The Brandon Act was introduced into legislation following the death of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta, who died by suicide in 2018. The legislation is designed to protect the health of service members who experience mental health concerns and aims to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help.

On May 5, 2023, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros signed a memo directing actions to establish policy, assign responsibilities, and provide procedures for service members to seek support by requesting a referral through a commanding officer or supervisor for a mental health evaluation. The Department is also working closely with the Military Departments and the Defense Health Agency to establish additional guidance to support the implementation of the Brandon Act. 

The Defense Health Agency will work closely with the Military Departments on education and training to enable the Military Departments to educate all service members on the process to seek support by requesting a referral for a mental health evaluation. The Defense Health Agency will also work closely with the Military Departments to implement training for commanding officers and supervisors who receive requests from service members for a mental health evaluation to ensure requests are handled in an appropriate and timely manner.

The Brandon Act empowers service members to seek support by requesting a referral through a commanding officer or supervisor for a mental health evaluation. The new process allows service members to seek help confidentially, for any reason, at any time and in any environment, and aims to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help. Service members continue to have the option to contact a mental health care provider directly, without the involvement of their unit.

Yes. The Brandon Act covers service members serving on active duty and service members not serving on active duty. Implementation of the policy will occur in two phases beginning with all service members serving on active duty.

Implementation of the policy will occur in two phases. The first phase includes all service members serving on active duty. Phase two includes all service members not serving on active duty.  

The Defense Health Agency will work closely with the Military Departments on education and training to enable the Military Departments to educate all service members on the process to seek support by requesting a referral for a mental health evaluation. The Defense Health Agency will also work closely with the Military Departments to implement training for commanding officers and supervisors who receive requests from service members for a mental health evaluation to ensure requests are handled in an appropriate and timely manner.

Within 45 days of the release of the DOD policy, the Military Departments will establish processes to implement a self-initiated referral process for service members serving on active duty. 

The Department is committed to implementing the new policy for all service members.  DOD continues work to develop mechanisms to ensure prompt referral for mental health evaluations for individuals not on active duty who do not generally receive care through DOD.

The execution of any new policy can be complex and can take time to fully execute. Within 45 days of the release of the DOD policy, the Military Departments will establish processes to implement phase one of the policy. We are committed to full transparency and keeping our service members informed about the length of time it will take to execute each phase of the plan.

The implementation of any new policy can be complex. The Department is committed to diligently and thoughtfully working through the challenges associated with the development of procedures to ensure prompt referral for mental health evaluations for individuals not on active duty who do not generally receive care through DOD.

A DTM, or Directive Type Memorandum, is used by DOD to issue, change or cancel a DOD policy in an existing DOD issuance.

DTMs are only issued for time-sensitive actions and when time constraints prevent publishing a new issuance or incorporating a change to an existing issuance through the normal issuance change process. DTMs are not used to permanently change or supplement existing issuances and, in most cases, are effective for no more than 12 months from the date signed.

Nothing is more important to Department of Defense leadership than taking care of our people and ensuring their mental and physical health and well-being.

The implementation of any new policy can be complex. The Department is committed to diligently and thoughtfully working through the challenges associated with finalizing the details of the policy to help ensure service members receive mental health care when they need it, where they need it.

Anyone in crisis should immediately call 911 or the 988 Military Crisis Line. For non-crisis situations, there are numerous medical and non-medical mental health resources available to assist service members in need of mental health support. Find more information on available resources at health.mil/mentalhealth.

The Defense Suicide Prevention Office has a leaders guide: Leaders Suicide Prevention Safe Messaging Guide (dspo.mil) In addition, the Defense Health Agency and each of the Military Departments offer suicide prevention resources available here: health.mil/suicideprevention.