Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, 66, a retired Marine four-star general, in impromptu remarks to troops abroad, in a Facebook video:

It’s good to see you all out here, young men and women. For those of you that I haven’t met, my name’s Mattis. I work at the Department of Defense, obviously… And thank you for being out here, OK? I know at times you wonder if anybody knows… The only way this great big experiment you and I call America is going to survive is if we got tough hombres like you…

You’re a great example for our country right now. It’s got a few problems. You know it and I know it. It’s got problems that we don’t have in the military.

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