Military vet drops the hammer on 'wannabe strongman' Trump's love of obsolete tanks

[Judi Lynn]

Published 1 min ago on July 4, 2019
By Tom Boggioni

In a column for the New York Times, a veteran who served in Iraq while a member of the Virginia Army National Guard mocked Donald Trump for using tanks at his Fourth of July Mall spectacle, saying they are a relic of the past while ridiculing the commander in chief as a “wannabe strongman.”

According to Elliott Woods, based upon his training taking out tanks during military conflicts, the choice of the armored vehicles as a sign of strength is now laughable — but the president seems to be unaware of the fact.

“With a few exceptions — the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the battle of Falluja in 2004 — the tank has become as irrelevant to modern warfare as the horse cavalry it replaced,” he wrote. “So what are we supposed to make of President Trump’s fascination with these hulking relics and his determination to display them in Washington during Thursday’s Fourth of July celebration?”

“Mr. Trump seems to see tanks as a symbol of military strength, of America’s ability to bend the world to its will by means of brute force and threats of ‘fire and fury,'” he added. “Having avoided service in the Vietnam War by way of draft deferments, Mr. Trump has presumably never been closer to warfare than has a child playing on the floor with toy tanks and green plastic army men.”

More:
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/07/military-vet-drops-the-hammer-on-wannabe-strongman-trumps-love-of-obsolete-tanks/?utm_source=push_notifications

[area51]

1. Well, Donnie:

[hot2na]

4. That had to hurt!

[mr_lebowski]

2. At the risk of sounding wantonly anachronistic ... OH, SNAP! (nt)

[Cary]

3. And he laughs off the real threat with real enemy Putin

[Perseus]

5. The buffoon likes antiques

To open soon..."Buffoon's Antique Stores"

Fudging idiot, doesn't know anything, just evil.

[Victor_c3]

6. I'm certain I'm a relic of my time in Iraq, but I wouldn't trade my heavy armor assets for anything

Tanks and Brads might be relics of the past, but I wouldn’t trade them for the vehicles the replaced them with. I had two tanks attached to my platoon when I was in Iraq and they saved my ass more times than I wish to recount. The supposed “modern” alternatives to theses relics of the past aren’t anywhere near as survivable.

Have problems with a sniper? Just destroy the building with one of your tanks. Tanks were also great for drawing fire from an undisciplined enemy. These guys would shoot small arms, RPGs, and even SPGs at my tanks all day long and they would do little to no damage.

While in the Army I wrote a number of professional articles about the usefulness of heavy armor assets and I still stand behind every word of what I wrote. The generals that say things contrary to what I experienced firsthand are thoroughly removed from the realities of combat. The contractors they were hoping to gain favor with when the left the military certainly make more money by selling new equipment over keeping an older piece of equipment alive through periodic upgrades.

For what it’s worth, I was an Infantry Platoon Leader in Iraq in 2004.

[NJCher]

12. very interesting, victor

thank you for your perspective.

I'm not a fan of anything military, but in certain situations, I see that what you say could be just the ticket.

[FakeNoose]

7. The Pentagon Generals told Chump the same thing SIX MONTHS ago

Do you think he listened then? Hell no! He's just an idiot who doesn't listen to anybody.

[hibbing]

10. Funny as heck n/t

[lunatica]

11. LOL!

And the crowd cheers!!

[malaise]

8. THIS

“Mr. Trump seems to see tanks as a symbol of military strength, of America’s ability to bend the world to its will by means of brute force and threats of ‘fire and fury,'” he added. “Having avoided service in the Vietnam War by way of draft deferments, Mr. Trump has presumably never been closer to warfare than has a child playing on the floor with toy tanks and green plastic army men.”

[eppur_se_muova]

13. You think he doesn't still do that ? nt

[malaise]

14. He is still doing that

It's alll toys to him