On November 18, 2013, FPRI held its Annual Dinner featuring a Keynote Address by Genral James Mattis (USMC, Ret.) General Mattis is widely known within the U.S. military as the most revered Marine Corps officer in a generation. With a reputation for candor, a career of combat achievements, and a library that once spanned 7,000 books, Gen. Mattis has a record of over 41 years of public service. Modern military historians chronicle him as one of America's great soldier-scholars. In March 2013, he ended his service as the eleventh commander of U.S. Central Command, where he was responsible for U.S. military activities in one of the world's most volatile regions, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
For his Service, FPRI was proud to present Gen. Mattis with the 9th Annual Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Service. Previous recipients of the Benjamin Franklin Award include Henry A. Kissinger, Robert D. Kaplan, Walter Russell Mead, Fouad Ajami, Niall Ferguson, Charles Krauthammer, John R. Bolton, and Philip Zelikow.
