Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down.
James MattisRead
Demonstrate to the world there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than a U.S. Marine.
Interpretation
The quote underscores the loyalty and fierce determination of a U.S. Marine, emphasizing their dual role as a protector and a formidable opponent.
James Mattis's quote highlights the deep commitment and fierce loyalty that marines embody, suggesting that their friendship is unparalleled and their enmity is to be taken seriously. It reflects the idea that marines are not only fierce protectors of their comrades and country but also formidable adversaries when provoked, embodying the complex nature of military loyalty and strength.
In practice
Using this quote during a military graduation speech to emphasize the commitment of service members.
Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down.
I would happily storm hell in the company of these troops ... how strongly they have demonstrated to the world that free men and women can fight like the dickens.
For the mission's sake, our country's sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division's colors in the past battles - who fought for life and never lost their nerve - carry out your mission and keep your honor clean. Demonstrate to the world there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than a U.S. Marine.
You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.
We've backed off in good faith to try and give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.
In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are, if you cannot create harmony - even vicious harmony - on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete. We have got to have officers who can create harmony across all those lines.
But if the strength ain't real, I recall thinking the very last thing that day, before I finally passed out, then the weakness sure enough is. Weakness is true and real. I used to accuse the kid of faking his weakness. But faking proves the weakness is real. Or you wouldn't be so weak as to fake it. No, you can't ever fake being weak. You can only fake being strong. . .
Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.
When in fact we live in a society that makes life hell for gays and lesbians, this community has got to stand up and say, βWeβre on your side as you struggle for dignity,β and, βYes, we will defy anybody who says otherwise, even if we have to go to Disneyland to prove it.β
Non-violent resistance implies the very opposite of weakness. Defiance combined with non-retaliatory acceptance of repression from one's opponents is active, not passive. It requires strength, and there is nothing automatic or intuitive about the resoluteness required for using non-violent methods in political struggle and the quest for Truth.
I'm not used to crying. It's a little difficult. All my life I've had to fight. It's just another fight I'm going to have to learn how to win, that's all. I'm just going to have to keep smiling.
Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.