The Coast Guard unveiled new measures last week to improve service members' access to mental health screening and treatment, requiring supervisors and commanders to refer personnel who request an evaluation as soon as it is practical.
In a Coast Guard-wide message Friday, Rear Adm. Dana Thomas, assistant commandant for health, safety and work-life, said that the service already provides informal support in most situations but adoption of guidance set forth in the Brandon Act, approved as part of the fiscal 2022 defense policy law, will formalize the approach.
“Each of us must remain willing and able to do all that is required to save another's life,” Thomas wrote in the message, ALCOAST 124/24.
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The Brandon Act, named for 21-year-old Brandon Caserta, a Navy aircrew aviation electrician's mate who died by suicide in 2018 in Norfolk, Virginia, requires commanders to respond immediately to requests from troops for mental health assessments and for the services to train members on their rights to access.
The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force implemented Brandon Act policies by September 2023. The law did not provide a timeline for adoption but stipulated that the armed forces, which include the U.S. Coast Guard, must ensure that members can request a referral regardless of basis.
In the message, the Coast…
