WASHINGTON (AP) — On his final day as secretary of defense, Jim Mattis on Monday urged all Pentagon employees, military and civilian, to “hold fast” in defense of the country.
Mattis, who submitted his resignation on Dec. 20 and was in effect fired by President Donald Trump three days later, was working in the Pentagon on Monday and preparing to hand off his duties at midnight to Deputy Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Trump picked Shanahan, a former Boeing Co. executive with no previous government or military experience, to serve as acting defense secretary, pending a decision on who would be nominated to serve in a more permanent capacity.
In a written farewell message, Mattis quoted a one-sentence telegram that President Abraham Lincoln sent to the commander of Union forces, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, on Feb. 1, 1865, in the final weeks of the Civil War. It said: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans.”
Mattis, who resigned over a series of policy disagreements with Trump, including the president’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, said he’s confident Pentagon employees will remain “undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life.”
“Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult,” he wrote. “So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes.”
Mattis is the first retired military general to serve as defense secretary since George Marshall in the early 1950s.
Who are they supposed to be defending the Constitution from – Trump perhaps. Mattis makes it pretty easy to read between the lines.
holdfast (hōldˈfăstˌ)►
n. restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place
I wonder just how many previous Secretaries of Defense felt it necessary to encourage soldiers to defend the Constitution in their exit message… My guess would be a number fairly close to zero. Pretty amazing statement.
I am really hoping he drops the “code” and starts giving TV interviews tomorrow, if not that the Sunday shows on the 6th. Mattis has a duty to let the Country know what he saw, and what Trump has done, and no incentive since Trump went after him to hold back.
Do your duty! American needs to know what you know!
BTB, here is the complete statement: https://news.usni.org/2018/12/31/mattis-farewell-message
I was not happy Mattis was placed into the role given his military background for a position that is supposed to be non-military. But… given the plethora of deplorables Trump placed into civilian positions, Mattis exceeded my expectations and was one of the very VERY few people put into place in the administration that was not out to actively destroy our country.
I wish Mattis well. I hope he is able to help speak up and fight against the cancer of Trump now.
I do not look forward to the “yes man” that will come next.