Will DoD Sec'ty Mattis regret criticizing Trump for getting FIVE deferrments from military service for bone spurs?...
IN A MEETING WITH SAILORS, MATTIS LAUDS THEIR SERVICE AND VULGARLY CRITICIES PEOPLE "SITTING ON THE SIDELINES"
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with sailors serving on the submarine USS Kentucky last week in his home state of Washington, praising them for their sacrifices and expressing concern that he has “grown remote from those of you who matter.” Then he noted the up-and-down nature of military life, told the sailors that they’ll miss being in the Navy after they leave — and issued an off-color compliment.
“You’ll miss it like the dickens, and you’ll be changed for the better for the rest of your life,” said Mattis, who retired as a four-star Marine general in 2013. “So you’ll never regret, but you will have some of the best days of your life and some of the worst days of your life in the U.S. Navy, you know what I mean? That says — that means you’re living. That means you’re living. That means you’re not some p—- sitting on the sidelines, you know what I mean, kind of sitting there saying, ‘Well, I should have done something with my life.’?”
He continued: “Because of what you’re doing now, you’re not going to be laying on a shrink’s couch when you’re 45 years old, say[ing] ‘What the hell did I do with my life?’ Why? Because you served others; you served something bigger than you.”
The vulgar, full-throated defense of military service was delivered to a crew that returned in June to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor from a deployment at sea. It also left the Pentagon with a quandary: Should it edit the transcript of the Aug. 9 appearance, which was attended by a handful of journalists but not reported on in detail? Or, should it release the full transcript as usual, even though Mattis’s salty comments may create a stir or offend?
It took a couple days, but the Defense Department has now released the unedited transcript, and it generated both positive and negative attention Tuesday on social media.
-Wash Post, August 17, 2017
