Mercer island all stars. Mercer Island Little League All-Stars: Triumph at State Championship

How did Mercer Island’s Little League All-Star team perform in the state tournament. What are the key aspects of Little League All-Star team selection and participation. How does the All-Star tournament structure work at various levels.

Mercer Island’s All-Star Victory: A Closer Look at Their State Title Win

The Mercer Island Little League All-Star team has etched their name in local sports history by clinching the state title. This remarkable achievement not only showcases the talent and dedication of young athletes from Mercer Island but also highlights the competitive spirit of Little League baseball in the region.

The victory comes as a result of months of hard work, strategic gameplay, and unwavering team spirit. The All-Star team, comprised of the most skilled players from various Mercer Island Little League teams, demonstrated exceptional skills throughout the tournament, outperforming tough competitors from across the state.

Understanding Little League All-Stars: Selection Process and Participation

The concept of All-Stars in Little League baseball is more than just a tournament; it’s a celebration of young talent and a platform for players to showcase their skills at a higher competitive level. But how exactly does the All-Star selection process work?

Player Eligibility and Commitment

To be considered for an All-Star team, players must meet specific criteria:

• Fall within the age range of the particular All-Star level
• Have played at least 60% of their team’s regular season games
• Submit an All-Star commitment form by the specified deadline (usually mid-May)
• Provide an original birth certificate for age verification
• Be prepared to offer additional documentation or a School Enrollment Affidavit for residency verification if selected

Is there a financial commitment for All-Star participation? While leagues typically don’t charge additional fees for selected players, parents are responsible for certain uniform elements and potential travel expenses for tournaments held outside the local area.

Selection Process

Instead of holding specific tryouts, many leagues, including Kirkland National Little League (KNLL), view the entire regular season as an extended tryout period. This approach allows for a more comprehensive assessment of players’ skills and performances across multiple games and situations.

The Structure of Little League All-Star Tournaments

Little League International organizes a series of post-season tournaments that progress from local to global levels. How does this tournament structure work?

Tournament Levels

The All-Star tournaments are organized into several levels, each catering to specific age groups:

• 8-9-10 Year Old Division
• 9-10-11 Year Old Division
• Majors (10-12 Year Old) Division
• Intermediate (11-13 Year Old) Division
• Junior League (13-14 Year Old) Division
• Senior League (14-16 Year Old) Division

Each level has its own set of tournaments, starting from the district level and potentially advancing to state, regional, and even world series competitions.

District Tournaments

What role do district tournaments play in the All-Star journey? District tournaments serve as the first step in the All-Star progression. For example, District 9, which includes leagues like Kirkland National and Mercer Island, organizes tournaments for each age division, typically starting in late June or early July.

Preparing for All-Star Success: Practice and Commitment

Securing a spot on an All-Star team is just the beginning. The road to success, as demonstrated by the Mercer Island team, requires intense dedication and preparation.

Practice Schedule

All-Star teams often maintain a rigorous practice schedule, sometimes training 5-7 days a week following team announcements. This intensive preparation is crucial for building team cohesion and refining skills before entering tournament play.

Tournament Commitment

Players selected for All-Star teams must commit to attending all practices and games throughout the entire tournament season for their level. Exceptions are typically made only for illness, injury (with a doctor’s note), or bereavement.

The Impact of All-Star Experiences on Young Athletes

Participating in All-Star tournaments can have a profound impact on young baseball players. Beyond the thrill of competition, what benefits do these experiences offer?

• Enhanced skill development through high-level competition
• Opportunities to build lasting friendships with teammates from different regular season teams
• Exposure to diverse playing styles and strategies from teams across the region or country
• Development of mental toughness and resilience in high-pressure situations
• Potential for recognition and future opportunities in baseball

How does the All-Star experience contribute to personal growth? Many young athletes report increased confidence, improved leadership skills, and a deeper appreciation for teamwork as a result of their All-Star participation.

Navigating the Challenges of All-Star Participation

While All-Star tournaments offer exciting opportunities, they also present unique challenges for players and families. What are some of the common hurdles faced during the All-Star season?

Time Management

The intensive practice and game schedule can be demanding, requiring careful balancing of baseball commitments with family time, summer activities, and academic responsibilities for year-round students.

