NORFOLK, Va. — The U.S. Army said on Friday it has implemented the Brandon Act, a law that aims to help service members seek mental health services.
The new policy will allow soldiers to confidentially seek mental health help through their leaders in the rank of staff sergeant or above, as well as charge leaders to "quickly and confidentially" connect them with resources.
Soldiers won't have to provide a reason or basis to request and receive a referral. Mental health providers will do the mental health evaluations as soon as possible and will provide necessary clinical care, according to the Army.
This policy applies to soldiers in the Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve who are on active duty for over 30 days.
“I call on leaders to continue making it clear that taking care of your mental health and your family is encouraged,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth wrote in a news release Friday.
“We must constantly look for additional ways to connect our Soldiers with the necessary resources for their well-being, and the Army’s new policy to implement the Brandon Act gives Soldiers another tool to seek help while honoring the legacy of Petty Officer Caserta.”
The Army's announcement comes days after the family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta, the person the law is named after, criticized the military branch for not implementing the law despite other branches having done so. Caserta died by suicide in Norfolk in 2018.
"It's gut-wrenching to see that they haven't implemented it, and they don't seem to care about it." Teri Caserta, Brandon Caserta's mother, told 13News Now on Monday.
13 News Now spoke to Teri and Patrick Caserta again on Friday, after news of the Army's decision to implement the Brandon Act had been published.,
"We're very happy. Words cannot express how elated we are with the Army. Unfortunately, we had to take this drastic measure to get attention, but I think we did the right thing," said Teri Caserta.
People are dying There is no more dire reason to do something than when people are dying.," said Patrick Caserta. ". It's not a fix. It's not perfect, but it's a start. We have a lot more work to do and we know this. And so does Congress and so does the military."
The legislation was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2021, as part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. It's designed to eliminate stigma and improve the referral process for service members seeking a mental health evaluation and allowing them to seek help confidentially.
According to the Defense Department's Annual Report on Suicides in the Military released last October, for calendar year 2021, the Army had the highest number of suicides among the U.S. military branches at 176, compared to the Navy which had 58, the Air Force which had 51 and the Marine Corps which had 43.