NORFOLK, Va. - — For Teri and Patrick Caserta, it's been a long time coming for the implementation of the law named after their son Brandon.
On Friday, the Pentagon began implementing the Brandon Act to help give service members more options to get mental health treatment.
"For you, what does this day mean?" News 3 reporter Brendan Ponton asked Teri.
"You know I have a lot of emotions," Teri answered. "One is that now maybe suicides in our military will go down."
Brandon Caserta took his own life in 2018 at Naval Station Norfolk. His parents say he was bullied by his squadron command.
Since then,they've pushed for change. In late 2021, President Biden signed the Brandon Act into law, but it's taken the Pentagon more than a year to implement.
The Casertas attended a signing ceremony at the Pentagon on Friday as the implementation began.
The Brandon Act allows service members to start the process to get a mental health evaluation for any reason, at any time, and in any environment. It also protects their confidentiality as much as possible.
"Now, it's going to be uniform that every command has to be proactively involved and if you need they need to support you and help you. They can't retaliate against you," said Patrick Caserta.
While they've been frustrated by the slow implementation, they believe it will help service members get treatment without worrying they could be jeopardizing their careers.
"I think the biggest feeling I have is that maybe this will not only end the stigma but [prevent] other families and service members from going through what Patrick and I have gone through and what Brandon has gone through," said Teri.
They do not believe their work is done despite the implementation and expect the law could need to be updated in the future.
"We know that our son would want us to do this and we know he's smiling down on us and is very happy about all this, but it's his legacy to save lives," said Patrick.
The implementation also drew applause from lawmakers.
"I’m glad DOD is finally implementing this important bill to honor Brandon and prevent future tragedies,” said Se. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), has been pushing the Dept. of Defense to implement it as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“While today is a step forward, I’m going to keep working to strengthen mental health resources for servicemembers in this year’s upcoming defense authorization bill," Kaine continued.
