NORFOLK, Va. — After nearly four years of fighting the Navy for accountability and pushing for change, the parents of a deceased sailor can finally have a little peace.
It's all thanks to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, which has now become a law.
Last month, President Joe Biden signed the FY22 Omnibus spending bill which includes a provision called the Brandon Act, named after Teri and Patrick Caserta's late son and only child.
On June 25, 2018, aviation electrician Brandon Caserta died by suicide. His parents said he was bullied, hazed and harassed by other service members and was despondent over his circumstances.
The 21-year-old took his own life by throwing himself into the spinning tail rotor of an MH-60s helicopter at Naval Station Norfolk.
A command investigation determined that belligerent and brash leadership at HSC-28 contributed to Brandon's decision to end his own life.
"You're talking years of abusive, toxic leadership," said Brandon's father, Patrick Caserta, in an interview with 13News Now on Thursday. "It's just sad that this sort of stuff is so rampant in the military."
The Brandon Act is designed to protect service members who experience mental health emergencies and reduce the stigma around reporting.
The bill will now allow service members to anonymously seek mental health treatment, if necessary, outside of the chain of command and requires a mental health evaluation as soon as he or she self-reports.
Brandon's parents hope with this bill now finally law, other moms and dads won't have to go through what they have.
"We've got to keep going," said Brandon's mother, Teri Caserta. "The Brandon Act is a start. It's a good start. We're happy about it. But, there's a lot more that needs to be done."
The Defense Department has set May as a target for the Brandon Act to be fully implemented and ready to be used by service members.
Brandon Caserta was one of 325 active duty service members who died by suicide in 2018.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month ordered the creation of a new, independent committee to review suicides in the military and find ways to improve suicide prevention and response programs.
"It is imperative that we take care of all our teammates and continue to reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority," Austin wrote to the Pentagon's senior leadership. "One death by suicide is one too many. And suicide rates among our service members are still too high."
Recommendations should be delivered to Congress by February 2023.