James Mattis

James Mattis (born September 8, 1950, Pullman, Washington, U.S.) is a U.S. Marine Corps general who served as head of Central Command (Centcom; 2010–13) and who was later secretary of defense (2017–18) in the cabinet of U.S. Pres. Donald Trump.

Military career

Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969 and attended Central Washington University as part of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant the following year. He received a number of small unit commands during his time as a first lieutenant and later as a captain. Upon his promotion to major, Mattis oversaw the marine recruiting station in Portland, Oregon. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel, he deployed to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield and commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in the Persian Gulf War. As one of the lead assault elements of the 1st Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 7 (Task Force Ripper), Mattis’s battalion was one of the first into Kuwait. Mattis was awarded a Bronze Star for valour, and upon his promotion to colonel he received one of the Marine Corps’s highest, if lesser known, honours—Edson’s Eagles, the rank insignia first worn by the legendary Marine Raider commander Merritt (“Red Mike”) Edson, which is bestowed upon the colonel who best exemplifies Edson’s fighting spirit. Mattis wore Edson’s Eagles from 1995 until his promotion to brigadier general in 1997, at which point he passed the insignia on to another colonel.

Mattis received command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and, during the planning stages of the Afghanistan War, he was chosen to lead Task Force 58. Task Force 58 consisted of two U.S. Navy amphibious readiness groups, and Mattis was the first marine to be given such a command. Afghanistan, a landlocked country, presented an obvious challenge to the amphibious assault forces, but Mattis brokered a secret agreement with the government of Pakistan to provide landing beaches and access to an airstrip. Task Force 58 was airlifted into Afghanistan in late November 2001 and was instrumental in the capture of Kandahār, a city regarded as the spiritual home of the Taliban.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Promoted to major general, Mattis led the 1st Marine Division during the early stages of the Iraq War, overseeing the longest sustained overland advance in Marine Corps history. The division returned to the United States in late 2003 but redeployed to Iraq the following year, and Mattis led the marine assault on Al-Fallūjah. In May 2004 Mattis received his third star, and he was assigned to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Virginia. There he sought to disseminate the lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan to troops in the field, and he worked with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus on Field Manual 3-24, a comprehensive counterinsurgency document.

Although known for blunt, sometimes provocative speech (in 2005 he described members of the Taliban as “fun to shoot”), Mattis was described by his peers as a “warrior monk” who embraced the Clausewitzian view of war as a political instrument. He established the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, a training academy for marine officers and senior enlisted personnel, to instill cultural awareness and language skills, and he emphasized the “hearts and minds” approach to counterinsurgency operations. In 2007 Mattis was promoted to general and was chosen to lead Joint Forces Command, a training and planning unit that oversees the integration of the various branches of military service into a cohesive fighting force. After Gen. Stanley McChrystal was relieved as head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2010, a command shuffle ensued with Petraeus assuming McChrystal’s role and Mattis replacing Petraeus as head of Centcom. Mattis held that position until his retirement from the Marine Corps in 2013.

Tenure as secretary of defense

In December 2016 Mattis was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense. His eligibility for this position was contingent upon the granting of a congressional waiver, as amendments to the National Security Act prohibited active-duty commissioned officers from serving as defense secretary for a period of seven years after their retirement. This policy was adopted to ensure a separation between the uniformed military and the civilian oversight provided by the executive branch; the only waiver that had been granted since the passage of the National Security Act was for the appointment of George C. Marshall in 1950. Nevertheless, Congress approved the waiver, and on January 20, 2017, Mattis was confirmed by the Senate by a 98–1 vote. He was sworn in later that day.

Mattis served as an example of professionalism and stability in a White House that was characterized by unpredictability, infighting, and frequent staff turnover. As tensions rose between Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, Mattis reportedly forged a “suicide pact” with Tillerson and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, whereby if one were forced out, all three would resign. Although Tillerson was fired in March 2018, Mattis and Mnuchin remained in their positions. In June 2018 Trump announced that the United States would suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that apparently took the Pentagon by surprise. Mattis, who had made combat readiness one of his main priorities, was forced to reconcile Trump’s statements with the historic U.S. commitment to the military security of South Korea. Although joint exercises resumed months later, the public disconnect between Trump and Mattis revealed a widening breach between the two.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

In December 2018 Trump announced that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, where they were conducting anti-terrorism operations. That decision was made over the vehement objections of Trump’s senior advisers, and the following day Mattis announced that he would resign in protest, effective February 28, 2019. In his resignation letter Mattis stated that his “views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held” and that Trump should have “a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with [Trump’s] on these and other subjects.” The letter made headlines and drew the ire of the president, who forced Mattis to leave office on December 31, 2018, some two months earlier than expected. In 2019 Mattis authored, with Bing West, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, a memoir that doubled as a leadership manual.