By Julia LeDoux
Potomac New Reporter
When word got out that Lt. Gen. James Mattis was going to be the guest speaker at the inaugural Marine Corps Association/Marine Corps Combat Development Command dinner, only one thing could happen.
A sell-out.
That’s exactly what happened on Aug. 22, when every seat at The Clubs at Quantico was filled with Marines and others gathered to hear Mattis’ presentation, which centered on the evening’s theme, decision making in combat from a commander’s perspective.
“No one thinks or does war fighting better,” Lt. Gen. James F. Amos, MCCDC commanding general, said of Mattis.
Mattis currently serves at the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Central Command and commanding general, I Marine Expeditionary Force. He recently decided against court marshalling two Marines who had been charged with killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq back in 2005. But Mattis did not come to discuss that. Instead, he focused on what Marines need to do to win the ongoing Global War on Terror.
“No enemy can withstand us because of the way our forefathers put this Corps together,” Mattis said. “The country of Jefferson can certainly outshine a country that believes women are beasts.”
Mattis also said that Marines must study and use history to win the current fight.
“The moment we get confined by doctrine is the moment the enemy can define us,” he stressed.
Throughout his speech, Mattis stressed many positives that are happening in Iraq, regardless of what news accounts.
“We need to stop whining about the role of the media,” he said. “In an age of sound bites, we need to give them, not hide from them.
” He also noted that for the first time in six years, Sunni tribes are on the side of America and its allies in the conflict.
“That is because of our ability to take the moral high ground in this war, which is definitely something positive.
” The gathering is expected to become an annual event.
