By Ed Royce
After spending over 200 days in a Mexican prison, Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi was finally released last Friday. He is now home with his family preparing to begin treatment for the post traumatic stress disorder he acquired while twice serving honorably on the battlefields of Afghanistan. I was there Friday night with his mother, Jill, and Rep. Matt Salmon to greet Andrew when he arrived on American soil.
Needless to say, Andrew was thrilled to be reunited with family and friends. Now he can receive the medical treatment he needs and get on with his life.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to travel to Mexico to visit Andrew earlier this year at his prison in Tecate.
I assured him then that his service to our country would be honored by our unwavering commitment to see his case resolved. His ordeal in Mexico is over, but our work supporting and advocating for all our veterans suffering from the physical and psychological wounds of war must continue.
Andrew Tahmooressi is a young Marine sergeant regarded by the fellow Marines with whom he served on the front lines in Afghanistan as unwavering and courageous. Indeed, the U.S. Marine Corps felt the same when they awarded him a Meritorious Battlefield Promotion to Sergeant during his time deployed to Helmand Province.
While in Afghanistan, Andrew suffered physical injuries as a result of an IED explosion, as well as serious psychological injuries in the form of combat PTSD.
This diagnosis was confirmed by the San Diego Veterans Affairs hospital less than ten days prior to his arrest at the Mexican border on charges of weapons possession. This confirmed that Andrew's brave service to his country resulted in his suffering hyper-vigilance, memory and cognition lapses and depression.
When I learned that Andrew's PTSD had worsened while jailed in the overcrowded and dangerous La Mesa Penitentiary in Tijuana, it was clear to me this Marine needed to come home immediately to receive the specialized treatment he needed. This was confirmed even after he had been moved to better conditions.
Last month, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled "Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi: Our Marine in Mexican Custody" to bring attention to his plight, but also to bring much needed focus on the importance of caring for our veterans, wherever they are, when they return from the battlefield.
Among the panel of witnesses that included Andrew's mother and Sgt. Robert Buchanan, Andrew's friend and brother in arms, was Peter Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America. In his testimony, Mr. Hegseth, himself a combat veteran, told my committee: "Let me assure you, Post Traumatic Stress -- or PTS -- is real. And, left untreated -- especially for those who partook in the horrors of war--it can be debilitating, and can develop into a life-long disorder. And it can also be deadly. Twenty-two veterans each day in America take their life -- and countless more struggle in silence."
"My bottom line," he went on to say, "to this committee and the Mexican government is this: Sergeant Tahmooressi needs, and deserves, immediate treatment for his Post Traumatic Stress so that he can move on with his life. Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and earth to ensure that those who [have] given so much receive the care they deserve. In combat, men like Sergeant Tahmooressi never had enough troops or enough air support, enough ammunition or enough time -- but they still got the job done. The same should be expected from the United States Government. No excuse for inaction, or a lack of results, is good enough. He should be released immediately. Full. Stop."
And that was my bottom line, too, which led me to call and press the Mexican Attorney General for Andrew's release.
But many people played a role in Andrew's release. The U.S. consulate in Tijuana did its job, looking after this brave American citizen as it looks after other Americans who get in trouble in Mexico. Andrew was jailed for too long, but at the end of the day, Mexican authorities did the right thing by throwing out charges that could have left Andrew imprisoned and without proper medical attention for years.
Also, the American people voiced their concerns in an impressive campaign conducted largely through social media. While we have many challenging issues with our southern neighbor, I am encouraged that this case was resolved. Resolved slowly, but resolved.
The Foreign Affairs Committee is charged with overseeing our policy throughout the world, including in dangerous corners where U.S. interests are threatened. When we commit the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, like Sgt. Tahmooressi, to combat, we must be committed to supporting and protecting them when they return. My efforts to help Sgt. Tahmooressi's release from Mexico were borne from my belief that the U.S. must honor its veterans; we must fight for them when the Veterans Affairs Administration won't; we must fight for them when they are looking to translate military service into civilian employment; and we must fight for them to heal their physical and psychological injuries.
I am overjoyed that Andrew is home with his mother, his family and his brothers in arms. But we must and we will continue standing by our brave veterans.