The Brandon Act was introduced into legislation following the death of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3^rd 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.