WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBCNC) – “Keep the faith in our country.” That’s the message from outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on his final day at the Pentagon.
In a short, farewell letter released Monday, Mattis quoted a one-sentence telegram that President Abraham Lincoln sent to General Ulysses S. Grant in 1865.
It read: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans.”
The former four-star Marine Corps general also encouraged all defense employees to stay focused on their mission and to “hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes.”
Mattis announced his resignation earlier this month after clashing with the president over the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
Deputy Secretary of State Patrick Shanahan took over as defense secretary at midnight.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.