Mackubin Thomas Owens: General Mattis Moves to CENTCOM
[Mackubin Thomas Owens is a professor at the Naval War College and editor of Orbis, the journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a Marine-infantry veteran of the Vietnam War.]
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....
Read entire article at National Review
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....