Mattis: Still the Man He Was

When he accepted the nomination of Secretary of Defense, some may have thought that Mattis was maybe a bit partisan. Through his policies, some may think him to affiliate with one particular party over another. To put politics and the game ahead of doing his job. What really has Mattis done though? Has he really changed from the man that many military members once thought him to be? We believe that Mattis is still who he was before. He will continue to be.There was a thought...that maybe he was just waiting to cash out and become a board member on a defense contractor company. Only time will tell. The man seems to believe in the idea that he'll work until he dies, so anything is possible. But is that really his sole reason for doing his job the way he has been.So far some of the biggest headlines he's made with his job are the "Deploy or Get Out Policy", the "Aviation Readiness at 80 Percent" and saying the "Jury Still Out on Women In Ground Combat Roles".Those have made the biggest splashes. So let's talk about each of them and how they reflect the fact that Mattis still is who he always has been. A warrior.Deploy or get out. Say what you want about GWOT, it is what it is at this point, but the fact is you can't have folks running around that have been in for 15 years that haven't deployed once. At some point, you need to get on board with the rest of the team. The military deploys. If you're unable to do so, you're not as useful as someone who can. It's simple. That's just how the military is.Aviation readiness. As much as we hate to give credit to the Air Force here, a lot of our success depends on not air superiority, but air supremacy. We can pretty much get on-demand close air support as we please. Maintaining our air power is key to America's ability to deter our enemies from picking a fight.

Jury still being on on women in ground combat. The age old question has been asked. Does it make us more combat effective? Instead of giving a partisan answer either side would like, Mattis understands that it's a complex issue that we'll have to address and he's not going to be rash when the studies are still ongoing.You can think that because he's in a Republican cabinet that he's partisan, that he's a war hawk, or you can just see a man that has the experience and know-how and finally the power, to ensure that we stay the preeminent fighting force on this planet.Plus if he just wanted a job at as defense contractor board member, pretty sure the former CENTCOM commander could have easily gotten a seat wherever he wanted.