Jim Mattis Quotes

We continue to be vigilant.

When I slept it was literally in the midst of an arsenal. If I heard dogs bark more fiercely than usual, or the feet of horses in a greater volume of sound than usual, I stood to arms.

Be Prepared.

One is not exposed to danger who, even when in safety is always on their guard.

Safety and comfort comes with complacency, and that's never a good place to be working from.

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

Before all else, be armed.

One of the things we do not want is to become a complete fortress. This is not going to happen with military on every street corner or armed police officers everywhere. We do not want that so we have to be intelligent in our response and to be proportionate in our response.

You do not adequately protect yourself by being half awake when other are sleeping.

I have no problem with the security... It's something that must be done for the times in which we live. Safety first.

Keep your enemies in front of you.

At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.

No, but you've got to be here in case something does happen.

I believe in being prepared. I'm going to say that. Pray, prepare, proceed.

Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.

Never wait for trouble.

The campaign we are launching today is dedicated to peace through preparedness.

If my friends don’t know what my plans are, then my enemies will not.

The safety of the country stands above all other considerations, and no matter what the cost, the safety of the country must be assured.

Anything can be justified by security.

As head of a military structure I am responsible for the realization of military issues. If you want to have everlasting peace, you must be ready for war. We must be ready to face any provocation.

Security and safety are very important for us.

We are never complacent. My job is to make us look 10 years out and be prepared.

It's better to have security and not need it than need it and not have it.

Defending is mostly about focus.