WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAVY) — Nineteen months after President Biden signed the Brandon Act, the Navy and Marine Corps this week became the first of the armed services to order its implementation. The law protects confidentiality and improves access to mental health resources for service members in crisis.
As Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro signed the order Monday, he called Patrick and Teri Caserta, whose son Brandon was their inspiration for changing military culture when it comes to mental health. He was a Petty Officer Third Class assigned to a helicopter squadron in June 2018 when he died by suicide on Naval Station Norfolk.
“High-performing teams start with leaders who model trust, connection, respect, and teamwork,” said Del Toro in a Navy press release. “Maintaining naval superiority requires leaders to establish psychologically safe environments.”
The Casertas praised Del Toro for his concern for their determination to turn their tragedy into treatment for others, calling him “a class act”. They spoke with 10 On Your Side Tuesday from their home in Arizona.
“It puts pressure on the commands to do the right thing,” said Patrick Caserta, a Navy veteran himself.
The order enables sailors and Marines to initiate mental health evaluation (MHE) on their own, a provision that the Casertas weren’t exactly expecting.
“It’s amazing,” said Teri Caserta. “(Del Toro) added that they didn’t need a referral, which honestly we didn’t even think about.”
It will also require Navy and Marine commanding officer and supervisors to:
- Ensure service members understand how to request an MHE
- Ensure they get a provider as soon as practicable
- Treat referrals for MHEs similar to those for medical services
- Maintain privacy and reduce stigma by not requesting information from providers on the results of the MHE
- Get training so they can recognize personnel who may be in crisis.
“The stigma of asking and getting help is awful, because they get retaliated against,” Teri said. An investigation found that Brandon was mocked by his chain of command, and assigned menial duties beneath his qualifications as a helicopter electrician because he had earlier washed out of SEAL training, a grueling course few are able to complete.
The new law now holds leaders accountable if they don’t follow the rules.
“Especially if something bad was to happen, even (a suicide) attempt, not necessarily a death, they’re gonna be held accountable from this day forward,” Patrick said.
The Casertas’ determination that their son’s life and death would have meaning for other military members in despair gained even greater importance in recent years, with clusters of Navy suicides involving sailors assigned to USS George Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, supported the legislation from the beginning.
“In Brandon’s case the mental health issues were driven by a toxic chain of command, so people have to have mechanisms where they can seek assistance outside the chain of command,” he said.
“Seeking help is a sign of strength,” said Capt. Christine O’Connell, acting director of Department of the Navy Office of Force Resiliency. “It requires courage, vulnerability, and a deep understanding of our own humanity.”
The Casertas said they get continuous requests for support from Navy families with loved in ones in crisis through their Brandon Caserta Foundation. A family they’ve been working with made a breakthrough this week. That’s evidence the Brandon Act is already working. A parent told them her Navy daughter invoked the Brandon Act Monday, and now has medication and a mental health treatment plan.
“(The mother) said without our pushing for the Brandon Act, she doesn’t believe that her daughter would be getting the help that she is now getting that she couldn’t get before the Brandon Act,” Teri said.
The Army, Air Force and Coast Guard will have to fall in line with the Brandon Act as well.
“Now we just need to make sure that the Navy and Marines execute it in a good fashion,” Kaine said.
The Casertas believe the Brandon Act will help the Navy, Marines and eventually the rest of the military with recruiting, and they believe it will also be a gateway for people to see what resources are available, which are included in the Navy Mental Health Playbook.