{"id":65593,"date":"2017-12-23T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T16:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/23\/mattis-tells-soldiers-that-being-ready-for-war-helps-stop-it\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:06:19","slug":"mattis-tells-soldiers-that-being-ready-for-war-helps-stop-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2017\/12\/23\/mattis-tells-soldiers-that-being-ready-for-war-helps-stop-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis tells soldiers that being ready for war helps prevent it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FORT BRAGG, N.C. \u2014 \u201cStorm clouds are gathering\u201d over the Korean Peninsula, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declared Friday. And as diplomats try to resolve the nuclear standoff, he told soldiers that the U.S. military must do its part by being ready for war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without forecasting a conflict, Mattis emphasized that diplomacy stands the best chance of preventing a war if America\u2019s words are backed up by strong and prepared armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy fine young soldiers, the only way our diplomats can speak with authority and be believed is if you\u2019re ready to go,\u201d Mattis told several dozen soldiers and airmen at the 82nd Airborne Division\u2019s Hall of Heroes, his last stop on a two-day pre-holiday tour of bases to greet troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattis\u2019 comments came as the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea, compelling nations to sharply reduce their sales of oil to the reclusive country and send home all North Korean expatriate workers within two years. Such workers are seen as a key source of revenue for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un\u2019s cash-strapped government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials have made repeated threats about U.S. military action. Some officials have described the messaging as twofold in purpose: to pressure North Korea to enter into negotiations on getting rid of its nuclear arsenal, and to motivate key regional powers China and Russia to put more pressure on Pyongyang so a war is averted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the military, the focus has been on ensuring soldiers are ready should the call come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Fort Bragg, Mattis recommended the troops read T.R. Fehrenbach\u2019s military classic \u201cThis Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness,\u201d first published in 1963, a decade after the Korean War ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowing what went wrong the last time around is as important as knowing your own testing, so that you\u2019re forewarned – you know what I\u2019m driving at here,\u201d he said as soldiers listened in silence. \u201cSo you gotta be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. has nearly 28,000 troops permanently stationed in South Korea, but if war came, many thousands more would be needed for a wide range of missions, including ground combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retired Marine Corps general fielded questions<\/a> on many topics in his meetings with troops at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba and Naval Station Mayport in Florida on Thursday and at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Friday. North Korea seemed uppermost on troops\u2019 minds as they and their families wonder whether war looms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about recent reports that families of U.S. service members in South Korea might be evacuated, Mattis stressed his belief that diplomacy could still avert a crisis. He said there is no plan now for an evacuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s at that point yet,\u201d he said, adding that an evacuation of American civilians would hurt the South Korean economy. He said there is a contingency plan that would get U.S. service members\u2019 families out \u201con very short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis talks to U.S. Marine Corps troops at a rifle range at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday, Dec. 21. 2017. The unannounced visit was the first by a defense secretary since Donald Rumsfeld visited in January 2002 shortly after the first prisoners arrived from Afghanistan. (Robert Burns\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mattis said he sees little chance of Kim disrupting the Winter Olympics, which begin in South Korea in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Kim is stupid enough to take on the whole world by killing their athletes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattis repeatedly stressed that there is still time to work out a peaceful solution. At one point he said diplomacy is \u201cgoing positively.\u201d But he also seemed determined to steel U.S. troops against what could be a costly war on the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is very little reason for optimism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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