Financial Considerations

As teams advance to higher levels of competition, travel costs can accumulate. Families may need to budget for transportation, lodging, and meals, especially for state, regional, or World Series tournaments held in distant locations.

Emotional Resilience

The heightened competition and pressure to perform can be emotionally challenging for young players. How can parents and coaches support players’ mental well-being during this intense period?

• Encourage a balanced perspective on winning and losing
• Provide positive reinforcement focused on effort and improvement rather than just outcomes
• Create opportunities for team bonding and stress relief off the field
• Maintain open communication to address any concerns or anxieties

The Role of Community Support in All-Star Success

The triumph of teams like Mercer Island’s All-Stars often extends beyond the players and coaches to include the broader community. How does community involvement contribute to All-Star success?

Fundraising and Sponsorship

Many communities rally around their All-Star teams, organizing fundraisers to help offset travel costs and other expenses. Local businesses may step up as sponsors, providing financial support or in-kind donations.

Fan Support

The presence of enthusiastic fans at games can boost team morale and create a memorable atmosphere for players. How can communities show their support?

• Organizing watch parties for away games
• Creating social media campaigns to share team updates and achievements
• Coordinating travel groups for parents and supporters to attend distant tournaments
• Arranging welcome-home celebrations for returning teams

Media Coverage

Local media outlets often play a crucial role in highlighting All-Star teams’ journeys, increasing visibility and community pride. This coverage can also provide valuable exposure for young athletes and their accomplishments.

Looking Beyond the All-Star Season: Long-Term Impact on Youth Baseball

The success of All-Star programs, exemplified by Mercer Island’s state title win, can have lasting effects on local youth baseball scenes. What are some of the potential long-term impacts?

Increased Participation

Successful All-Star runs often inspire more young players to get involved in baseball, potentially boosting registration numbers for local leagues in subsequent seasons.

Improved League Quality

As players return from All-Star experiences, they bring enhanced skills and knowledge that can elevate the overall quality of play in regular season games.

Development of Coaching Talent

Coaches who lead All-Star teams gain valuable experience in high-stakes situations, which can benefit their regular season coaching and help develop a stronger coaching community within the league.

Enhanced Facilities and Resources

All-Star success may lead to increased investment in local baseball infrastructure, such as field improvements or additional training resources, benefiting all players in the community.

The Mercer Island Little League All-Star team’s state title victory serves as a shining example of what young athletes can achieve through dedication, teamwork, and community support. As we celebrate their success, it’s clear that the impact of All-Star baseball extends far beyond the diamond, fostering personal growth, community spirit, and a lasting love for America’s pastime.

All-Stars – Kirkland National Little League

At the beginning of May, all coaches of record at Coast and above will be notified that they are eligible to apply for an All-Star manager or coach position and the process for completing that application.  Families for all players from Coast and above will receive a direct email for an on-line application to formally state their intentions for All-Stars (yes or no, all eligible levels or some, etc.).

The deadline for coaches and players is May 19th as we need time to process the information with our potential partner for combining teams at All-Stars, Kirkland American and then get our final projections into the District.

2023 All Star FAQ Final

2023 Baseball All Star Selections CLICK HERE

Every year, Little League International concludes each Spring season (Baseball and Softball) with a series of post-season tournaments often referred to as All-Stars. This FAQ covers the most common questions regarding Kirkland National’s involvement and process surrounding All-Stars.

What is All-Stars?

All-Stars is the colloquial term for Little League International’s (LLI) series of post-season tournaments. The Little League World Series, which you may have seen televised on ESPN is one piece of the entire post-season tournament structure.

What is the post-season tournament structure?

Little League International supports many levels of post-season tournament play, each with its own age restrictions and often with different sets of playing rules. The following chart shows which All-Star levels KNLL is eligible to submit tournament teams and their respective tournaments supported by LLI:

District 9 All-Stars – https://www. llwadistrict9.org/?page_id=3397

What is District 9?

District 9 (D9) is the Little League district into which the KNLL Charter reports. There are 14 total Charters in D9 (i.e Bellevue West, Mercer Island, etc.) and each will field their own All- Star Teams to compete within the district tournament.

Does KNLL Participate in all All-Star levels every year?

KNLL must register and pay tournament fees for each team at each level. In March, KNLL reviews its player registration numbers to determine for which All-Star levels there are a sufficient number of players. The Baseball Division historically registers for all three All-Star levels each year.

