Donald Trump won the endorsement of 88 retired generals and admirals, according to an open letter released Tuesday morning by the campaign.

"The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy," the former military leaders wrote in their letter.

The letter was spearheaded by Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow of the Army, a 40-year veteran and Holocaust survivor, and Rear Adm. Charles Williams of the Navy. It comes ahead of Trump's veterans affairs speech in Virginia Beach, Va., on Tuesday.

"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 generals and admirals wrote. "For this reason, we support Donald Trump's candidacy to be our next commander in chief."

The 88 men said they support Trump's commitment to "rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically."

The letter concluded by "urging fellow Americans to do the same" and support the Republican presidential nominee.

Trump called the endorsements a "great honor."

"It is a great honor to have such amazing support from so many distinguished retired military leaders," Trump said in a statement. "I thank each of them for their service and their confidence in me to serve as commander in chief."

"Keeping our nation safe and leading our armed forces is the most important responsibility of the presidency," Trump added. "Under my administration, we will end the weak foreign policy of the last eight years, rebuild our military, give our troops clear rules of engagement and take care of our veterans when they come home. We can only Make America Great Again if we ensure our military remains the finest fighting force in the world, and that's exactly what I will do as president."



