Coming back from the war in Afghanistan, Mattis is promoted to brigadier general and given command of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. This position gives Mattis command of roughly 22,000 soldiers. His promotion comes with new orders: Mattis is to begin planning an invasion of Iraq. Mattis is “stunned” by these orders. His assessment is that Saddam Hussein functions as a buffer against more radical elements and against Iran, which he sees as the greater threat in the region.

Regardless of Mattis’s reservations, orders are orders, and he begins to plan the invasion of Iraq. Mattis starts a new reading list as well, beginning with Xenophon and Alexander the Great, to prepare himself for war in this location.

In this phase of “Executive Leadership,” as Mattis calls it, he is no longer directing troops personally, nor is he involved in the administrative work needed to pull the Division together; rather, his focus is on high-level tactical aims, strategizing on how to quickly and effectively destroy the Iraqi army. This would be an assault by land, and Mattis notes that it was the largest of such assaults in the history of the Marine Corps.

The Marines are told they will leave Iraq as soon as the war is won, but Mattis has concerns that the real battle will be for control of the country once the Iraqi army is defeated.