Mattis to students: Warfare goes beyond combat - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Mattis to students: Warfare goes beyond combat

Marine Gen. James N. Mattis recalled a moment in the early days of the Iraq war when he approached a squad of Marines at a checkpoint and “asked the single dumbest question that has ever been asked of a squad leader in combat.”

“I asked: ‘What’s going on?’ ” Mattis said.

“And the squad leader dropped his rifle and said ‘we’re just taking the fun out of fundamentalism,’ ” Mattis recalled Saturday to a room packed with West Point cadets, Naval Academy midshipmen and others at the American Veterans Center’s 14th annual conference in Washington.

“A sense of humor is one of your best defenses — it’s as good as the helmet on your head,” he said. “A squad leader who can keep his sense of humor and sense of calm is worth more than a thousand generals.”

Mattis, who now oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as the head of U.S. Central Command, shared thoughts from nearly 40 years in uniform.

A native of Washington state, Mattis commanded the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was a commander in the two battles of Fallujah in 2004, which included some of the fiercest fights the U.S. military has seen in years.

“You are the young people who are going to carry on this experiment you and me call America. It’s very, very important,” Mattis said. “Believe me, there is nothing preordained that this county is going to continue. This comes down to blood, sweat and tears.”

Mattis urged the students to be prepared for all aspects of a military career.

“It’s not just a physical fight: it’s an ethical fight, it’s a moral fight,” he said. “Right now more than at other time … we need leaders who will live by a code … who can look in the mirror and not duck away from what they see.”

Mattis recalled a time during the Gulf War when he was leading a Marine battalion through a minefield in Iraq, and the experienced crystallized his understanding of why he embraced a military career.

“I don’t like minefields. I hate minefields,” Mattis said. “What I realized is that I’d rather be around people who are willing to go into minefields. I like hanging around people who are willing to go into minefields. … My code was to serve them.”

Mattis also urged the cadets and midshipmen to read. “You want some new ideas? Read some old books.” Specifically, he recommended books by and about leaders like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

“None of them had an easy life,” Mattis said. “You think things aren’t going right for you? Well, none of them had an easy life. You might find you have more in common with them than you think.”

And, speaking days before Veterans Day, he reminded the students of the many veterans who came before them.

“There is nothing that we’re going to ask of you that we didn’t ask of our soldiers at Shiloh; there is nothing we’re going to ask of you that we didn’t ask of our Marines at Iwo Jima,” Mattis said.