James Mattis Quotes

An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.

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. 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.

Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun.

Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down.

A country that armed Stalin to defeat Hitler can certainly work alongside enemies of al-Qaida to defeat al-Qaida.

Treachery has existed as long as there's been warfare, and there's always been a few people that you couldn't trust.

You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.

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 front with you, I like brawling.

Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.

Fight with a happy heart.

I would happily storm hell in the company of these troops ... how strongly they have demonstrated to the world that free men and women can fight like the dickens.

The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event.

Demonstrate to the world there is 'No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy' than a U.S. Marine.

The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.

You are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are, if you cannot create harmony-even vicious harmony-on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete. We have got to have officers who can create harmony across all those lines.

You've been told that you're broken. That you're damaged goods ... there is also Post-Traumatic Growth. You come back from war stronger and more sure of who you are.

Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot.