“Brandon Act” Looks to Stop Bullying
Brandon Caserta
FoxNews10 out of Phoenix is reporting that a bill has been submitted to Congress that will help curb bullying in the military. The bill was named after Navy sailor Brandon Caserta, who took his own life after joining the fleet once he did not make it through BUD/S, which is prerequisite training to become a Navy SEAL.
‘Brandon Act’ looks to help active duty service members report bullying without retaliation
PEORIA, Ariz. – A Peoria family hopes their son’s suicide in the Navy leads to some good for all men and women in uniform.
A bill now in Congress, the Brandon Act, looks to give service members more options for mental health.
Brandon Caserta wanted nothing more than to be a Navy SEAL, but unfortunately, a broken leg derailed his dream, and following a transfer in the Navy, things got much worse.
“He was bullied and hazed from the moment he got in that command. I think he was targeted because he did not make it through the SEAL program,” said his mother Teri Caserta.
He took his own life in 2018 when he threw himself into the tail rotor of a helicopter. His parents live in Peoria and made it a mission to not let his death be in vain.
“He left us a letter and it was detailed and he asked us to get justice for him, and we will get justice for him,” said his father Patrick Caserta.
Caserta’s family said his chain of command ignored Brandon’s pleas for help.
This is where the Brandon Act comes in. It was introduced by Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton.
“It provides a way for service members to report any sort of hazing or abuse outside the chain of command if they need to if they fear any sort of retaliation from telling their commanders about what’s going on,” Moulton explained.
While there are still many hurdles to clear, the Caserta family hopes Brandon’s legacy will help those in the military who may need it most.
“Active duty that need help will get the help they need with no retaliation. It could be anything, hazing bullying, you name it, it covers it,” his father explained.
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How tragic for these parents and hazing can reach the point of unacceptabilty, but it’s a double edged sword here. Hazing made most of us better and tougher in our military careers. This may promote the weaklings.
Hack is inclined to disagreeing with you. There is “good natured hazing” where you send the newbie to ask the Staff Sergeant where do they keep the PRC-E6’s, and then you get the guys who go way over the line. Examples include but are not limited to the Marines about 20 years back on Camp Hansen having a “trust exercise” where the drunkenly held Marines outside the window on the Fourth floor, only to drop him to his death; the idiots down at Camp Kinser who left a Marine duct taped in his rack all weekend, which permanently crippled him; and any number of stupid things that impact the good order, discipline and unit cohesion.
As far as this Sailor is concerned, who the fuck in the fleet had the right to haze him for not completing BUDS? Everyone knows what you need to go through just to be approved to attend school, and these jackoffs probably can’t even run a mile without an ambulance on standby. He tried, he failed. But he gave it a shot. Haven’t heard anything about him strutting around like Steven Seagal in the mess gallery, but he gave an effort. Would like to know how far it went that he took the most graphic way of ending his life.
Shit, I got hazed bad until I made NCO.
Especially since he didn’t complete BUDS because of a broken leg. Good on him for trying, but not succeeding in something so difficult is nothing to be ashamed of.
Jeez, Hack, did your boyfriend forget and not pull out of your azz last night, so much bitterness
I knew this was going to happen: Duffle Blog spilled the beans on this whole program a few months ago. Get some Kleenex. Read it and weep.
https://www.duffelblog.com/2012/11/us-army-delays-prc-e8-program-robotic-first-sergeants-not-ready-for-overseas-deployment/
“. . . he threw himself into the tail rotor of a helicopter”
Cripes! He was serious about it.
Yeah, how wild is that? To look at the spinning blades and decide that is your best option. Sad.
Had it been me, I’d have pointed out that unlike those fuck sticks, I tried. His injury was not his choice… at least he was present for training and undoubtedly did his best before that happened.
Those who drove him to this deserve to live the rest of their lives with guilt around their necks like a lead weight.
Rest In Peace.
I should add that this my comment was for those who would go after someone for simply not making it through something as arduous as SEAL training. I would personally respect someone who was there, whether or not they made it. Not sure what exactly they did to him… but come on.
Agreed Deckie. Better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. How many of those hazing/bullying this sailor had at least tried to make it thru the course?
As the runt of the litter and a skinny looking, wormy fella, I pretty much had to get into a scrap every year going thru school. Usually within the FIRST week. And usually gave back as good if not better than I received. That crap finally stopped about the 8th grade when the word got out that the (much larger than me) punk ass that had snatched my hat off had to have his testicles iced down to relieve the massive amount of swelling caused by a swift kick he received there. The broken nose from the head butt got his attention too. Bring every weapon to bear.
The more you let someone get away with something, the more they are going to try to get away with…everything.
Reprisal is already against the UCMJ and US Code. You can report bullying outside your chain of command already – Chaplain, IG, etc. While his story is tragic I’m not sure what this Act accomplishes.
That’s what I was wondering. More people in Congress “fixing” a problem. The law of unintended consequences means they fuck three or four other things up in the process of their “fix.”
I blame his suicide on his parents, who failed to raise him as a resilient individual.
External stimuli only drive people to suicide when they are already weak on the inside. Internal strength and resilience is developed early, during the first 12 years of life.
Ultimately though, that was his decision, and he made the decision to commit suicide, which I agree was a bad decision, a permanent solution for temporary problems, since ALL problems are temporary, and a solution that did not take into account the suffering he inflicted on his loved ones left behind, but, it is his decision.
At least he didn’t do like the shitbags that take other people with them, or did a suicide by cop.
I’ve seen some absolute studs driven to the brink. And in a few cases over.
Everyone has a breaking point. Some don’t get stressed to that point. Some have a higher threshold than others. But we all have a breaking point. Failure to recognize that is foolish ignorance.
The notion that mental health is all a matter of will power is a part of the reason there is such a lack of mental health resources and a stigma attached to seeking help.
This young man may have been mentally weak and had a lower threshold. Or he may have been stronger than you or I put together. Neither of us know.
Yet again, Hack is inclined to disagree. Don’t personally know any (legitimate) SEALs, but more than likely they probably have to undergo and pass physical and mental evaluations before scoring a slot in the school. If he was mentally fragile before reporting to Coronado, his Command would never recommend/endorse him. Much like the B Billets in the Marine Corps, a slot in BUDS is highly competitive and they don’t won’t to waste time and money on someone who would definitely fail the training.
When I retired in 2012 the standard for selection to BUDS was a physical and passing the run/swim/pull up/crunches. That’s it. No real mental screening. The mental weeding out happens during the course.
Hack is surprised hearing that. Since the performance requirements for SEALs are so stringent, you would think that they would screen the candidates to ensure that they are mentally, morally, and physically qualified before cutting them orders.
That can’t be right.
Even Drill Sergeant School requires a mental/psych eval, let alone all the other sexy schools and selection courses.
BUD/S itself is the mental screening. You can ring out any time you want and be done with it.
The reasons DSs have to have a psych is to try and prevent the sociopaths and sadists from being in sole charge of 100 vulnerable recruits. You don’t want the guy who is a sex addict with impulse control issues put in charge of the female platoons.
That’s my fantasy….
Nah, you need to learn a little more of his story to understand just how fucked up his entire CoC was in this case, and how they totally disrespected his family after the fact.
That being said, 3E9 is right. Not sure what this law will accomplish that doesn’t already exist.
One of the most bad assed Corpsman who I ever served with was a BUDS dud. Aggie was a great guy and absolutely fearless.
I know nothing about this particular Sailor but adding a new regulation/law because of one tragic instance is knee jerk and will likely result in more bad than good over the long term.
The solution for stupid levels of hazing is smart and tough leadership. Not more laws or regulations. Nothing, and I mean nothing, replaces competent leadership.
^^THIS^^, far too many Senior types always think that another bucket of regulations will fix things while the result is the polar opposite.
“He was bullied and hazed from the moment he got in that command. I think he was targeted because he did not make it through the SEAL program,” said his mother Teri Caserta.
Complete and uterly bullshit.
Nobody gets hazed for failing an elite school, which most people cannot even dream of attending pass day one.
His hazing, or bullying, or whatever the hell actually happened, could have not been related to failing BUDS.
More likely, he got the regular soft verbal hazing most privates get when arriving to a new unit, and his little soft mind gave up.
You know nothing of the sort, Joe. Nor do I know whether he did or did not get excessive ribbing for failing to finish what most of us could not qualify to begin.
What IS obvious is that he did not get whatever support he needed to keep from taking his own life. What he needed may or may not have been something the military could have provided. We just don’t know, and likely never will.
When members of this sailor’s family find this post, I hope that they see that most of us are wishing them peace as they deal with this tragedy.
Ah, so that’s what you fear, and therefore the audience for your post.
Ok, I get it.
I for one, I have no problem pointing to the fact that this family is trying to change policy in the military.
There are already strong regulations against hazing, and the system largely works, with some exceptions like this case.
