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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

General Mattis on the American experiment and military ethics

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages: …if we are to keep this great big experiment called America alive-and that’s all it is, an experiment-we need cocky, macho, unselfish, ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages:

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages:

…if we are to keep this great big experiment called America alive-and that’s all it is, an experiment-we need cocky, macho, unselfish, and morally very straight young men and women to lead our forces against the enemy.

…Okay, it’s not a perfect world, but America is worth fighting for on its worst day. So, if you have got the guts to step across that line, as each of you have, then just go out and enjoy the brawl. Just have a damn good time. Train your men well. Go beat the crap out of people who deserve it, and when they throw down their gun, then you have won.

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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