- Secretary of Defense makes speech to servicemen abroad
- Jim Mattis asks troops to ‘hold the line’ as US faces ‘problems’ at home
- The footage was reportedly shot in Jordan
- Reports indicate that the remarks were made during Charlottesville controversy
Footage of Secretary of Defense James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis giving a motivational speech to a number of enlisted soldiers was posted to the Internet this weekend.
The retired general can be seen asking the service to not let recent political divisions inside the United States distract them from their duty.
‘You’re a great example for our country right now and it’s got problems,’ Mattis told the servicemen.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis gave a motivational speech to servicemen abroad, it was revealed over the weekend
‘You know it and I know it. It’s got problems we don’t have in the military. And you just hold the line, my fine soldiers, and sailors and airmen and Marines.’
Mattis reportedly made the comments to servicemen at a base in Jordan
‘Just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it,’ he added.
Mattis gave the impromptu pep-talk to a platoon at an undisclosed location, where the talk was later posted online.
According to Mediaite, the speech was shot at a base in Jordan, although that could not be substantiated.
ABC News reported that Matiis gave the talk while President Donald Trump was embroiled in controversy stemming from his remarks on Charlottesville, Virginia.
Earlier this month, one person was killed and 19 were injured when an alleged white supremacist used his vehicle to plow into a crowd of demonstrators protesting hate groups.
Following the incident, the President remarked that there were ‘many sides’ to blame for the violence, seeming to equate a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and their anti-hate protesters.