Eighty-eight retired ranking military officers of the U.S. expressed support to the candidacy of Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.
In an open letter, the group of retired military officers said the long-overdue course correction in America's national security posture and policy could only be possible through a Trump presidency.
"As retired senior leaders of America's military, we believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world," the group said.
"For this reason, we support Donald Trump's candidacy to be our next Commander-in-Chief," they pointed out.
They also lamented that for the past eight years, America's armed forces have been subjected to a series of ill-considered and debilitating budget cuts, policy choices and combat operations that have left the superb men and women in uniform less capable of performing their vital missions in the future.
"For this reason, we support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same," they said.
The statement came as Trump and his rival Hillary Clinton intensify their preparation for an upcoming NBC and MSNBC debate next week which will focus on national security issue.
A report from the New York Times disclosed that some of the officers listed in the "Open Letter" were supporters of Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential elections.
