 2019. Patrick M. Shanahan was Executive Secretary of Defense until mid-2019; since then, Mark Esper has been Secretary of Defense.

After the term of office

On June 3, 2020, Mattis spoke out in The Atlantic magazine about Trump's presidency in the White House. Mattis wrote, among other things, that Trump was the first president he saw who did not try to unite the country, but had been trying to divide the country for three years. In this article he stood behind the citizens who protested peacefully after the death of George Floyd . Reacting to the peaceful protests in many US metropolises with the military is a mistake.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

literature

Web links

Commons : James N. Mattis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Helene Cooper: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Resigns, Rebuking Trump's Worldview . In: The New York Times . December 20, 2018, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed December 20, 2018]).
  2. a b Beat Ammann / NZZ.ch December 21, 2018: The conscientious general kicks President Trump on the shin
  3. Field Manual 3-24 Counterinsurgency ( Federation of American Scientists ; PDF document; English; 13.2 MB)
  4. Contribution of the Marine Corps Times of August 14, 2006 ( Memento of the original of August 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marinecorpstimes.com
  5. Senate approves Mattis for JFCom job ( Memento of October 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (MarineCorpsTimes.com of September 28, 2007; English)
  6. Mattis Takes JFCOM Helm at Norfolk Change of Command (DefenseLink.mil of November 9, 2007; English)
  7. General Officer Announcement (DefenseLink.mil, July 28, 2009; English)
  8. General Officer Announcement (DefenseLink.mil, July 21, 2010; English)
  9. US soldiers started to shoot us, one by one (Guardian.co.uk of May 21, 2004; English)
  10. General: It's 'fun to shoot some people' ( CNN, February 4, 2005; English)
  11. 16 Most Hair-Raising General Mattis Quotes in: The Atlantic, online July 2010, accessed March 7, 2017
  12. James Mattis in: WikiQuote
  13. Donald J. Trump: "We are going to appoint 'Mad Dog' Mattis as our Secretary of Defense" in: USA Today , online December 1, 2016, accessed March 7, 2017
  14. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis addressed his "Mad Dog" nickname at his Senate confirmation hearing for defense secretary in: CNN, online January 12, 2017, accessed March 7, 2017
  15. 10 US Code § 113
  16. Senate confirms retired Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary, breaking with decades of precedent. Retrieved January 20, 2017 .
  17. Officers must be retired 7 years to lead Pentagon . In: USA TODAY . ( usatoday.com [accessed January 20, 2017]).
  18. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigns. BBC News, December 21, 2018, accessed December 21, 2018 .
  19. mst / dpa: Ex US Secretary of Defense: James Mattis accuses Trump of dividing society. In: Spiegel Online . June 4, 2020, accessed June 4, 2020 .
  20. Frauke Steffens: Review
predecessor Office successor
Lance L. Smith Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
2007–2009
Stéphane Abrial