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Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us that mental health is essential to total force readiness. It provides an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve accomplished—and where we must do more—to ensure our service members, families, and civilian workforce receive the mental health support they need and deserve.
At the Department of Defense, we are building a culture where seeking mental health care is not only accepted—it’s fully supported. From policy change and digital modernization to prevention programs and peer leadership, the Military Health System is transforming how we identify, support, and treat mental health needs across the force.
One of the most impactful legislative reforms in recent years is the Brandon Act, named in memory of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta. His death by suicide underscored the need for a confidential, stigma-free process for service members to request mental health support.
The department implemented the Brandon Act in May 2023. In 2025, every service member–regardless of rank or component–can self-initiate a mental health referral confidentially, without command interference or delay. Education campaigns and policy updates across the services have reinforced this right. It is now embedded in unit-level practice and care pathways.
This act empowers our people. It saves lives. And it honors Brandon’s legacy.
Commitment to mental health requires robust access to care, but to truly achieve culture change requires empowering leaders and peers to engage people where they’re most comfortable in their healthcare experience. That’s why the department launched the BRAVE program (Behavioral Health Resources and Virtual Experience) in 2022. BRAVE began with 16 military hospitals and clinics and has since expanded to 43 facilities, with plans to add more. This growth reflects our commitment to integrating virtual mental health services across the MHS, enhancing support for service members and their families.
We also know that mental health and brain health are deeply intertwined. The Warfighter Brain Health Initiative is leading a holistic transformation across DOD, focusing on traumatic brain injury prevention, cognitive performance, sleep optimization, and neurocognitive surveillance.
In FY24, the department began performing baseline cognitive assessments at accessions and piloting new neurobehavioral tools for use in high-risk occupations. In 2024, more than 200,000 service members completed cognitive assessments. Additionally, at Fort Bragg, sleep interventions tied to cognitive performance tracking are helping reduce fatigue-related injuries and improve mission focus.
By investing in lifelong brain health, we are building a smarter, safer, and more adaptable force.
We continue to expand the Embedded Mental Health model, which brings licensed mental health professionals into operational units. Across the MHS, EMH teams have reduced wait times, improved trust in care, and increased early intervention referrals. EMH ensures that mental health is not something a service member has to go out and find–it’s already in the room!
The department has also modernized mental healthcare delivery through the Behavioral Health Data Portal, now integrated with MHS GENESIS. Clinicians across DOD can use standardized assessments to measure symptom improvement, track treatment progress, and tailor interventions in real time.
This data-driven approach ensures we are not only delivering care—we’re delivering the right care, at the right time, with measurable results.
Our most valuable resource is our people. Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy. DOD is taking an evidence-based, multi-level approach to prevention. For example, at Naval Base San Diego, commanders piloting unit-based suicide prevention check-ins reported improved trust and earlier detection of distress. Recognizing the need for a solution within the U.S. Air Force, the 59th Medical Wing collaborated with operational units to implement the Military Aviator Peer Support program. Modeled after commercial aviation peer support systems, MAPS provides aviators with a confidential, nonmedical support network, in an effort to shift military aviation culture toward one that embraces mental wellness as a component of mission readiness.
This is not just a health issue–it’s a readiness issue, and a leadership responsibility.
We are also reinforcing our message through campaigns like Real Warriors, sharing authentic stories of recovery and strength, and through organizations like the Psychological Health Center of Excellence, ensuring every program we initiate is grounded in evidence and driven by impact.
As the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, I remain committed to making mental health care accessible, culturally competent, personalized, and proactively integrated into performance, safety, and retention planning.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we celebrate the progress we’ve made–and recommit to the work ahead. Every service member should know help is available, hope is real, and your mental health matters!
Together, we are building a military where strength includes seeking support–and where no one fights alone!
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2025 12:19 |
| Story ID: | 496580 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Strengthening Mental Health Support Across the Force: A Commitment to Action and Access, by Dr. Stephen Ferrara, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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