Mattis tells troops to 'just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other'

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is seen in a video posted Thursday on a Facebook page called "U.S. Army W.T.F! moments" encouraging U.S. troops to "hold the line" in the face of rising political tension in the United States.

"Our country right now, it's got problems we don't have in the military," Mattis says. "You just hold the line — my fine young soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines — you just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it."

"We're so doggone lucky to be Americans," Mattis continued. "We've got two powers, the power of inspiration, and we'll get the power of inspiration back. And we've got the power of intimidation, and that's you, if someone wants to screw with our families, our country, and our allies."

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Mattis is currently on an overseas tour with stops in Ukraine, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, and it is unclear where his apparently impromptu speech occurred. Watch his comments in context below. Bonnie Kristian