I have been in the Army for the last 15 years, all in line infantry units with the exception of my current position as an instructor, and I have never seen a case hazing bad enough to break anyone to the point of suicide.
Verbal hazing is still common, but physical hazing? The worst I have seen is shower workout, getting smoked in the shower in full uniform to “wash out the joe”, when an E-4 gets promoted to E-5 Sergeant.
I don’t count getting smoked doing regular physical exercises as hazing, since those only makes you stronger.
I would consider demeaning exercises like waking the gopher and face push ups as hazing, but those are long gone, and were not as physically demanding as a regular workout.
No fear here. And the audience was you, Joe. (That might explain why I addressed the comment specifically to you, Joe.)
We are not going to engage in a game of whose is bigger either. I was simply pointing out to you that neither of us knows what did or did not lead to the suicide. It might or might not have been something the military could have helped prevent.
The fact remains that circumstances we (that’s you and I) will most likely never know about aligned to produce his feeling that suicide was his best option. Never good. Always painful for those close to him to process.
We (again, that’s you and I) might even agree on the point that “bullying” will never be eliminated if that was part of the point you were trying to make. It goes on every day, in a wide variety of ways. (Like people tearing down statues of people they never heard of just because they can.)
In 1972 (when the 101st Airborne Division was still on jump status) I went to Jumpmaster School with a few other Pathfinders. One of them was a 1LT who was — throughout his life — uniformly Number One in all his schools: high school, college, ROTC, infantry officer basic, etc. etc.
He whizzed through the Jumpmaster course, maxing all the written and performance tests.
Then, at the “final exam” Jumpmaster Personnel Inspection (JMPI) he missed an unseated canopy release assembly, a major flaw that would probably cost a jumper his life. It was an automatic, immediate, ignoble, course ending failure.
Our Company Commander and his senior 1LT spent the entire night with the lieutenant who had flunked the course. The 1LT was suicidal, “I’m a failure … this is the end of my Army career … .”
By morning the shock of it was over, and within days he was enrolled in the next class (which he passed), but that’s where commanders have to step out up and actually lead.
Sounds like this young SEAL candidate didn’t have that kind of command presence.
Charles,
Interesting that in 1972 a single Major NOGO caused him to fail the course. I attended Jump Master in 1996 (obviously standards change) and while it did make you fail the test, you were allowed to retest once. While I myself did not miss a MAJOR NOGO, I had asked the Black Hat for a 1 minute time hack…he said I immediately went into slow motion after he gave it, causing me to miss the time limit by 1 second. My retest I passed with 25 seconds to spare.
I do agree with you, that many over achievers inevitably fail, and when they do it is often difficult for them to understand it is not the end of the world.
I can relate a story of my buddy who went to a certain Army Unit qualification school. He made it all the way through, and was told “thank you, but you are not right for the unit”. He said, ok, and left. Inside he was furious, and related as such to me. We talked about it and whether it was really what he wanted to do or was it just something cool. I had not made it as far as he did. He thought about it, and decided it was something he wanted to do and called the recruiter back the next day to find out how long he had to wait to try out again. We were both scheduled to PCS to Italy in a few months. When I got there, I asked when he was due in? The unit said he was not on the list of due ins, and Infantry Branch gave me a funny reply “we have no one by that name on our roles”. I was told by another buddy that sometimes during the mental evaluation, the particular unit may want to determine if you have what it takes mentally to join such a unit. They will purposely mislead you to believe you failed…to see if you are resilient! Do you pick yourself up and try again, or do you quit!
Did the Black Hats hide a tiny piece of paper behind the buckle way back than also?
If he threw himself into a prop because he was being teased, he had more problems then just failing at BUDS..my whole first 4 yrs in the Corps was one non stop bullying fuck fest lololol, I loved it,it made me a much better Marine, and person that I am today,BTY im still looking for the sling for a 106 RR that SSGT Coons set me on a `critical mission on` lolololol fuck me hahaha 12 hours roaming around K Bay as a E1 looking for the right sling….those were the dayz…
Were you on this blog when Hack told the story of assigning a freshly graduated 2841 to pulling targets on the flame thrower range at 3rd Combat Engineers? Got a lot of positive feedback on that one.
You’ve got nuttin on the FEMALE Sailor sent in search of fallopian tubes…TWICE.
They are always in the last place you look.
I’ll say Try being the lowest TIG E5 in a BCT Company! Worked every Sunday, and had to take Troops to all make up training. Schedule was 0500am till 2100 hrs. I would meet myself coming to work. Didn’t see my wife awake for 4 months. That was 18 months of hell 1969 style.
