Free Republic

Haven't been able to find this information anywhere, so I'll ask the greatest group of detectives I know: the members of FreeRepublic. Does anyone know the identity of the lovely young lady who held the Bible for Mattis during his swearing-in ceremony?

Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis was approved on Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Armed Services to serve as secretary of defense in Donald Trump’s administration. Mattis sailed through the committee, which voted 26-1 for him to lead the Pentagon. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) was the only member of the Senate panel to vote against the retired four-star general, who enjoys bipartisan support to head the Defense Department under President-elect Trump. Gillibrand has previously said she would oppose confirming Mattis because he only retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, while federal law requires a seven-year break between military...

This was supposed to be the week President-elect Trump's nominees endured tough grilling and determined opposition in Senate confirmation hearings. "Trump Cabinet picks face extreme vetting ahead of confirmation," USA Today reported last month, predicting that several Trump picks could face a very difficult time on Capitol Hill. Now Week One is ending, and the tough grilling mostly didn't materialize. And all of Trump's first week of nominees seem headed toward confirmation. Seven Trump picks — Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary-designate John Kelly, Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson, Transportation Secretary-designate Elaine Chao, Defense Secretary-designate James Mattis, Housing and...

With Trump's excellent team, such as USMC (Ret) General James Mattis in charge, the U.S. government has all the battlefield expertise it needs to win the Jihad War. We can start by keeping in mind that the U.S. military won every engagement it wanted to win in Iraq -- the ones we lost are due to our dreadful civilian bumblers. Nevertheless, losing naval control of the Gulf, for example, still puts us in a damned awkward position. Vladimir Putin has put on an almighty show of military fireworks, most obviously when Assad invited Putin into Syria to fight against American-backed...

America knows Gen. James Mattis as a character, Mad Dog Mattis, the font of funny quotes and Chuck Norris-caliber memes. Those of us who served with him know that he is a caring, erudite, warfighting general. We also know that there is a reason he uses the call-sign Chaos: he is a lifelong student of his profession, a devotee of maneuver warfare and Sun Tzu, the sort of guy who wants to win without fighting—to cause chaos among those he would oppose.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis to be secretary of defense, nominating a former senior military officer who led operations across the Middle East to run the Pentagon less than four years after he hung up his uniform, according to people familiar with the decision.

President-elect Donald J. Trump is picking up the pace with his cabinet and top White House staff choices, and despite the fervent wishes of some Democrats that views expressed during the campaign would be moderated after the election, the new administration’s team is maintaining a decidedly conservative bent. Up next, secretary of defense? A retired Marine for defense secretary? James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, will meet the president-elect at Mr. Trump’s New Jersey country club on Saturday to discuss the post of defense secretary, according to two people close to the transition team.Conservatives this spring had...

A former brigadier general revealed on Fox News Monday some new information about the White House's role in U.S. Central Command's skewing of intelligence to downplay the threats of ISIS and Al Qaeda. Last week, a House Republican task force concluded in a 15-page report that U.S. military leaders altered intelligence reports "to paint a rosier picture" of the U.S.-led fight against ISIS than intelligence analysts believed was warranted. The report blamed “structural and management changes” at the intelligence directorate for the distortions, but stopped short of explaining WHY the changes were made. According to Defense News, "the problems followed...

Greg Nash Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 nominee, is among those courting prospects for a possible third-party bid to keep Donald Trump from the White House, according to a Washington Post report . Among those prospects are Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who suspended his presidential campaign in early May. Kasich’s chief strategist John Weaver said the governor isn’t interested in running an an independent. A Sasse spokesman declined to comment. But it’s not looking to good for a late in the game third-party bid, according to the...

An anonymous group of conservative billionaires is ready to place their bets on a man dubbed “Mad Dog,” hoping to draft him into the presidential race to confront Donald Trump. Think of it as a Plan B should Trump be nominated by the Republican Party in Cleveland: swing behind retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis and press him into service yet again as a third-party candidate. Mattis is the former commander of Central Command, which includes the strife-afflicted conflict zones of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, and has developed a reputation among troops as a general...

As the inevitability of a Donald Trump nomination grows, many Republicans are moving to the acceptance stage of grief. Trump’s unfavorability ratings are historic for a presumptive nominee. Some reputable polls have him as high as 60 percent negative, many others have him losing by double digits to Hillary Clinton. Retention of the Senate, already an uphill climb in an election year swelling with vulnerable Republican incumbents, is an equally dim prospect. Not all conservatives have given up the ship. The presumptive Democratic nominee is a hair away from federal indictment. The presumptive Republican nominee is a reality-TV lunatic who...

