According to Defense Department data, suicides among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020. The numbers jumped by 15% in 2020 alone are nearly double the rate of the general population in the United States.

A report in 2021 from the Costs of War Project found that an estimated 30,177 active duty military personnel and veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks died by suicide, compared with the 7,057 killed in military operations during the two-decade war against terrorism.

My guests today are Teri and Patrick Caserta, parents of Brandon Caserta who died by suicide in 2018 as an active solider in the US Navy. They created The Brandon Act to allow the men and women who serve in the United States of America’s Armed Forces to get help without retaliation from anyone in their commands and will hold people accountable for their actions, if it is deemed necessary. It will allow them to get counseling for any issues they may have from bullying to sexual/mental/ domestic abuse among many other issues. With “The Brandon Act” in place, they hope to completely eliminate suicides in the Armed Forces.

Learn more about the Brandon Act here: https://thebrandonact.org

You can read the Department of Defense Annual Report on Suicide in the Military here: https://www.dspo.mil/Portals/113/Documents/ARSM_CY22.pdf

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