I recall in recent Miss America pageants that I tuned into that a big thing was the anti-bullying platform.
They were going to use their platform as Miss America to fight against bullying…
… and advocate for world peace.
I still have my fingers crossed.
Rest in peace, shipmate.
Of course i wasnt there, but in 25 years in the USN, i can’t even imagine someone being bullied for being medically dropped from one of the navy’s toughest schools.
I worked with a guy who rang the bell for very valid personal reasons. Great Sailor, human being, and studly as they come. Never entered our minds to razz him. And trust me, there was plenty of razzin going on!
I saw Marines have to race down to a bucket, drop their pants and pick up a frozen grape on the top of the bucket with their butt checks. They then had to walk it down to another bucket without dropping it and put it down on the top of the second bucket. If they dropped it they had to eat the grape.
This was pretty traumatic but I didn’t see anyone commit suicide over it.
When hazing became taboo after the Marines filmed themselves pounding on jump wings, the grape race became a casualty.
Not to minimize this case, however. People’s tolerance and response to social stress is all over the place and difficult to measure.
While “Blood Wings” are no longer a required activity, I do recall several ceremonies where individuals pinned their own wings on (and forgot the backing) and encouraged others to “rub or massage their wings for good luck”!
I myself earned mine before the ban, and when my fellow Jump Masters pinned on my Senior Wings, may have taken a few steps in their joyous embrace of me to celebrate my achievement. I recall some of the incidents that lead to the ban, and one was similar to mine where an overzealous individual missed the chest and broke the collar bone. I did not brake my collar bone but I did have to get picked up off the flour after a senior NCO that outweighed me by close to 100lbs bumped me too aggressively.
I can see where hazing originates, and why it continued. But as I experienced in college (and the Army…see above) some individuals did not understand the reason and failed to put in mitigation measures to ensure it did not go to far. Sometimes it was the case of someone felt others went to far with them, and they thought to make it worse for others as a means to retaliate on those they could not touch (never works out that way).
Hazing does not work. Traditions explained and established can be retained, so long as risk mitigation measures are put in to place to ensure those who do not want to participate don’t have to, and those that do participate are not injured…or worse.
I don’t often rage-post. I have deleted three on this one so far.
Where the fuck were his “leaders” ?
Where the fuck were his “squad mates”?
That is one fucked up unit.
RIP
I don’t how he planed on being a SEAL if driving a car terrified him, sounded like a mental heath issue before enlistment.
I do not know the whole story behind his death. I can bet his parents’ version of it is probably far from the truth.
Never had much give a shit for those that want to kill themselves. Too much of my energy for such things is dedicated to those who are fighting to live.
I will give twinkle toes extra points for being creative. Of course he didn’t need to be such a sparkle pony about it, he could have quietly walked off the fantail during midrats.
Killing oneself is always a permanent wrong solution to a temporary problem. Mentally healthy people don’t off themselves because of some military school setback. Twenty-three men in my Ranger class were sent back to Benning from Florida Ranger Camp in a couple of Deuce-and-a-half’s after fully completing Ranger school but not being awarded the Tab. Two of them were Navy SEALs. None of them committed suicide. I would put money on the fact that his washout due to an injury at BUD/S had little to do with his suicide.
I firmly believe that suicide is the sincerest form of self criticism. Suicide is often a symptom of deep seated personality defects and is in many cases revenge on his perceived tormentors. “They’l be sorry once I’m dead” is the rational of a narcissistic personality defect. This kid was doomed from an early age. Suicide is a cruel prank on your loved ones and never a good form of revenge.
There seems to be a bit more to the story.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/06/08/his-suicide-note-was-message-navy-way-he-died-was-exclamation-point.html
Holy schnikes. A soup sandwich of a Sailor (too scared to drive a car) and a command that continued to drop the ball even after he killed himself.
If that article is even close to be truthful, then big Navy needs to go through that chain of command with a chain saw.
The kid (along with looking like Alfred E. Neuman) had “snowflake” issues and a douche for an NCO… not a good combination
This is from the article that timactual posted:
“Because of the injury, Caserta’s orders were canceled and he was sent back to selling candy and snacks for several months.”
I don’t understand this. Is there a speciality in the Navy where a Sailor sells candy and snacks?
Have spent some time on ships for joint purposes, so trying to figure out or remember if some of those ships had a canteen that sold sodas, tobacco products, magazines, cookies, candy, etc to Sailors while the ship was on waters…please help this ignorant Soldier.
Also read this and am still confused:
“Caserta wasn’t a SEAL, but now he wasn’t even using his new training. He was working in what’s called the “resale outlet.”
