Guy Snodgrass - Holding the Line: Inside Trump’s Pentagon with Secretary Mattis

For more than twenty years, I served proudly in the United States military alongside men and women from all walks of life. Despite our wide-ranging experiences and backgrounds, we shared a belief in core values that can sound clichd in todays highly polarized environment: duty, honor, integrity, commitment, mission, country.

These values are why we serve. These values are why we sacrifice time away from home and our families. These values are what make the US military the most admired institution in our country, and perhaps one of the only institutions to retain the respect and trust of the vast majority of the American people.

That trust is precious. It is fragile.

If lost, it may be gone forever.

For seventeen months of my final years in uniform, I worked directly for a man who understood that danger.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis joined the administration with a reputation as one of the most storied living leaders in our armed forces. He saw it as his job, his duty, his mission, not only to restore Americas military might but to protect the militarys reputation for independence and nonpartisanship.

Mattis sought to strengthen alliances wherever he could find them. He joined forces with like-minded world leaders and a handful of senior administration officials widely considered to be the adults in the room.

In May 2017, Mattis addressed the graduating class at the US Military Academy at West Point, telling them to hold the line, confronting our nations foes with implacable will... to hold the line, living by a moral code regardless of who is watching... and to hold the line, loyal to the country and Constitution as we defend our fundamental freedoms.

For nearly two years, Secretary James Mattisalong with millions of men and women serving in the Department of Defensedid just that. They held the line during the most challenging and unusual times the military has faced in generations. They held the line with an administration in Washington, DC, willing to challenge, question, and sometimes undermine the long-standing traditions and views of Americas military leadership, and those of our friends and allies abroad.

Then, on December 20, 2018, Mattis resigned.