How does my child participate in All-Stars?

Each eligible player must submit an All-Star commitment form; DUE BY MAY 16th

Eligible players must be within the age range of an All-Star level for which KNLL is registering a tournament team AND must have played at least 60% of their team’s games during the regular season. Once they have submitted their form and it is confirmed by the Player Agents that they are eligible for All-Stars, they will be put into the selection pool.

Players shall be able to provide an ORIGINAL birth certificate to verify age.  No Copies, No exceptions.  Players will be required to provide 3 additional items of documentation or a School Enrollment Affidavit to verify residency after selection to team.  No exceptions.

Where do I get a commitment form?

The Commitment form is now an online form – Click Here

When are commitment forms due?

The commitment form must be completed by May 16th.

What is the commitment to All-Stars?

If a player is selected for All-Stars, they must commit to attend all practices (often held 5-7 days a week starting right after roster announcements) and all tournament games throughout the entire tournament season for that All-Star level. Players are excused for illness, injury with a doctor’s note, or funeral.

What does All-Stars cost?

KNLL does not charge an additional fee if your child is selected onto an All-Star team. However, while KNLL provides an All-Star jersey and hat for each All-Star team player, parents are responsible for acquiring the proper colored pants, socks, and belts such that all players have matching uniforms. In some cases, a player’s regular season pants, socks, and belt may already be the proper color and no additional purchase is necessary.

State, Regional, and World Series tournaments are most often held in locations outside of our County. In such cases, parents are expected to pay for travel, food, and lodging for the player and family members that wish to attend the tournament.

Why doesn’t KNLL hold try outs?

KNLL believes that the entire season is a try out and we assess a player’s performance in real games against other top players across a season of games. We believe this to be a more accurate assessment than a 1 hour test in an artificial game setting where a child could have one off day remove them from consideration.

Who votes for All Stars?

The managers and coaches of the appropriate aged League vote on the top players within that League based on a set of criteria. The process and criteria for selection are stated in detail within the KNLL Local Rules found on this website.

How are the All-Star team Manager and Coach selected?

Like players, eligible managers and coaches fill out a Manager and Coach Commitment form, sign it, and turn the form into their Division VP. Eligible managers and coaches are those who were entered into the KNLL league management system as one of the three coaches of record for a regular season team AND who have worked in their team’s dugout for at least 60% of the regular season games.

When are All-Star player announcements?

Baseball All-Star announcements will be made at Big Finn Hill Park on May 20^th during Fan Fest.   The selections will also be posted at www.kirklandnational.com within 24 hours of the announcement.

Where do I find more information on the Player and Manager Selection process?

You will find all the details on our current selection process for Players, Manager and Coaches in the Kirkland National Little League Local Rules.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to send your questions to [email protected]

Softball All-Stars FAQs

What is All-Stars?

All-Stars is the colloquial term for Little League International’s (LLI) series of post-season tournaments run by the local District, State, Region, or LLI.  The Little League World Series is televised on ESPN or ESPN2 and is one component of the post-season tournament structure.

What is the post-season tournament structure?

Little League International supports many levels of post-season tournament play, each with its own age restrictions and often with different sets of playing rules. The following chart shows the Softball All-Star Divisions for which our league is eligible to submit and their respective tournament dates:

*End dates are approximate and not finalized until leagues submit their teams for bracket creation

**The winner of the District 9 (D9) Junior Softball Tournament usually receives an automatic berth as the host team in the Junior Softball World Series, held in Kirkland, WA. The first runner-up proceeds to States and beyond. In theory, there could be two D9 teams in the Junior Softball World Series.

How do I determine my player’s Little League Age?

A player’s Little League Age is determined by their age on December 31 of the prior year.   A player’s Little League Age is calculated differently for softball than baseball.

What is District 9?

Washington State is divided into 12 districts and our league is part of District 9 or D9.  Within D9, there are 14 total Charters (i.e. KALL, KNLL, Bellevue West, Mercer Island, etc.) and each Charter will either field their own teams or combine with other neighboring charters to build teams to compete at the various district tournaments and beyond.

What players are eligible for each All-Star Divisions?

All players who have played in 60% of their team’s regular season games and have played at a competitive level for their age are eligible for selection.    Below is a quick chart:

What rules does each All-Star Division use?

