It's difficult to explain the power and presence of a General. Not the one, two, or even three star varieties pounding around the world, overseeing bases, troops, and maneuvers, but a full-blown 4-Star Flag Officer.

Meet "Mad Dog" Mattis >

A flag officer is someone who's high ranking enough to fly a flag of his or her own above an area of command and can apply to any branch of service, but almost always to someone with at least one star on their uniform.

There are only 38 4-stars floating about the five branches of the U.S. military and the ones holding positions of prominence and prestige are the closest thing to celebrities the military allows.

So when our Navy point of contact in Bahrain stepped in to where the media were waiting for its helicopter ride to the USS Ponce, and said General James "Mad Dog" Mattis was suddenly slated to be aboard, the room picked up an energy it'd been lacking in the heat and delay just a moment before.

"The Marines on the ground look at Mattis like a superhero," former Marine and BI writer Geoffrey says. "They love him."

Aside from his reputation and prodigious military accomplishments starting when he entered the Marines in 1972, General Mattis may best be known for his high-flying color and affection for quotes most Americans haven't heard since John Wayne quit the silver screen.

My personal favorite Mattis quote may be this line he laid down during a meeting with Iraqi military officers in 2003 after sending tanks and artillery home: "I come in peace," he told them. "I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all."

General Mattis commands U.S. Central Command, which includes the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia — and all of the Persian Gulf. So when Iran comes up in the news it's Gen. Mattis' business, and this week his business was important enough for him to leave his Tampa, FL HQ and fly into the Gulf for the mine sweeping exercise.

About 20 or so of us landed on the Ponce in an MH-53 helicopter, about 80 miles off the coast of Iran, and our first stop was the mine exercise command center where we waited for General Mattis.

Explaining the presence of a general is tough, so I put together this set of photographs to show what it was like waiting for General Mattis to arrive.

I mean no disrespect, we didn't wait that long and the man commanded the room like no one else. While I took these shots I thought of another rule Mattis drilled into his Marines when they arrived in Iraq in 2003: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."