General mattis, USMC Nominated As CINC CENTCOM

From ROK Drop:

By GI Korea on July 8th, 2010 at 9:59 pm


Great News, General Mattis Nominated for CENTCOM Command

» by GI Korea in: Afghanistan

Here is some great news for the war efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan:







Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday nominated Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to take over as head of U.S. Central Command.



Mattis, the outgoing commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, was passed over for the Marine Corps commandant position earlier this year and was looking at retirement in coming months. But Gates said he tapped Mattis because of his “outstanding combat experience” and the need to get “the best people in the best places.”



If confirmed by the Senate, Mattis would replace acting CENTCOM commander Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, the previous deputy commander there. Gates said he did not have any concerns about having Marines in the top two spots at CENTCOM, but added that it would likely be only a temporary situation.



Allen took over after Gen. David Petraeus left to assume command of the U.S. and NATO effort in Afghanistan when Gen. Stanley McChrystal was forced to resign.



Mattis played a key role in the Iraq’s battle of Fallujah in 2004 as commander of the 1st Marine Division. He also drew criticism a year later when NBC aired video of him talking about the pleasure he derived from combat, calling it “a hoot.”



“You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil,” Mattis told an audience in San Diego. “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.” [Stars & Stripes]



You can read more about General Mattis at the link, but I was thinking that he would be the guy sent to Afghanistan because General David Petraeus was already the CENTCOM commander. Once Petraeus decided to step down as the CENTCOM commander to accept the Afghanistan job, Mattis became the obvious lead candidate for the CENTCOM position and I am glad to see him picked. It is also important to remember that him and Petraeus do admire each other so there shouldn’t be any issues with the generals and their staffs working together towards a common purpose. It looks like now from the military perspective a strong team has been put together, so when is the civilian side of the war effort going to be reorganized in the same way? There is one good sign on this front that failed North Korea nuclear negotiator who became ambassador to Iraq, Chris Hill is leaving. Could Eikenberry be next?