Contact: J.P. Duffy or Alice Chao, Family Research Council, 866-372-6397 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, former U.S. Army Delta Force commander and current Family Research Council executive vice president, made the following comments in praising President-elect Trump's choice of retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis as the next Secretary of Defense:

"General Mattis is first and foremost a warrior. He understands what is needed now in order to restore military readiness and to reestablish the warrior ethos.

"The selection of Mattis is a strong indication that President-elect Trump is serious about restoring the nation's military to where it needs to be. The services are struggling to meet their goals because of the declining morale of service members and the social experiments that have become pervasive. I'm confident that Gen. Mattis will make recruiting and retention of the best people a priority.

"General Mattis will be a great secretary of defense," concluded Boykin.