1000 word military leader essay PDF

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1000 word essay about my favorite military leader....

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Clinton Coleman MILS 2010 October 30, 2017 Cpt. Walker General James Mattis (Ret.) General James Mattis was born on September 8th, 1950 in Pullman, Washington. His mother served in the United States Army working in intelligence, while his father help contribute to the Manhattan Project during World War II. General Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969, then was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant through the ROTC program at Central Washington University. Throughout his career in the Marine Corp, he was renowned as a high intellectual. Even retired United States Army Major General Robert H. Scales deemed General Mattis as “one of the most urbane and polished men I have known.” To receive such high praise at the early stage of his military career only meant he would go and do great things for the country and the corp. General Mattis also gained command of Task Force 58 as colonel, becoming the first Marine Corps officer to command a Naval Task Force in combat. With all these assignments, the thing that comes to mind is the amount of trust and how much higher-ranking officers believed that Mattis was capable and would do a good job at the position. One incident that exemplifies General Mattis’ leadership is when Marine Corps officer Nathaniel Fick, stated that he witnessed him (Mattis) in a fighting hole having a conversation with a sergeant and lance corporal. Fick went on to say that, “No one would have questioned Mattis if he slept eight hours each night in a private room, to be woken each morning by an aide who ironed his uniformed and heated his MREs. But there he was, in the middle of a freezing night, out on the lines with his Marines.” That alone shows how much General Mattis cares about not only his soldiers, but also that he doesn’t take advantage of being the higher rank. He treats everyone the same regardless of rank when it is time for leisure. He also understood the enemies and the native people of the country wherever he was stationed. General Mattis’ leadership has also come into question due to his history of removing officers from command. However, that is not a problem because he most likely had a reason to removing them from the position, and most of the time that reason was that the officer was too incompetent for that position. His nickname “Mad Dog” was given to him by the media and he has spoken out that he does not like the nickname. Many of his soldiers have written and spoken out that the nickname is not fitting for him due to the fact that he never yelled and supported his personnel first, last and always. General Mattis was never a micro-manager, instead he would fire those incapable and leave it up to his staff to make decisions to carry out his plans. Many have said that when his Marines would fail by omission, he taught them. But when they failed by commission, they would disappear. And the morale soared while under the command of General Mattis. He was also very knowledgeable. He would read books on military tactics, good or bad and

implement them into his leadership style. If I had to describe his leadership style, it would have to be near perfect. One of his famous quotes is “everyone needs a coach, but nobody needs a tyrant.” Now, General Mattis is the Secretary of Defense and was supported to take this position without much protest. This is mainly because many know his history and his accomplishments and that is hard to argue with. Because he earned his stars, and no one will ever be able to take that from him....