Donald Trump's secretary of defense James 'Mad Dog' Mattis appeared to suggest those who did not serve the country were "a bunch of pussies." The retired general made the comments at an address to members of the U.S. Navy last week, and the transcript was made available by the Defense Department website this week.
"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?" Mattis told the troops at an event at Naval Base Kitsap, Washington.
"That means you're living. That means you're not some pussy sitting on the sidelines, you know what I mean, kind of sitting there saying, 'Well, I should have done something with my life,'" he said.
"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 'What the hell did I do with my life?'" he added. "Why? Because you served others; you served something bigger than you."
The defense secretary said he had taken the decision to accept the cabinet role because he wanted to continue serving the armed forces, in what he said was "the best paycheck in the world."
"I do admire you," the former general told the submarine crew members of his audience.
"I have a little sense of what happens and all that stuff when you go down, but I got nothing like your experience, and I just stand here in respect of every one of you," he told the military members.
Mattis told the troops he missed serving, although he added he would not have fared well on a submarine.
"I was I was young enough to go back out to sea, although I will admit it takes a special kind of person to be in submarines. I was in the Marines, and there's a world of difference between a submariner and a Marine, you know what I mean?" he said to laughter from the troops.
"I spent seven days underwater once on a submarine so small it'd fit in half of this thing, and I was never so happy as when I got back to the surface, you know what I mean?" he added.
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