The story of a sailor who tragically ended his own life last year is reverberating on Capitol Hill, and prompting some to call for significant change.

In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand challenged military policies requiring that commanders be notified when service members seek mental health treatment.

She cited the suicide of Brandon Caserta, who jumped into the spinning tail rotor of a helicopter after leaving a note faulting his Norfolk command and the Navy for his feelings of despair. Military.com’s Patricia Kime was the first to make Caserta’s story public in a June report.

Gillibrand said that the 21-year-old aviation electrician’s mate’s fear of retribution from “toxic leadership” and “the possibility of a mental health care provider contacting his command may have dissuaded Brandon from seeking help.”

Capt. Michael Colston, a psychiatrist and director of Mental Health Programs, Health Services Policy and Oversight Office at the Department Of Defense, replied, “I think it’s a great point, ma’am.”

“It’s a hard question and one we don’t always have answers for,” said Colston, a 34-year Navy veteran who also testified at the hearing. “I’m not surprised to hear that we’ve fallen short of the mark at times.”

Related: His Suicide Note Was a Message to the Navy. The Way He Died Was the Exclamation Point

He said the military has several reasons for requiring that mental health treatment be reported to the chain of command, including the possibility that the individual seeking help might bring “harm to the mission.”

Read entire article: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/12/05/sailors-suicide-prompts-calls-better-mental-health-treatment.html?ESRC=eb_191206.nl