James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who last served as the 11th commander of United States Central Command from August 11, 2010 to March 22, 2013. Mattis is known for implementing the COIN strategy. Before President Obama appointed him to replace General Petraeus on August 11, 2010, he previously commanded United States Joint Forces Command from November 9, 2007 to August 2010 and served concurrently as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation from November 9, 2007 to September 8, 2009. Prior to that, he commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Forces Central Command, and 1st Marine Division during the Iraq War. On December 1, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Mattis would be nominated to serve as United States Secretary of Defense in the coming administration.He initially enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1969. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Central Washington University[8] and was commissioned a second lieutenant through ROTC on January 1, 1972.[9] During his service years, Mattis was considered to be an intellectual among the upper ranks, with his personal library numbering more than 7,000 volumes. Major General Robert H. Scales, Retired, PhD, described him as "....one of the most urbane and polished men I have known." Reinforcing this intellectual persona was the fact he carried his own personal copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments. As a lieutenant, Mattis served as a rifle and weapons platoon commander in the 3rd Marine Division. As a captain, he was assigned as the Naval Academy Preparatory School's Battalion Officer (composed of Enlisted Midshipman Candidates and its Company Officers and Enlisted Staff), commanded Rifle and Weapons Companies in the 1st Marine Regiment, then Recruiting Station Portland, Oregon, as a major.
Mattis was born on September 8, 1950 in Pullman, Washington. His mother's name is Lucille (Proulx) Mattis. He graduated from Columbia High School, Richland, Washington, in 1968. Upon promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, Mattis commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, which was one of Task Force Ripper's assault battalions during the Persian Gulf War. On December 1, 2016, it was announced at a rally in Cincinnati that Mattis would be nominated for Secretary of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump. As Mattis retired from the military in 2013, his nomination will require a waiver of the National Security Act of 1947, which requires a seven-year wait period before retired military personnel can assume the role of Secretary of Defense. Mattis would be the second Secretary of Defense to receive such a waiver, following George Marshall.
