President Trump’s decision to ban transgenders from serving in the U.S. military has created a firestorm across the country. J.R. Salzman, an amputee Iraq War veteran, took to Twitter to defend the decision and the thread is going viral.
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890233643179716608
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890234118281101312
“Tracer fire would go overhead occasionally at night. IED’s on the road were a daily threat. We got resupplied food every 8 days.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890234479238717440
“QRF was an hour away. After they made the minimum three gun truck rule after the guys got kidnapped, life got harder.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890234713427787777
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890234863290245120
“Any tiny little personal issue they had suddenly became a mountain. And that shit came out on that fire base. And they snapped mentally.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890235040398954496
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890235464208101376
“Guys would literally snap over a dear John letter. Their personal issues came out and they were instantly combat ineffective.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890235681615757313
“Now take someone confused about whether they are a man/woman. Take those psychological and emotional issues and put them in that environment”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890235906061246464
“Take someone who is right off the bat not uniform or part of the same team. Give them special treatment because of their identity.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890236165613211648
“You have to be incredibly tough mentally, physically and emotionally. War is not a f*cking video game. It tests every ounce of your being.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890236735501647873
“You can’t teach someone to be a fearless warrior in a f*cking PowerPoint. You either have it or you don’t. You can hack it or you can’t.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890237534172729344
“We had guys who couldn’t. When faced with combat situations they crumbled. They had mental and emotional issues. They were a liability.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890237946766409728
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890238582358659072
“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 f*cking video game.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890239218722586626
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890239654305308673
“And if you don’t, you’ll just get people needlessly killed. Political correctness has absolutely no place in the military.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890239931343228929
“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.”
https://twitter.com/jrsalzman/status/890240913997352960
