James Mattis Quotes

Quotes about:

• 

  Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

  James Mattis

  Bad Ass, Marine Corps, Sniping

  "'Fiasco'". armedforcesjournal.com. August 01, 2006.

  114 Copy quote

• We've backed off in good faith to try and give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.

  James Mattis

  Faith, Military, Patriotic

  "19 Unforgettable Quotes From Retiring General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis" by Geoffrey Ingersoll and Paul Szoldra, www.businessinsider.com. January 23, 2013.

  134 Copy quote

• The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.

  James Mattis

  Enemy, Important, Ears

  72 Copy quote

• Nothing keeps me awake at night. I keep other people awake at night.

  James Mattis

  Night, People, Awake

  Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

  32 Copy quote
• 

  There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline...you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.

  James Mattis

  Military, Discipline, Hunters

  "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq". Book by Thomas E. Ricks, armedforcesjournal.com. July 2006.

  67 Copy quote

• Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.

  James Mattis

  Sick, Enemy, Democracy

  84 Copy quote

• You can overcome wrong technology. Your people have the initiative, they see the problem, no big deal ... you can't overcome bad culture. You've gotta change whoever is in charge.

  James Mattis

  Military, Technology, People

  "4 Lessons Every Business Leader Can Learn From Legendary Marine General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis" by Paul Szoldra, www.businessinsider.com. July 18, 2014.

  64 Copy quote

• You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.

  James Mattis

  Dream, People, Enemy

  52 Copy quote
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  You are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

  James Mattis

  Military, Marine Corps, Enemy

  "Eve of Battle Speech". James Mattis' words in a message to the 1st Marine Division, The Weekly Standard, March 1, 2003.

  94 Copy quote

• There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don't think you do. It's just business.

  James Mattis

  Hate, Thinking, Order

  64 Copy quote

• 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 a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up front with you — I like brawling.

  James Mattis

  Fun, Military, Marine

  "Everything You Need to Know About Gen. James Mattis" by Luis Martinez, abcnews.go.com. December 1, 2016.

  71 Copy quote

• In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are, if you cannot create harmony - even vicious harmony - on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete. We have got to have officers who can create harmony across all those lines.

  James Mattis

  Military, Home, Enemy

  James Mattis' speech at the US Joint Forces Command Conference, May 2010.

  63 Copy quote

• PowerPoint makes us stupid.

  James Mattis

  Stupid, Enemy, Powerpoint

  "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint" by Elisabeth Bumiller, www.nytimes.com. April 26, 2010.

  79 Copy quote

• I just hope we can find our way back to engaging with one another, arguing strongly with one another, and then going down and having a root beer together or something and - and having a good laugh about it as we work together for the best interests of the next generation of Americans who are going to inherit this country.

  James Mattis

  Country, Beer, Laughing

  Source: www.cbsnews.com

  30 Copy quote
• 

  I don't lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.

  James Mattis

  Sleep, Night, Enemy

  77 Copy quote

• Demonstrate to the world there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than a U.S. Marine.

  James Mattis

  Marine, Enemy, Mad Dogs

  James Mattis' words in a message to the 1st Marine Division on the eve of the Iraq War (March 2003), as quoted in "Eve of Battle Speech" in The Weekly Standard, March 1, 2003; also quoted in Oliver North "War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom" (p. 53), 2003.

  79 Copy quote

• You've been told that you're broken. That you're damaged goods ... there is also Post-Traumatic Growth. You come back from war stronger and more sure of who you are.

  James Mattis

  Military, War, Broken

  65 Copy quote

• If in order to kill the enemy you have to kill an innocent, don't take the shot. Don't create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act.

  James Mattis

  Order, Enemy, Innocent

  73 Copy quote

• Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit.

  James Mattis

  Heart, Fighting, Enemy

  "Battlefield speeches and PETA". James Mattis' message to the 1st Marine Division on the eve of the Iraq War, www.weeklystandard.com. April 7, 2003.

  15 Copy quote

• There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It's really great.

  James Mattis

  Military, Shots, Great Dog

  16 Copy quote

• When you're in operations, the best thing you can do at the top level is get the strategy right. You have to get the big ideas right, you have to determine what is the policy, what is the level of effort you're willing to commit to it? And then you delegate to those who have to execute that strategy to the appropriate level. What's the appropriate level? It's the level where people are trained and equipped to take decisions so we move swiftly against the enemy.

  James Mattis

  Moving, People, Effort

  Source: www.cbsnews.com

  22 Copy quote

• The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some *******s in the world that just need to be shot. There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.

  James Mattis

  Blow, Discipline, Enemy

  “Fiasco”, armedforcesjournal.com. August 1, 2006.

  37 Copy quote

• For the mission's sake, our country's sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division's colors in the past battles - who fought for life and never lost their nerve - carry out your mission and keep your honor clean. Demonstrate to the world there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than a U.S. Marine.

  James Mattis

  Life, Country, Military

  "Eve of Battle Speech". "The Weekly Standard" Magazine, March 1, 2003.

  62 Copy quote

• No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.

  James Mattis

  War, Thinking, Enemy

  68 Copy quote

• An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.

  James Mattis

  Military, Marine, Accomplishment

  17 Copy quote

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