‘She Can Fight from My Foxhole Anytime’: Why I Trust Hillary Clinton

Brigadier General David McGinnis, USA (ret.) has been involved in National Security for over 50 years in and out of uniform, and is a nationally recognized commentator on related issues. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Throughout my career as a combat leader, analyst and executive, I’ve had to master the ability to read people. I’ve had to assess their strengths and weaknesses and determine if they could handle what I was about to ask them to do.

So I’m always surprised when people say they can’t trust Hillary Clinton. In fact, the biggest question voters seem to have about her is not of her qualifications, but of her character. Maybe they just haven’t seen the side of her that I have for the last 25 years or so.

For example, the first time I witnessed her commitment to American families was in the Gulf War of the early nineties. We had mobilized a major National Guard formation from the Arkansas National Guard and sent it into the fray, a Field Artillery Brigade. It performed magnificently during combat and almost single-handedly eliminated the Iraq’s Artillery capabilities; however, this being the first major mobilization of the Guard since the Korean conflict, we failed to anticipate the needs of military families of the all-volunteer force once their sponsors were deployed.

Mrs. Clinton didn’t. She stepped in right away, organizing the governors’ wives and adjutant general to make sure Guard and Reserve families were supported in their home towns. This approach served as the model for the post 9/11 period, when she again helped first responders get the healthcare they needed.

While in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), I watched First Lady Clinton continue her work to ensure our military families and veterans were cared for by working behind the scenes with the White House staff to make sure OSD and Veterans Affairs got the message.

After the Clintons left the White House, Hillary ran for the Senate in New York, and to my surprise — since outsiders except for Bobby Kennedy never do well — she won. I have a large extended family in my home state of New York, most of whom are Democrats, so I know firsthand how quickly she convinced New Yorkers, from Buffalo to Montauk, that she should be their senator. Senator Clinton was so effective in her first elected role that she was reelected by larger margins even in many traditionally strong Republic districts.

Donald Trump recently questioned her stamina in the first presidential debate. But during my service in the Obama administration, I again had a front row opportunity to observe Secretary Clinton work extremely hard, with stamina and endurance, to pursue the boss’s strategic objectives. From my seat in OSD I watched her work with Bob Gates and Leon Panetta, who both demonstrated a great deal of respect toward Secretary Clinton.

Without question, she is the best and most qualified candidate we could ask for. I’m not the only one who thinks so either; scores of former military leaders and civilian national security officials — colleagues I trust and admire, who independently organized to objectively participate in this important dialogue — echo this belief.

But Hillary Clinton is also more than qualified. She is as dyed-in-wool American as anyone I have ever known, tough as nails and as compassionate for those needing her help and support as any Christian soul.

This November, the American people will decide if they want to ask Hillary Clinton to do the hardest job in the world. So if you ask me, do I think she can handle it? My answer is absolutely. She can fight from my foxhole anytime.