NDAA provision offers troops confidential access to mental health care

By NIKKI WENTLING STARS AND STRIPES • December 22, 2021

WASHINGTON — A measure to give service members easier and more confidential access to mental health care by allowing them to use a safe word was included in the annual defense spending bill that now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

The bill, titled the Brandon Act, was named for Brandon Caserta, a 21-year-old sailor who died by suicide June 25, 2018, at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.

A command investigation into Caserta’s death determined that belligerent and brash leadership of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 contributed to his decision to end his own life. He felt alone, stuck and afraid of retaliation, his parents said.

After a failed attempt to pass legislation last year, the Brandon Act was successfully added to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Congress approved the bill last week, and Biden is expected to sign it.

“We cannot be happier that the Brandon Act is in the NDAA,” his parents, Teri and Patrick Caserta said. “We cannot bring Brandon back, but the Brandon Act will honor our son in the way he would want. This is a military service member victory.”

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., led the measure in the House, and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., introduced the bill in the Senate. The goal of the bill is to create a pathway for service members to seek mental health evaluations in confidence, without disclosing to their command.

“America’s service members shouldn’t have to settle for a broken system that’s incapable of providing them with the mental health support they need, and today’s vote means they no longer have to,” Moulton said Dec. 15, when the Senate approved the NDAA.

Under the measure, the only information that service members would have to tell their supervisor or commanding officer is that they had a “Brandon Act concern” to receive a referral for mental health care, Moulton said.