A quick synopsis of the rules most impactful to parents and players are listed below:

• Juniors- Largely the same as regular season Juniors rules; 12” ball, 43’ pitching plate.
• Majors- Largely the same as regular season Majors rules; 12” ball, 40’ pitching plate.
• 9/10/11- Largely the same as regular season Majors rules; 12” ball, 40’ pitching plate.
• 8/9/10- Largely the same as regular season Coast rules; 11” ball, 35’ pitching plate.

A full description of the Tournament Rules for all Divisions starts on page 115 of Little League’s 2019 Rulebook. 

Can my players be eligible for more than one All-Star Division?

• Yes.  For example, a player who is Little League aged 10 (was 10 years old on December 31, 2021), who played on a Majors Division team during the regular season and participated in 60% of their team’s games would be eligible for selection to 3 different All-Star teams (Majors, 9/10/11, and 8/9/10).

Can my player be selected to more than one All-Star team?

• No.  Players may only be selected to one All-Star team.

What if my player was a 12-year old who dual-rostered on a Majors and Juniors team?

• While 12-year old players can dual-roster on both a Majors and Juniors team, even if they played in 60% of the games for each team, they may only be selected to one All-Star team.

If my player expresses interest in playing All-Stars and she is eligible for multiple All-Star teams, can she indicate that she does not want to play within a certain All-Star Division?

• Yes.  While it is an honor to be selected to any All-Star team, in some scenarios, players may not desire to be placed on a specific team.  For example, a 10-year old player who played at Majors all year pitching a 12” ball from 40’ might not want to play at the 8/9/10 Division with an 11” ball at 35’.  We want players to have a good experience during regular and post season play.

HOWEVER…  Please note that players who opt out of any of the Division levels for which they are eligible, will be removed from the player pool for those Divisions thereby decreasing their chances for All-Star selection.

Will my availability conflicts negatively impact my player’s chances for All-Star selection?  If my player is selected to All-Stars, do I have to cancel my vacation plans?

• Our goal is to have parents provide the League with accurate information regarding their daughter’s availability during All-Stars.   This will help Managers schedule practices such that the maximum number of players can attend each practice.  We understand that players may have prior commitments and some conflicts might be unavoidable.
• If a player indicates that they will be on vacation during tournaments or can’t attend any practices, it may influence the selection committee to select a player who will be able to attend and contribute more fully to the team.

After my player is selected to an All-Star team if their availability changes, will they be removed from the team?

• The Manager and league officials will review on a case by case basis any player availability changes as they arise to determine what is best for the team and the league.

Please note there are no “Pool Players” for All-Stars.  Any personnel changes made to the roster become permanent for the remainder of the tournament season for that team.

Does our league participate in every All-Star Division available every year?

Our goal is to find ways to field All-Star teams at every Division level for which we are eligible.   The Softball program typically registers for Juniors and Majors each year and reviews registration numbers to determine participation at either one or both lower levels. In early April, we review our player registration numbers to determine for which All-Star divisions there are sufficient players to field a team and then again after we receive all Player Interest and Availability forms.

If my child is selected to All-Stars, what are we committing to as a family?

• Starting June 1, if your child is selected for All-Stars, you should expect their team to hold practices 3-6 days a week until their first tournament starts.  The league expectation is that players are willing to attend practices and are available for all games in the tournament.   Unlike the regular season, teams cannot temporarily add Pool Players due to player absences.  Player absences hinder a team’s chances of winning and the expectation is that players participating in All-Stars will attend practices and games.
• On June 10th, 2022, KALL will host the Kirkland City Championships between KALL and KNLL.  At the end of the final game of the championships, each league will introduce the rosters for each of their All-Star teams.  We expect players selected to All-Stars to be in attendance that evening for introductions.
• On July 4th, our league will also enter an All-Star float in the Kirkland 4th of July Parade. We encourage players selected to the various All-Star teams to make themselves available for this fun event!
• Unlike the regular season, All-Stars is very competitive.  Teams continue to play until they accumulate two losses within a tournament.  The overall winner moves on to the next round.  Because players want to keep playing and want to advance as far as they can, teams play to win.  Winning requires additional development and extraordinary team cohesion which only comes from full teams practicing together on a regular basis.

What does All-Stars cost?