Mattis wanted to send a third aircraft-carrier group to the Persian Gulf earlier this year, The Daily Beast has exclusively learned, in what would have been a massive show of force at a time when Iranian military commanders were publicly threatening to sink American ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The four-star Marine Corps general and CentCom commander believed the display could have deterred Iran from further escalating tensions, according to U.S. military officials familiar with his thinking. But the president wanted to focus military resources on new priorities like China, and Mattis was told a third carrier group was...

Pvt. Robert Pennington CAMP PENDLETON ---- The seventh of eight Marines jailed for the execution of an Iraqi man left the brig Friday afternoon, freed by a Camp Pendleton general. Pvt. Robert Pennington walked free after Lt. Gen. James Mattis granted him clemency, slashing the remaining seven years off Pennington's eight-year sentence. Pennington struck a lengthy plea deal earlier this year, admitting his role in a plot that left an Iraqi man dead on the side of a road in the rural village of Hamdania on April 26, 2006. His family said Friday they were overjoyed with the decision...

The appointment of Marine Corps General James N. Mattis to head up Central Command (CENTCOM) is, of course, very good news. Mattis, after all, may well be America’s greatest living general. He certainly is one of the most intellectually formidable advocates of counterinsurgency warfare. However, Mattis’ appointment –- or, to be more precise, the reaction to his appointment amongst reporters and by the Pentagon leadership — raises troubling doubts about whether the American elite understand and are committed to free speech. I say this for two reasons: First because the Pentagon has imposed new and more restrictive rules on military...

Gen. James Mattis, known to his troops as “Mad Dog Mattis,” is retiring after 41 years of military service. The Marine Corps Times is calling Mattis the “most revered Marine in a generation.” Mattis has been commander of the United States Central Command since 2010 and led the 1st Marine Division into Iraq in 2003. According to reports, President Barack Obama decided to force the Marine Corps legend out early because he rubbed civilian officials the wrong way, and forced them to answer tough questions regarding Iran. Mattis was an inspirational leader of men and his powerful words will go...

To: the editors of almost every news report I've seen who quote General Mattis saying "I don't have to apologize for the conduct of my men." As exhibit A, I present to you a verbatim transcript of the press conference in question. As exhibit B, I further note the pertinent part of the conference: Unnamed Reporter: What happened yesterday at 3 a.m. in Al Qaim? Was there a wedding on? A wedding celebration? Gen. Mattis: You joined us a little late, as I said to the young lady here, I said how many people how many people go to the...

Marine, Iraqi leaders ready to push ahead toward Iraq's futureSubmitted by: 1st Marine DivisionStory Identification #: 200452173641Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq (May 21, 2004) -- Leaders of the 1st Marine Division, the Fallujah Brigade and Fallujah's mayor said Thursday that the city is ready for rebuilding. "I've got my plan and by God, come hell or high water, I'm just going to execute that plan no matter what," said Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division. "Our end state was all along, if you ask the Marines, was 'no better...

WASHINGTON -- A Marine general in Iraq ripped front-line journalists for "Chicken Little" coverage of the March invasion, and advised military leaders to "never forget how quickly the press jumped on the bandwagon of doom and gloom," a critical internal study of the war reveals. "Visions of Vietnam danced in reporters' heads" during halts in the march to Baghdad, griped the commanding general of the 1st Marine Division in a 67-page draft report obtained by WorldNetDaily. Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis heaped scorn on "unilateral" correspondents in his May 29 report. He said they "routinely"...

Liberals Concerned Military Wants Them Dead WASHINGTON, DC --- Liberals are running scared this week after a three-star general said in a press conference that "it's fun to shoot some people." The General was making reference to ruthless terrorists, but peaceniks, journalists and politicians are concerned that the military might think it's fun to shoot them as well. "I'm scared as hell," said a top Democrat asking for anonymity for security reasons. "These men actually enjoy shooting anti-American, freedom-hating scum. It's a fine line between the terrorists they like shooting and the liberals in this country. I purchased a bullet-proof...

NADIA BOROWSKI SCOTT / Union-Tribune Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler (left) shook hands yesterday with Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis after Mattis took over as commander of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton Quotable and iconic, controversial and laconic, Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis took command of 50,000 troops at Camp Pendleton yesterday as allegations of war crimes and mounting war casualties hang over the base. Mattis replaced Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, 57, as commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which has done most of the fighting in Iraq's volatile Anbar province this year. “This...