Transgenders in combat environment would be a ‘ticking time bomb,’ U.S. veteran says

by WorldTribune Staff, July 27, 2017

There is no room for gender confusion in a combat environment, a U.S. veteran who served in Iraq said after President Donald Trump issued a ban on transgenders in the military.

Transgenders in the war theater would be a “ticking time bomb,” combat veteran J.R. Salzman said in a series of tweets on July 25.

U.S. troops in Iraq.

“Political correctness has absolutely no place in the military,” he said.

Salzman recounted his experiences in Iraq in 2006, when he was stationed at an isolated firebase.

“Everyday was Groundhog Day,” Salzman tweeted. “Wake up and do the same patrols, the same shifts, every single day. It was so damn hot. 150° in the gun trucks.”

“The stress of being out there and doing the same job every single day eats away at you,” Salzman said. “The younger guys had problems with that over time.”

“After stepping on each other’s nuts living in the same can for five months, guys were at each other’s throats,” Salzman added. “The stress made it worse.”

With soldiers being in such close quarters with each other, “any tiny little personal issue they had suddenly became a mountain,” Salzman said.

Introducing personnel to the team who are “mentally, emotionally, or physically confused or in turmoil” will inevitably lead to people getting killed, he said.

In announcing on July 26 that he would not “accept or allow” transgenders serving openly in the military, Trump tweeted:

“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

Meanwhile, a Rasmussen survey last month found that just 23 percent of likely voters think the Obama administration’s decision to allow openly transgender people to serve is good for the military. Just under one-third of those polled – 31 percent – believe it’s bad for the military to allow openly transgender soldiers to serve, while another 38 percent thought it would have no impact.

The survey also found that 48 percent of likely voters supported a delay in allowing transgender enlistment, while 32 percent were opposed to a delay. Another 21 percent said they were undecided.


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