• Our league does not charge an additional fee if your child is selected onto an All-Star team. As part of each All-Star team, each player will receive an All-Star jersey and visor or bow.  Parents are responsible for acquiring the proper colored pants, socks, and belts such that all players have matching uniforms. In some cases, a player’s regular season pants, socks, and belt may already be the proper color and no additional purchase is necessary.
• State, Regional, and World Series tournaments are most often held in locations outside of our local area. In such cases, parents are expected to pay for travel, food, and lodging for the player and family members that wish to attend the tournament.

• Teams who earn their way to the World Series will receive new uniforms for the event courtesy of LLI.

Why do the Softball All-Star jerseys not have our league name and colors?

• Due to player registrations, our league often combines with the other Kirkland league to create All-Star teams. This Inter-league combining is approved through D9 and then West Region. When the two leagues combine to create an All-Star team at a specific All-Star Division, both Charters have agreed to use the term Kirkland All-Stars and to use neither of the color schemes from our respective Charters.  In the occasion where our league fields an All-Star team consisting of all players registered within our league, the uniforms for that All-Star team would use our league name and colors.

Why did KALL/KNLL choose “Seahawks” colors for the Softball All-Stars?

• Both Charters have agreed to not use their own colors when forming a combined All-Star team. The Navy and Lime colors were chosen because no one else in D9 uses those colors and the majority of parents, families, and friends already have articles of clothing in those colors which they could wear to games to show support for our teams.

Why doesn’t our league hold tryouts?

• We believe that the entire season is a tryout and we assess a player’s performance in real games against other top players across a season of games. We believe this to be a more accurate assessment than a 1-hour test in an artificial game setting where a child could have one off day remove them from consideration.

Who votes for All Stars?

• The managers and coaches of the appropriate aged Division(s) vote on the top players within that League based on a set of criteria. The process and criteria for selection are stated in detail within our league’s Local Rules.

How many players are selected to All-Star teams?

• According to the Little League Softball 2019 Rulebook, the minimum All-Star team size is 12 players.  According to our Local Rules, our maximum team size is 12 players.  We believe that restricting the team size to 12 players will provide a more satisfying experience for players who participate in All-Stars

If my player is selected, will they get to play in every game?

• According to the Little League Softball 2023 Rulebook teams must use a continuous batting order. All previous mandatory playing rules have been removed.

How are the All-Star team Manager and Coaches selected?

• Like players, eligible managers and coaches will submit a Manager and Coach Availability and Interest to their Division VP whether they plan to coach or not. The process and criteria for selection are stated in detail within our league’s Local Rules.

Why do managers’ and coaches’ children make All-Stars so frequently?

• The All-Star selection process is moderated by the Player Agents who ensure that all eligible players are assessed against the selection criteria and are represented fairly during the selection process.
• Due to the time commitments required for their positions, managers and coaches tend to be parent volunteers who are the most actively dedicated to teach players the proper techniques for playing baseball and softball. Additionally, our league spends a fair amount of resources training managers and coaches to improve their teaching skills. The reality is that sons and daughters of managers and coaches often benefit more from this training than other players. A player who has an excellent hitting coach as a dad or an experienced pitching coach as a mom and can work with that “personal coach” every day of the week outside of team practices, is more likely to master certain fundamentals faster than players who do not.

Please remember that everyone involved with our league as a Board Member, Manager, or Coach are volunteers and always strive to do the best that they can to create a fair system guided by policies and processes.

How does my player participate in All-Stars?

Softball players within each All-Star eligible division (Junior, Major, Coast) must meet the following criteria:

• Submit an All-Star Interest and Availability form by May 19, 2022
• Eligible players must be within the age range of an All-Star level for which the league is registering a tournament team
• Played at least 60% of their team’s games during the regular season.

Once a player has submitted their Interest and Availability Form and it is confirmed by the Player Agent(s) that they have met the minimum eligibility requirements for All-Stars, they will be put into the selection pool.

Where do I get an Interest and Availability form?

The Softball Player Agent will email each family at Coast, Majors, and Juniors the URL for the online application. 

When are Interest and Availability form submissions due?

• Softball online submissions must be completed by May 19th.  We request that all players submit a form even if they are declining selection to an All-Star team. That way we can be sure that every player was aware of the opportunity available to them.

Why is the Softball Interest and Availability submission due date so early?

