Fw: Trey Gowdy on "Troops"

This is a great response from a good Congressman who had been
given a 'gotcha' question from a 'far less than good citizen' self proclaimed
but also less than good journalist, in my opinion. Bob Thanks Jim Format
changed for compression and clarity
I've not seen this anywhere else so sending it to you.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jdeloach
To: McDowell, Robert W. , Jr. , No. 2
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2019 8:36 PM
Subject: Fwd: Trey Gowdy on "Troops"

Subject: Trey Gowdy on "Troops"

South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy recently responded to a CNN
reporter's question about the ban of transgenders from joining the U.S. armed forces.
As Trey typically does so very well, he nailed it rather succinctly:
Question: "How can President Trump claim to represent all U.S citizens,
regardless of sexual orientation, when he banned transgenders from joining the military?
Isn't that discrimination?"
Trey Gowdy's Response: "Nobody has a 'right' to serve in the Military. Nobody.
What makes people think the Military is an equal opportunity employer? It is very far
from it -- and for good reasons -- let me cite a few: Our Military regularly and
consistently uses prejudice to deny citizens from joining for being too old or too young,
too fat or too skinny, too tall or too short. Citizens are denied for having flat feet, or for
missing or additional fingers."
Clearly annoyed by the reporter's attempt to trap him with the question, he went on
to explain: "By the way, poor eyesight will disqualify you, as well as bad teeth.
Malnourished? Drug addiction? Bad back? Criminal history? Low IQ? Anxiety? Phobias?
Hearing damage? Six arms? Hear voices in your head? Self-identification as a Unicorn?
Need a special access ramp for your wheelchair? Can't run the required course in the
required time? Can't do the required number of push-ups? Not really a 'morning
person' and refuse to get out of bed before noon? All of these can be legitimate reasons
for denial."
"The Military has one job: Winning War. Anything else is a distraction and a
liability. Did someone just scream 'That isn't Fair'? War is VERY unfair, there are no
exceptions made for being special or challenged or socially wonderful. YOU must
change yourself to meet Military standards -- not the other way around. "I say again:
You don't change the Military. You must change yourself. The Military doesn't need
to accommodate anyone with special issues. The Military needs to Win Wars -- and
keep our Country safe -- PERIOD! If any of your personal issues are a liability that
detract from readiness or lethality, it is "Thank you for applying and good luck in future
endeavors." "...any other questions?"
That pretty much covers it. Fact is that less than 20% of military "age" people in
our country can qualify to join the military, due to some or all of the reasons described
here.
Question: How long does it take for the average person to become a soldier or
sailor in the US Armed Forces?
Answer: The average person will never become a soldier or sailor in the US Armed
Forces!!!!!