A Look At How General Mattis Will Run The Pentagon

CNN: Inside the mind of 'Mad Dog' Mattis

(CNN)In picking Gen. Jim Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday night that he has found his "Gen. George Patton." Yet that label may not really capture what makes Mattis a distinctive choice. Mattis has been sharply critical of President Barack Obama's policies on Iran, and Obama's capping of troop numbers and campaign end-dates in theaters of war such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Mattis also appears to be a skeptic of the Obama-era policy of putting women into combat roles.

Mattis, 66, is a storied retired Marine general beloved by his troops whose skeptical views on Iran and appetite for a robust military that is unencumbered by political correctness align closely with those of his new boss. But Mattis is also a warrior-intellectual who easily and unpretentiously quotes both the Roman stoic Marcus Aurelius and Eliot Cohen, the Republican military strategist who was a leader of the "never Trump" movement.

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Update #1: Mattis isn’t just a popular general anymore. He’s an icon faced with running the entire Pentagon. (Washington Post)
Update #2: Here’s what legendary Marine General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis is really like, from people who served with him (Business Insider)
Update #3: I Served With James Mattis. Here’s What I Learned From Him (The Federalist)

WNU Editor: This will probably be brought up during his confirmation hearings .... This may have been legendary Marine Corps General Mattis' one mistake in battle (Business Insider).