• Traditionally, regular season registration for Softball is significantly less than Baseball.   As such, sometimes our league must combine with another charter within D9 in order to field an All-Star team at certain levels or just cancel an All-Star Division altogether.  Since D9 requires that we commit to which All-Star divisions we will support by May 25th, we need to close submissions end of day May 19th in order to review the numbers in preparation for those discussions with D9.

When are All-Star player announcements?

• On June 1, the All-Star manager will contact the players who were selected to All-Stars and the regular season manager contacts the players on their regular season team who did not get selected to All-Stars.  Once completed, our league will post rosters on our website, in coordination with other leagues if we have combined for an All-Star team. All-Star teams are introduced in person on the night of the City of Kirkland Championships, usually held within the first ten days of June.

Contact

Kirkland American Little League
P. O. Box 146 Kirkland, WA
98033

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An American teenager figured out the phone number of the head of the Pentagon and interviewed him

Komsomolskaya Pravda

Search results

The young journalist turned out to be very observant, and the Minister of Defense – chatty [transcript]

High school student Teddy Fisher from the American town of Mercer Island got through to the head of the Pentagon, James Mattis. Photo: screen shot of KING-TV 9 video0003

James Mattis recently gave perhaps the most non-standard interview of his life. For 45 minutes he spoke with a correspondent from The Islander newspaper. What is unusual here is that this media is produced by a simple American school in Washington, and the journalist himself is a middle school student.

An American boy, Teddy Fisher, who was the interviewer, once saw a photograph on the website of the Washington Post newspaper, which showed a bodyguard of President Donald Trump with a sheaf of papers. On one of them, an attentive teenager saw the name of the US Secretary of Defense and his telephone number. The picture was published in May, and later the newspaper deleted it. But Teddy managed to write down the cherished figures and sent an SMS to the head of the Pentagon asking for help in preparing an article on American foreign policy. The minister agreed to give an interview to the school newspaper and, having agreed on a time, he called Fischer himself, answering his questions.

Teddy Fisher first wrote a message asking for an interview with the school newspaper. Photo: video screenshot KING-TV

The interview itself looks somewhat naive in the style of “a little son came to his father”, but there are several passages in it that well reveal the style of thinking of the head of the Pentagon. Komsomolskaya Pravda cites some excerpts from the conversation between Mattis and Fischer.

Fisher:

– In your opinion, what subjects should high school students study in order to better understand politics?

Mattis:

– Well, I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I’ll say that whether you want to do business, international relations or domestic politics, I think it doesn’t hurt to study history anyway. I say this because there is nothing new under the sun.

Human aspirations, dreams, living conditions and problems are connected with the fact that we are social animals, not hermits, but beings interacting with each other, no matter where – in the school, neighborhood, district, state, country, on a global level. History will not give all the answers, but it will prompt the right questions, show how other people successfully or unsuccessfully coped with the same problems. If I knew, looking back now, what awaits me in life, I would pay more attention to history.

Fisher:

– What advice would you give to today’s schoolchildren who are scared by what they see on TV and worried about the future of their country?

Mattis:

– The most important thing is to be involved, to participate. You will be brave when you start participating. You will become confident, make acquaintances with people, some of whom will agree with you, and some of them will not, and as a result, it will expand your perspectives. Having done this, especially if you study history at the same time, you will realize that our country has gone through the worst times and you will understand how our predecessors did it.

Fisher:

– What will be the future of American military power and conflict for my peers who enter the military?

Mattis:

– I think there will be two important points. On the one hand, it will be more difficult for them. The fundamental foundations of the war were described by Thucydides, who wrote the first historical work on the war. He wrote that war is fear, honor and interest, and all this is still the same. What Thucydides wrote about 3,000 years ago is still relevant to people. That’s what I said, referring to the study of history.

But technology and the way wars are fought are like chameleons, they are constantly changing. But wars are also filled with fear and courage, cowardice and duplicity, betrayal and frankness, honesty and confusion. It’s underlying and predictable. So mix new technologies and mass consciousness and the result is victory or defeat.

Definitely in the wars of the future there will be such aspects as near space and cyberspace, which were not there before. We fought on our planet mostly on the ground until war fleets came into power about a hundred years ago. Then came the Air Force’s turn, and in the last 10 years we’ve added space and computers. So it will be a very difficult situation. The Americans will no longer have superior weapon accuracy due to the spread of technology, so we will operate in a very competitive environment and see if we can grow enough Americans to take risks and inconvenience. For now, we don’t have to lower our selection standards for military service, because many volunteers continue to join our ranks even without a draft system.

