Shortly after President Trump announced Wednesday morning that transgender individuals would no longer be allowed to serve in the military, a disabled combat veteran spoke out about the president’s decision via Twitter.
J.R. Salzman, an Iraq war veteran who lost his right arm below the elbow and sustained a traumatic brain injury during combat in 2006, explained why Trump’s decision to bar transgender individuals from serving makes sense.
“You can hack it or you can’t,” he said. “Political correctness has no place in the military.”
I served in Iraq in 2006. For the first five months I was on a 12 man firebase out in the middle of nowhere in the desert.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Everyday was Groundhog Day. Wake up and do the same patrols, the same shifts, every single day. It was so damn hot. 150° in the gun trucks.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Tracer fire would go overhead occasionally at night. IED’s on the road were a daily threat. We got resupplied food every 8 days.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
The stress of being out there and doing the same job every single day eats away at you. The younger guys had problems with that overtime.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Any tiny little personal issue they had suddenly became a mountain. And that shit came out on that fire base. And they snapped mentally.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
After stepping on each other’s nuts living in the same can for five months, guys were at each other’s throats. The stress made it worse.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Guys would literally snap over a dear John letter. Their personal issues came out and they were instantly combat ineffective.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Now take someone confused about whether they are a man/woman. Take those psychological and emotional issues and put them in that environment— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Take someone who is right off the bat not uniform or part of the same team. Give them special treatment because of their identity.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Take that person, put them in that stressful war environment and watch what happens. It’s a fucking ticking time bomb.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
You can’t teach someone to be a fearless warrior in a fucking PowerPoint. You either have it or you don’t. You can hack it or you can’t.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
We had guys who couldn’t. When faced with combat situations they crumbled. They had mental and emotional issues. They were a liability.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
To be successful at war, you have to become a warrior mentally, physically, and emotionally. You can’t fake it and go through the motions.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
In war if it comes down to kill or be killed, and you hesitate, you’re dead. It’s a simple as that. It’s not a fucking video game.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
War is no place for people who are mentally, emotionally, or physically confused or in turmoil. You have your shit together, or you don’t.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
And if you don’t, you’ll just get people needlessly killed. Political correctness has absolutely no place in the military.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Enough for now. This one armed veteran has a business to run. Unlike Iran, the country that took my arm, Obama didn’t pay me millions.— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
In 2005, Salzman won an ESPY Award for Best Outdoor Sports Athlete of the year. He’s also the most decorated athlete in ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games and has performed logrolling as a stuntman in “Cheaper By The Dozen 2.” You can read more of Salzman’s thoughts on his blog, here.
