‘Be Ready’, Defense Secretary Mattis Tells Army Conference

Mattis warns of dangers of being unprepared as North Korea continues to provoke

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis delivers the keynote address during the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting and exposition at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on Oct. 9, 2017. The 2017 expo's theme is "Building Readiness: America's Army from the Great War to Multi-Domain Battle." Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It is impossible to know when the next war will come but the U.S. Army must be ready, said U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Mattis made the remarks at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington on Monday, citing the British empire’s burning of Washington and the unprecedented change of warfare that was seen in World War I to exemplify the need for readiness—a point he repeated again when asked about North Korea.