The Mattis move

Mackubin Thomas Owens:

The president has nominated Marine Gen. James Mattis to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command, replacing Gen. David Petraeus, who has assumed command of the effort in Afghanistan. This is a welcome move. There is now a remarkable military tandem in place in the Greater Middle East, one that Victor Davis Hanson has compared to Grant and Sherman.

It is no secret that my admiration for General Mattis is unbounded. I have expressed it on several occasions on National Review Online and the website of the Ashbrook Center. I first met General Mattis when he was a major and a student of mine in a seminar at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. His character and intellect were obvious even then.

General Mattis has commanded at all levels. Indeed, General Mattis is probably the finest Marine combat leader since the legendary Chesty Puller. Perhaps as a harbinger of things to come, as a lieutenant colonel, Mattis commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7) during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This was the same battalion that Puller commanded during the desperate battle for Guadalcanal. As a colonel, General Mattis later commanded the 7th Marine Regiment.

During the initial phase of the campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, then-Brigadier General Mattis commanded Task Force 58, executing a bold operation to seize an airfield in Kandahar. During the “march up” to Baghdad in 2003, Major General Mattis commanded the storied 1st Marine Division.

Bing West and Maj. Gen. Ray “E-tool” Smith, USMC (ret.), in their book, The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division, do a nice job of chronicling his actions during that campaign. It was always the case that General Mattis “led from the front.” He clearly had prepared his command well and it responded to his style of leadership.

His “message to all hands,” issued at the outset of the campaign, contains echoes of Henry V at Agincourt: “While we will move swiftly and aggressively against those who resist, we will treat all others with decency, demonstrating chivalry and soldierly compassion for people who have endured a lifetime under Saddam’s oppression. . . . Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

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On one occasion Mattis offered some water to a tired Marine passing his vehicle. “The Marine refilled his canteens, took a deep gulp, and patted Mattis on the shoulder. ‘Thanks, man,’ he said, trotting off, apparently unaware that he was talking to his division commander.”

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Gen. Mattis is an intelligent man who has made a career of studying warfare as well as fighting for this country. I think he will make an excellent commander of Centcom and will work well with Gen. Petraeus to win the war in Afghanistan.