Opinion: Veterans want to be seen as partners in strengthening communities

Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District is home to nearly 50,000 veterans — men and women who believed in our nation's ideals and trusted the politicians who sent us to war. Many served in combat, an equal opportunity trauma provider. Life and death decisions are often made by 18- and 19-year-olds who came for the GI Bill and stayed for the deployment. The gravity of those decisions stays with those of us who are veterans. Imagine trying to understand why you came home, but your best friend did not, as you celebrate your 20th birthday the month after returning from Iraq.

The support system we were promised would be there when we got home often falls short. Make no mistake, we're grateful for the benefits we receive relating to continued health care, education training and the like. But it’s also fair to recognize that there has been a failure to address veterans' deeper needs for community and understanding.

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In 2008, I joined the Marine Corps 2 weeks before my 18th birthday. In 2012, I found myself in Afghanistan as we began combat operations, and my company lost a young hospital corpsman, Clayton Beauchamp, to enemy action in August 2012. Since then, I’ve lost five close friends to suicide. The number of acquaintances or connections I’ve lost is too many to count.

Since leaving the Marine Corps in 2017, I’ve used my voice to advocate for veterans — from mentoring student veterans at the University of Oklahoma, to working as a congressional aide, to serving as outreach director for a veterans' mental health clinic. I’ve listened to veterans despondent in their struggle to reintegrate into the lives they left, however temporarily. We lose our sense of community when we move home, and government policies can’t fix that. We need trust and probably some grace to allow us to reintegrate and contribute to our communities.

The tragic reality is that 17 veterans die by suicide every day. I’m remiss in presenting it statistically ― those numbers represent mothers and spouses who are handed folded flags; battle buddies who didn’t realize their last phone call to their best friend was the one last ever. Every day brings 17 universes collapsing in on themselves, ejecting emotional debris far and wide. Veterans upheld our end of the bargain, sacrificing youth and health. In return, we face bureaucracy and reliance on nonprofits to access our benefits, and isolation.

Legislation can’t re-create the bonds forged in service; we should be trusted to build ourselves into our communities in our own ways post-service. I challenge our elected officials: stop viewing veterans as a legislative chore. Look at individuals and adjust your lens. See us as vital partners in strengthening communities. Invite veterans to community-centered events, not just veteran-specific ones. We've earned your trust, not just your words.

The way forward is clear. Veterans are already included in equal opportunity legislation, but what’s keeping our politicians from going further individually? A good start is to include veterans in advisory roles that influence veteran-focused policies. No one understands veterans' needs better than we do. It’s easy to find veterans ready to serve their communities again.

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If empowering veterans to rebuild our sense of purpose and belonging helps reduce daily veteran suicides from 17 to 16, it’s worth it. Anyone who has heard a 21-gun salute and taps would agree. Veterans can be a powerful force for positive change, but only when given the chance.

So, to our representatives: Do you believe in us as much as we believed in you? Your actions in the coming year will provide the answer. As for us veterans, we owe it to our battle buddies to keep that question in mind at the ballot box.

Brendan Clark is a fourth-generation Oklahoman, his 16 years of experience in veterans' issues began as an active-duty U.S. Marine in 2008 and transitioned to advocating for veterans during college in 2019. He served as a Green and Gold Congressional Aide from 2021 to 2023, as state outreach director for Oklahoma with a veterans mental health nonprofit, and is continuing his work as a senior adviser for Madison Horn for Congress.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Opinion: Veterans want to be seen as partners in strengthening communities