December 15, 2014
Open Letter to Tom Coburn on the costs of veteran suicides.
Dear Dr. Coburn,
The Hippocratic Oath states ?First, do no harm.? Senator Coburn, I am a disabled veteran. What I don’t understand is why you are blocking a senate bill to prevent suicide among veterans.Sending human beings to kill other human beings is harmful, but you supported that. You voted continuously to keep my fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in Iraq. When we get home, it is very hard to readjust to civilian life. It is hard for us to get jobs, hard for us to get the medical care we need, and hard for us to reconnected with our families. We have higher incidents of alcoholism, depression,anxiety and suicide.
I, myself, who was not in combat, have anxiety issues and PTSD that causes headaches, insomnia, anxiety and depression. I have a very good support network, and was able to articulate to my doctors what I needed. Not everyone has that. However, you seem to believe that it is more patriotic to save money by denying the very veterans you happily sent off to fight in a war of dubious necessity than to provide them with the care they need to recover from that same war. Veterans commit suicide at a far higher rate than the rest of the population. This has been called an epidemic. But once again, you are more concerned with saving money.
When I was in Iraq, I worked hard to help save lives in a military hospital. We did this in spite of military contractors attempting to deny us what we needed (I had to steal a couple of air conditioners to keep my blood bank refrigeration unit from failing in the heat of an Iraqi summer, but that is another story). Now that I am home, I often see magnetic stickers, signs in stores, and political ads with the phrase ?We Support the Troops.? The problem is, actions speak far louder than words. Veterans are being looked at as an expense, as a way to reduce the deficit, and a burden. Many of your fellow Republicans are just as bad about trying to balance the budget on the backs of us who have already given more than other citizens. There are many other areas, even within the Pentagon budget, that should and could be cut before veteran’s benefits. However, those who benefit from those programs are often generous donors with lobbyists. Veterans do not have this level of access, sadly.
Mr. Coburn, stop being a politician for a bit, stop being a ?conservative?, and be a doctor. We are wounded. We are disabled, and broken by this war. Our families are hurting, and we are more than a campaign slogan and a convenient budget device. We are Americans, we took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America. We have paid in blood, flesh, and seen horrors that perhaps you would have a hard time imagining. All we want is that the help and care that was promised to us when we raised our right hand and swore that oath.
Personally, I do not believe that is an unreasonable request.
Sincerely, Bryan Trim (Al Asad, Iraq 2008-2009)
