Our new SECDEF or as we like to refer to him, Secretary of War, General James Mattis isn’t your typical political figurehead. In fact, without trying, he’s still twice the candidate compared to the other ones.

Here are a few facts about Mad Dog that you may not have known.

  1. He’s a bachelor, a lifelong bachelor – Referred to as the Warrior Monk, the good general has never been married and never had kids (that he knows of.) While there may be some little barrel-chested Mattis minions running around Thailand, Mattis devoted his life to slaying bodies rather than Saturday morning soccer games and alimony payments. If he were to have a wife, the Marines would have issued him one.

2. He served four decades in the Marines, joining in 1969 and retiring in 2013.

General Mattis Reading List for Leaders

3. Mattis started out as enlisted and later transferred over to the officer ranks in 1972 LCPL Mattis wasn’t appealing for the future Secretary of War.

New Rules of Engagement from Mattis

4. He once pulled Christmas Duty for another officer – In 1998, Mattis was seen pulling duty for a Major whom he sent home to spend the holiday with his family. We have yet to hear of another General Officer pulling duty on Christmas Day.

5. General Mattis has over 7,000 books in his library and often carries books with quotes from Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius into combat.

6. He served in three wars; Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Persian Gulf War.

7. He has the most savage ass quotes that will make your pants tight. Some of his quotes include

  • “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential of failure. I cannot even spell the word.”
  • “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”reft16_generalmattis_shirtback
  • There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”
  • You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it’s quite fun to fight them you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling. 
  • Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.