There is simply no one more qualified or more ready to hit the ground running, than Flournoy. Not only is she immensely well-versed on the issues and ready to lead on day-one in "the building," she would also be the first woman to run the American defense department, a milestone we should not dismiss without proper reflection.  Yes, this is a "big deal."  A very big deal.

As a university president, I know how important it is for younger generations to see people who look like themselves in serious leadership roles. When those people are as impressive as Michèle Flournoy, generations of young women and little girls will be able to aspire to heights their mothers were never allowed to contemplate.  And as a woman who has served both in uniform (as the first and only woman pilot in my C-130 squadron) and later as a senior civilian in the Pentagon (with Ms. Flournoy as my boss for three of those six years), I know first-hand how inspiring it is to see a supremely talented woman lead - and how hard it is when such role models are lacking. Michèle Flournoy is not just a role model for having busted this glass ceiling, she is a role model to all military members and defense professionals - men and women - for her level of expertise and for how inclusively and effectively she leads.

Having served in a series of high-level Pentagon positions in both the Clinton and the Obama administrations, Flournoy has developed a masterful knowledge of the Pentagon bureaucracy. Her expertise is unmatched in everything from strategy and budgets to the delicate art of civilian control, interagency coordination, and White House decision-making. Further, she knows all the players, from the admirals and generals she will need to bring along to achieve the administration's goals in securing America's defense, to senators and congresswomen and men (and their staffs) as well as the leaders in the intelligence, homeland security, and diplomatic corps.  From both her time as undersecretary of defense for policy under President Obama and her work starting and leading a think tank, she is well known and well respected among her counterparts around the world.  These deep relationships will be critical to rebuilding damaged American alliances.

And Michèle Flournoy is a leader who has mentored scores of national security professionals, who will be eager to serve again with her as Secretary. This ready-to-roll network will allow her to hit the ground running with a high-functioning team of brilliant professionals across the department. Many of these impressive professionals are women!  Defense experts like Kath Hicks (one of my former bosses), Susanna Blume, Melissa Dalton, Mara Karlin, Julie Smith, Sharon Burke, Loren DeJonge, and more, have all worked in the pentagon and been mentored by Ms. Flournoy for years.