Pentagon chief James Mattis agreed to be interviewed by the school newspaperPhoto: EAST NEWS

Fisher

– When you were a candidate for secretary of defense, you said that the military should be “more deadly”, but what role does diplomacy play in the matter relations with foreign powers?

Mattis:

– In our imperfect world, you can make your country’s diplomats listen by backing them up with brute force. But it must be clearly stated that foreign policy is carried out by diplomats, not by the military. I meet Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for breakfast once a week to advise him on military matters, but I don’t think defense should take precedence over diplomacy.

Fisher:

– How will the US help rebuild the Arab countries after the “Islamic State” (banned in Russia) is defeated? How will Washington avoid a power vacuum?

Mattis:

– Let’s talk about your thesis first, Teddy. Secretary Tillerson participated two months ago in a conference in Washington on defeating ISIS, where I spoke on military aspects. It was attended by representatives of 65 countries, Interpol, the EU, the League of Arab States. The point is that Americans don’t have to do everything alone. There are many countries that say: if you lead this process, then we will participate. For example, we have funds allocated by the Sunni Arab states in the amount of several billion dollars.

Americans can lead in the organizational realm because many countries don’t trust each other the way they trust America, no matter what the papers say now. Nearly 85 percent of our time in counter-IS meetings is not spent discussing military issues, but talking about how to prevent new groups from emerging. And this will be an international effort, and we will join in, as it was after the Second World War under the Marshall Plan, when America, three years after we defeated the Nazis in Germany and Japan, helped to rebuild the affected countries. Look at us today, when Berlin and Tokyo are our two strongest allies in the UN, NATO and the Pacific.

Fisher:

– How can the US defeat ideology?

Mattis:

– I think education is the most important thing in this process, although economic opportunities are also needed. On education, I sometimes think how much better the world would be if we invested in education in countries where there are ideological problems, where ideologies are saturated with violence. I wonder what will happen if we pay for schoolchildren in such countries to come to the US for one year, and not just once, but 10 years in a row. From any school, whether it’s in Afghanistan or Syria or anywhere else that could send a girl or boy for a year to Mercer Island (the Washington county where Teddy Fisher lives), Tapeka, Kansas, or somewhere else. anything.

Fisher:

– Are there any players in Syria who support Assad?

Mattis:

– No. The only reason Assad is still in power is Russia’s diplomatic veto, Iran’s military power, and now the Russian military presence. Without these two components, the Syrian people would have overthrown him five years ago.

Fisher:

– Why do they support him?

Mattis:

– There are many reasons. One is that Russia has military bases in Syria and a defense relationship that has been going on for 30-40 years. The other is that Russia has now chosen the path of strategic rivalry with NATO and the United States, and the region where they can compete quite openly between the Russian and American military spheres, although we maintain contact with each other and try to avoid clashes during operations.

Full interview

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Excellent: 9+
Very good: 8+
Good: 7+
Fairly good: 6+

Our recommendations
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Bellwether House

Savannah City Centre, Savannah (0.3 miles from The Mercer Williams House Museum)

Located in Savannah, 400 meters from Monterey Square and 400 meters from the centre, Bellwether House provides air-conditioned accommodation with free WiFi, and a terrace.

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9.6

Superb

254 reviews

Price from

€ 192

per night

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The Inn on West Liberty

Savannah City Centre, Savannah (0. 3 miles from The Mercer Williams House Museum)

The Inn on West Liberty is located 300 meters from Madison Square. The property offers a shared lounge, a garden and room service.

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9.5

Superb

170 reviews

Price from

€263

per night

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The Gastonian, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection

Savannah City Centre, Savannah (0.3 miles from The Mercer Williams House Museum)

This 4-star bed and breakfast is located in Savannah, 2 blocks from Forsyth Park.

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9.5

Superb

174 reviews

Price from

€259

per night

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McMillan Inn

Savannah City Centre, Savannah (0.3 miles from The Mercer Williams House Museum)

McMillan Inn B&B is located in Savannah, 600 meters from Lafayette Square and 600 meters from Cathedral of St.