Why One Iraq War Veteran Can’t Vote for Trump

“I love war.”

This is a quote from Donald Trump, candidate for president of the United States.

I served my country in Iraq as a United States Marine. I served in combat. I have friends who drew their last breaths in Fallujah. I know, all too well, the life-changing (and sometimes life-ending) consequences of war.

War is not a first resort in response to a bruised ego or a snarky tweet. It is a life-altering, nation-defining action with consequences that extend far beyond the moment the smoke lifts from the battlefield and the rifles and guns go silent. War and its aftereffects last decades.

Donald Trump’s hair-trigger temper and outbursts have given us no reason to believe that, if elected president, he’d be capable of protecting the safety of American families, of your family. His tantrums and incendiary rhetoric have proved time and time again that he is incapable of holding such a position of power responsibly.

Throughout this campaign, Trump has shown that he is capricious, impulsive and utterly unqualified to be president. On the use of nuclear weapons, he has said, “We need unpredictability.” Speaking with a foreign policy expert about the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Trump reportedly asked in a very cavalier manner, “If we have them, why can’t we use them?”

Do you want your children to live in a world where Donald Trump has access to nuclear weapons?

These are just a few of the reasons that 50 Republican national security experts wrote an open letter warning that Trump, if elected, “would be the most reckless president in American history.”

The letter states that Trump’s “reckless” and “erratic” behavior would put national security at risk.

We are at a crossroads in our nation. The decisions we make this November will have a dramatic and profound impact on how our military might is viewed on the world’s stage—as a defender of liberty and a foe of tyranny, or as the hired guns for an erratic charlatan.

The lives of those who serve, their families and all Americans are, quite literally, on the line.

That is why I am proudly voting for Hillary Clinton this November. She knows how to maintain her bearing. She has a plan to keep America safe. She’s aptly prepared to serve as president of the United States and commander in chief.

I trust her to responsibly lead our military from the Situation Room. I trust her judgment with our nuclear codes. And, most important, I appreciate the respect she’s always shown to the men and women who serve—during our service and long after our uniforms are hung up.

Will Fischer is executive director of the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO. He’s a Marine and a veteran of the war in Iraq.