What follows is the story of Sergeant Coleman Bean, veteran of two tours in Iraq. Of Congressman Rush Holt, who sought to right a wrong in Sergeant Bean's name. And of course John McCain, who unleashes his spitefulness but manages to strike only wounded soldiers in his rage.
Today I want to tell you about a man named Coleman Bean. Bean served two tours in Iraq, the first of which was during the actual invasion in 2003. His second tour came several years later, after he'd been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Unfortunately, he'd been shifted out of the Army proper and into the Individual Ready Reserve. Soldiers in the IRR can be "called up" under limited Presidential authority, and that authority was used extensively to meet troop demands during operations in Iraq. But because they are not on active duty (they do not drill, train or receive pay), neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs saw Coleman as their responsibility.
Bean returned to Iraq in the summer of 2007. He came home eight months later with Sergeant's stripes on his sleeve. But his PTSD resurfaced shortly thereafter, and he encountered continuing difficulty receiving treatment. Appointments he made with the VA were perpetually postponed and delayed. He continued to suffer from severe anxiety and nightmares without any treatment. On September 6th, 2008 Coleman Bean took his own life.
This year a bill was introduced in the House by Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) after he was made aware of Coleman Bean's heartbreaking story. Titled the Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act of 2010, the bill aims to bring IRR soldiers back into the fold by making sure the VA recognizes them as veterans. The law moved through the House and was introduced in the Senate by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. Everything was on schedule and its passage was seen as all but certain, right up until last week. The provision was stripped from the Defense Appropriations Act by Arizona Senator John McCain. Despite pleas from Congressman Holt, McCain refuses to remove the hold.
In fact, Holt called McCain directly. And in a moment of political arrogance, McCain asserted that he was killing the provision because no one in Arizona needed the bill. It's not true, of course. There are over a hundred thousand men and women currently in the IRR, and yes, many of them are from Arizona. But even if it were true, it would be a shameful and callous comment to make. Does John McCain think that the life of a New Jersey soldier is some how less important or less valuable than the life of one from his home state?
McCain not only voted toauthorize the use of force in Iraq, but he has been a vocal proponent of the war both from his seat in the Senate and while on the campaign trail in 2008. As the ranking member on the United States Senate Armed Services Committee and a combat veteran himself, few members of the Senate should be more aware of the responsibility that the government has to its soldiers. He knows damn well that that responsibility doesn't begin and end at his own state's borders. The Senator's response was not only a dodge, it was insulting and cruel.
But more to the point, it showed McCain's ignorance. Our system simply fails to take responsibility for soldiers who are part of the Individual Ready Reserve. In fact, US General Accounting Office sited this as an issue as far back as 2003. Yet over 25,000 soldiers have been mobilized from this pool of soldiers by the Army alone during the War on Terror, and most of them fill vital leadership and command roles. And the military has repeatedly acknowledged that military suicide rates have increased despite efforts to understand and combat them.
McCain hasn't even given a reason (a real reason) for placing the hold on Holt's provision. Is it budget squabbling? I'm sure this is one bill the American taxpayers are proud to pay. Is it partisan pettiness? And if so, exactly how many ruined lives are the proper toll for Holt not having an (R) at the end of his name? His only given rationale was dismissive and smug - unbecoming of any elected representative, but especially of a senior member of the Senate.
John McCain's Washington Office:
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862