Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Testimonials: Former Admirals, Generals and Senior Defense Officials on Why They Support Hillary Clinton to be the Next Commander-in-Chief

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, former Admirals, Generals, and senior defense officials today gave their reasons for supporting Senator Clinton to be our next Commander-in-Chief.

Their testimonials highlight Senator Clinton's qualifications, experience, and strength of character.

See below for links to audio of the testimonials and transcripts.

[Click here] for audio of the testimonials. Transcripts are below.

General Wesley Clark

[Click here] for audio

Brigadier General John Watkins, Jr.

[Click here] for audio

Major General Paul Eaton

[Click here] for audio

Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy

[Click here] for audio

Lieutenant General Frederick Vollrath

[Click here] for audio

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral William Owens

[Click here] for audio

Transcripts

General Wesley Clark

[Click here] for audio

"She has done her homework on national security and I know from my personal discussions with her and with many other friends that go in and brief her in her role in the Senate Armed Services Committee. She knows the facts, she knows the details, plus she has the big picture. She is a strategic thinker but she has the building blocks of the strategy in her personal knowledge. This is someone that when she is president our military is going to respect very highly, and when our Senior Officers brief her and meet with her they are going be very, very impressed by what she knows and the intelligence that she brings to these problems."

Brigadier General John Watkins, Jr.

[Click here] for audio

"As I think about the challenges facing the nation and having been in uniform for almost thirty years, worked with a number of presidents to include the last four, I can't think of a single person – those generals included – who is better qualified to walk into the Oval Office than Hillary Clinton. I don't make that statement very lightly. She is more qualified, in my view, than her husband Bill was when he entered the office. It is no surprise to me that you would have as many flag officers who serve this country and Secretaries of the Army and Navy who have served this country who would come out and support Hillary."

Major General Paul Eaton

[Click here] for audio

"On a personal note, I have a Special Forces Captain son and a Sergeant Paratrooper both in Afghanistan and I find Senator Clinton the perfect choice to be their Commander-in-Chief and to display the loyalty to command our armed forces and to rebuild them after the conflicts in which we are engaged right now."

Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy

[Click here] for audio

"I support her because I trust her. I trust Hillary Clinton because of her judgment and her leadership. I have confidence that she is responsive to the needs of people. I believe that she understands leadership the way we do in the Army and that is that it's about building connections and relationships and establishing guidance and leadership for others.

I think she'll rebuild relationships with other countries that have been suffering for the last seven or eight years; those relationships have really been strained beyond anything I would have anticipated. Another part of Hillary Clinton that I think is just tremendous is that she knows our reality. She is in touch with people, she listens to people. She decides what she believes about policy based on what's right, she has integrity, and on what works, so she's practical." Lieutenant General Frederick Vollrath

[Click here] for audio

"I support Senator Clinton because I believe it's time for change in our country, a new direction. And I know change carries with it risks. Senator Clinton is the candidate, in my opinion, with the proven experience that truly understands the risks and how to possibly cope with those risks to get the job done. We shouldn't shirk from change because of the risks, but we absolutely have to have a leader with the proven experience. America, in the area of national defense, must be successful and Senator Clinton has that experience to create change, to understand the risk, and to get the job done."

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral William Owens

[Click here] for audio

"In this world that we face today, very complex as all of us know, I think experience will be really at a premium, especially at the level of the Commander-in-Chief. There's not time to learn. The phone rings and you have to be ready. You have to ready with intuition, with experience and with skills. And this world will have the complexities that perhaps we've never before seen. I've been impressed with and admire Hillary Clinton for her work in the Senate. And we need people with great judgment. I think she brings the best of talent, intuition and experience to handle these unknown threats in the future."