Executive Mosaic is glad to unveil Defense Secretary James Mattis as an inductee into the 2017 edition of the Wash100 — Executive Mosaic’s annual selection of influential leaders in the government contracting arena.

The 41-year Marine Corps veteran was confirmed by the Senate to the Defense Department‘s top civilian post in January 2017 via a congressional waiver that exempted him from a law requiring the Pentagon chief to have been retired from the military for at least seven years.

“Under his leadership, we will rebuild our military and alliances, destroy terrorists and face our enemies head on, and make America safe again,” President Donald Trump said of Mattis.

Just three days after he was sworn in, Mattis spoke with Canadian and U.K. counterparts and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as part of efforts to strengthen U.S. military ties with its foreign allies.

Mattis instructed DoD in late January to review Air Force One and F-35 procurement efforts in a move to help inform decisionmaking for each of the two aircraft programs.

Also last month, the retired Marine Corps general unveiled his plans to rebuild the U.S. armed forces through a fiscal year 2017 budget amendment, the Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal 2018 and a five-year defense program that would run through fiscal 2023.

“The ultimate objective is to build a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force, driven by a new National Defense Strategy,” Mattis said in the memo.

In a February memo, DoD said the Defense Secretary determined that civilian roles necessary to execute national security and public safety missions are exempted from the federal hiring freeze ordered by the White House.

Executive Mosaic congratulates James Mattis and the DoD team for their selection to receive this award.