Mattis, currently CENTCOM commanding general, is an icon of sorts in the Marine Corps, and arguably the most famous living Marine.
Mattis himself dismissed rumors that he would be nominated to a post overseeing NATO if General John Allen wasn't cleared of the Jill Kelley scandal. Yet the announcement of his retirement followed promptly after the exoneration of Allen.
#Marine Gen. "Mad Dog" Mattis plans to retire this spring after four-decades of service to the Corps ow.ly/h1nyb
— U.S.Marines (@USMC) January 23, 2013
There are various ideas floating around concerning his possible exodus from active duty — Tom Ricks seems to think Mattis is being forced out for asking tough questions about Iran, or for advocating a smaller global footprint for the U.S.
Regardless, the loss of Mattis would be a blow to the morale of the Corps. One Marine officer we spoke with agrees, saying "skilled company grade [officers] and NCOs with multiple deployments ... said they would have decided to stay in based solely on the news of Gen Mattis' appointment [as Commandant]. Love him or hate him, but that's not nothing."
It's been a long road for Mattis, one in which the media often paints him as a cold-anesthetized killer. The reality is that he's also a beloved leader, a thoughtful, sober strategist, and a caring father figure to every young service member he encounters.
An account by John R. Guardiano, a former Marine who not only met but conversed in depth with Mattis, sums up the general's character best.
As published in The American Spectator:
Both the left and the right are wrong about Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis. He is neither the Jack Nicholson caricature of a Marine depicted in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men nor the callous and mad eccentric depicted by George C. Scott in the 1970 movie Patton.
And Gen. Mattis didn’t just talk the talk; he walked the walk. He led from the front. Indeed, on at least one occasion that I know of, the General was bloodied from a firefight or improvised explosive device while out on patrol with junior, enlisted Marines one-third his age. That’s what makes Gen. Mattis such a great warrior: He truly respects and cares for his Marines.
“Guardiano,” he told me, “I don’t give a damn about the officers. If they don’t like what they’re doing, they can get on a plane and leave the Corps — go back where they came from. But I do care deeply about those 18- and 19-year-old Lance Corporals out on the frontlines.”
We've gathered some of his best quotes, taken from this San Diego Union-Tribune profile, unless otherwise specified.