NORFOLK, Va. — It took 19 months from when President Joe Biden signed The Brandon Act until Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro this week directed that the department fully implement all of its provisions.
"It was hard. It makes you wonder if they really took it seriously," said Teri Casserta, mother of Navy sailor Brandon Casserta, who died by suicide in 2018.
Teri and her husband Patrick wish it had happened sooner. They are pleased that now, finally, other sailors will be able to seek stigma-free mental health care outside of their chain of command.
But, they want more.
They want the other branches to follow suit and pass similar reforms and they want justice for Brandon, who they say was bullied on the job to the point of taking his own life.
The Cassertas say 21-year-old Brandon was the victim of toxic leadership. They contend the people responsible within his chain of command for the death of their only child have never been properly held accountable.
"We're still out for justice for Brandon, and it's really, justice means accountability for those that did what they did," said Patrick. "That's what we want, we want accountability more than anything. We want accountability on these commanders, they need to be held accountable for this."
The parents have established the Brandon Casserta Foundation to end the epidemic of suicide in the Armed Forces and the veteran communities.