'The General Mattis collection: a mixture

[Shek]

Moderator's Note

Nine threads in July 2015 easily id'd as linked to now retired USMC General Mattis have been merged here and the threar re-titled 'The General Mattis collection: a mixture'. Prompted by the most recent post. Seven more 2-16 threads merged in 29/12/16 (ends).

I just finished reading Thomas Rick's Fiasco and was trying to track down LTG Mattis' reading list. Anybody out there have it? Thanks.

Shek

[marct]

I just finished reading Thomas Rick's Fiasco and was trying to track down LTG Mattis' reading list. Anybody out there have it? Thanks.

Shek

I'd love to see it as well. If you get it, could you post it?

Thanks,

Marc

[selil]

The only thing's I've found were a story about it...

http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/insider_books.asp

[marct]

Thanks, Selil, that's a really good list.

Marc

[Shek]

The only thing's I've found were a story about it...

http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/insider_books.asp

Selil,
Thanks. This was the only thing that I had run across as well. Thomas Rick's book Fiasco speaks of 73 books and articles IIRC, so my quest is not the Holy Grail, but the complete list.

Cheers.

Shek

[SWJED]

22 December LA Times - Marine Commander is Seen as Tough but Fair by Tony Perry.

...As a combatant, Mattis, nicknamed "Mad Dog" by his troops, prefers speed and a relentless attack style. His straightforward and often salty rhetoric is tailor-made for infantry troops.

But such rhetoric belies a man who is deeply read in history and military tactics and who, after the fall of Baghdad, pushed for the military to adopt a conciliatory attitude toward the Iraqi populace...

Because of his combat experience and expertise in counterinsurgency, Mattis is rumored to be a possible candidate for a high-level command in Iraq under new Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

In a recent trip to Marine outposts in the expansive Al Anbar province, Mattis talked to Marines about training the Iraqi army and winning support from civilians. But he also mentioned the insurgent threat in the province.

"This is not sectarian violence," he told them. "This is Al Qaeda in Iraq. We expect you to kill them."

Much more at the link...

[SWJED]

... LtGen James Mattis (CG I MEF) replaces GEN John Abizaid in March at CENTCOM.

[slapout9]

Do you think he will try to implement a CAP style or Distributed Operations type Strategy?

[SWJED]

Do you think he will try to implement a CAP style or Distributed Operations type Strategy?

General Mattis will attempt to identify the desired end-state (hopefully he will have some help here from the National Command Authority) and based on his in-depth knowledge of COIN issue mission type orders / commander's intent to his subordinate commander in Iraq. Whether that entails CAP or DO or anything else remains to be seen as the situation in Iraq is quite dynamic and what may have worked in one province at one particular point in time may or may not be applicable now. That said, he will hopefully be able to instill unity of command amongst all the entities that are now players in Iraq.

[Merv Benson]

In this post the speculation is that Gen. Petraeus would replace Abizaid and Gen. Mattis would replace Gen. Casey, Gen Casey is also apparently in the running for Abizaid's Centcom slot.

[SWJED]

In this post the speculation is that Gen. Petraeus would replace Abizaid and Gen. Mattis would replace Gen. Casey, Gen Casey is also apparently in the running for Abizaid's Centcom slot.

CENTCOM has traditionally been commanded by sequentially alternating between the Marine Corps and Army. We have had two Army CENTCOM commanders in a row. The crystal ball says there will not be a third in a row - moreover - the NCA is looking to shake things up - at least give that perception. Mattis will be the next CENTCOM commander... That said - Petraeus would be a great choice. I believe he and Mattis are our two "COIN stars".

[jcustis]

That would be tough for I MEF. He just took over there, and it could definitely use his leadership.

[SWJED]

On the Small Wars Journal Blog - LtGen Jim Mattis to US Joint Forces Command.

A rumor we have been hearing since May was reported on yesterday in the North County Times – Lieutenant General James Mattis (USMC) has been nominated for his fourth star and slated to take over US Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia...

[pcmfr]

If we're lucky, his first official order will be to disestablish that useless command.

[Ken White]

OTOH, maybe it's a valid organization and some service peculiar subordinate (nominal, of course...) commands are unnecessary...

[SWJED]

Mattis Takes the Helm at JFCOM - SWJ Blog - video of and article on the change of command...

[Rob Thornton]

what you make of it. If'n I were a betting man I'd wager that JFCOM (and the rest of us) will be well served with him leading it.
Best, Rob

[Old Eagle]

This assignment will be very telling in many ways -- for General Mattis' future, for the future of IW and for the futures of the Services. In this battle of man vs beauracracy, there is a lot of hope riding on Mattis, but the smart money is probably on the bureaucracy. Hope I'm wrong.

[SWJED]

This assignment will be very telling in many ways -- for General Mattis' future, for the future of IW and for the futures of the Services. In this battle of man vs beauracracy, there is a lot of hope riding on Mattis, but the smart money is probably on the bureaucracy. Hope I'm wrong.

Ingrained bureaucracy – read GS (especially 15’s and FOGO equivalents) plus the extraordinary numbers of embedded contract workers now prevalent in many major commands - has a habit of ignoring active duty commanders – with an attitude of “waiting it out” until the next change of command. Their stonewalling is both unconscionable and criminal in my most humble opinion.

JFCOM is one of the worst offenders - I wish General Mattis the best and hope he can make a difference... It is sorely needed to say the least.

[Rob Thornton]

why we are interested in JFCOM as an organization

What I hope JFCOM can do is become the joint engine of leader agility and adaptation that looks far enough forward in sufficient breadth to help us get it more right than wrong.

A tall order in itself. JFCOM has in the past been billed as an engine of Joint "Transformation" - a term that was ambiguous enough and which appeared to emphasize everything but the people who make up the military. It has been perceived as being techno-centric, deservedly or not - and its embracing of EBO in Joint Doctrine generated some well articulated fights by the opposition (part of this probably has to do with how the services perceive the value of EBO in terms of strengths and limitations)

A large challenge will be overcoming entrenched mindsets (both within and on the outside) to achieve a balance that entices the services and commands out of our kung-fu stances. Fostering a Joint culture of innovation required to identify and understand ourselves and our adversaries (current and future) operating across the broad spectrum of war vs. being perceived as a gear which grinds out flavors of the month is no small task. The collective "we" must come to grips with the limitations of DOTMPF to fix our shortfalls. Wherever we adjust these aspects to answer hard, but specific questions, we paint ourselves into corners.

These are the science pieces, whereas Leadership is the art piece. We don't like to rely wholeheartedly on that one because it seems to leave too much to chance - not everybody is going to be as good as the next guy or gal - so we seek to even the odds with the science. We can't even agree on where "born" ends and "made" begins in the quest for leaders - its too vague and too suspicious - and hits too close to home for many to ponder.

You can give the same tools under like conditions to different leaders in complex organizations operating in complex environments and the odds are at least equal that they will not reach the same outcome - even if their experience set up to the time appears to be the same. One may succeed and the other may fail simply because one has the right innate mixture of courage, character and intellect (be they born to, or developed) equal to the task at hand. That is hard for us to swallow.

This is why putting the right person in the right command matters so much. JFCOM can be about helping us get over ourselves by providing a framework for common discussion that helps us take what we have vs. what we wished we had and jointly solving the strategic, operational or tactical problem set (be it the one now or the one on the horizon). Its success in doing so will depend as much on the folks outside JFCOM as those inside.

Best Regards, Rob