“They had him selling candy. The government spent $300,000 to send him to school and his command had him selling candy,” Patrick Caserta said.”
https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/parents-of-norfolk-sailor-who-died-by-suicide-fighting-to-change-military-culture/
Evidently he did not go to a school after basic training and thus had no “rate”, MOS to us Army types. After leaving BUDS training he was sent to a helicopter squadron where he became a “striker” for an aviation electrician’s rate. A “striker” is someone working towards a rating (MOS) by OJT and self-study. Since he was actually not qualified to do any real job he was assigned all the odds and ends until he finished training and passed various tests. In the Army, that would be a “duty soldier”.
That’s my theory, anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_enlisted_rates
Evidently my theory doesn’t apply to Brandon Caserta. My bad.
ninja:
From the linked article:
‘In the weeks leading up to Brandon Caserta’s death, friends said little seemed amiss with the smiling sailor they knew from the “gedunk,” or canteen, at Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 out of Norfolk, Virginia.’
Navy and Marine Corps squadrons typically have a hangar deck gedunk in the squadron spaces that sells soda, candy (pogey bait), snacks, etc. Usually supervised by squadron senior enlisted personnel, and manned on a rotational basis by junior enlisted members who are new to the squadron, awaiting additional training, etc. Profits typically go towards support for junior enlisted squadron personnel in need and so forth.
‘…He had applied for a transfer to the naval aircrewman rating and was accepted. But another accident happened. Caserta broke his collarbone while riding his bicycle, threatening his chance to make the move’
Long story short, Caserta had been accepted to be trained as a Naval Aircrewman, but he broke his collarbone which obviously had him in a ‘med down’ status for flight training until he healed up, so it sounds like they put him in the gedunk while he recovered from his injury.
Nothing unusual or sinister in any of this from what I saw during a career in Naval Aviation.
Saved round: yes, USN ships have a Ship’s Store on board where the crew and embarked troops can purchase snacks, sodas, hygiene items, etc. It’s run by the ship’s Supply Department.
Mick, thank you for the info.
TZhis is what Brandon’s parents said in this link:
https://militarycorruption.com/brandon-caserta/
“The first assignment Brandon was sent to in HSC-28 was as a clerk in the geedunk bar. A Gedunk bar (or geedunk) bar is the canteen or snack bar of a large vessel or squadron where candy and other food items are sold.”
“The term was first recorded in Leatherneck Magazine in 1931. A service member who works in the geedunk bar is traditionally referred to only as the “geedunk guy,” or more informally as a “geedunkaroo”. The term was popular during World War II.”
“At HSC-28, as with other units in the military, they do not always allow personnel a break for lunch or dinner so they have the geedunk stand so people can grab a bite to eat without leaving their unit. A geedunk is manned by 1-3 people, and this is where Brandon found himself working.”
“Brandon was trained to become an aviation electrician. The cost of his training was in the neighborhood of $100,000. He was then sent to another school which cost the tax-payers an additional $75,000. If one was to multiply $175,000 times three people operating a geedunk stand, the tax payers being screwed as much as $525,000 U.S. sailors to be candy salesmen. Did you know that virtually every single aviation squadron has a geedunk stand being operated by rated personnel.”
“Geedunk work is supposed to be a 90-day assignment; but since Brandon was rated an aviation electrician, he should have never been assigned to a geedunk stand. Logic would demand that he be assigned to the appropriate division for his rating from the moment he arrived.”
Again, for this ignorant Soldier: Is Canteen duty a “demeaming”, humilating job for a Sailor?
He worked the candy stand while recovering from his broken leg the first time. The second time was after he broke his collarbone in a bicycle accident.
Funny timeline in that article. A few other things I consider odd or inaccurate, also.
Back in the day larger skimmers had commissary or gedunk sales, run by SH rating.
No idea who does it now. Of course, on the boat, we did our own laundry and brought our own gedunk, smokes, etc.
The command had problems if what is in the article is accurate; the kid wasn’t wrapped too tightly either, too scared to drive? Or a matter of “if I don’t have a license I don’t have to pull duty driver”? Have to restart quals when you’re already most of the way through…where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah happened to the Doc’s in the BAS. Twice. Bad situation all around.
If one has the time, please read what Brandon’s parents wrote about their son’s suicide. It is lenghty, but gives insight on Brandon and his parents and the way Brandon was raised: https://militarycorruption.com/brandon-caserta/ I am coming out being forthright on this. Brandon’s father served 22 years in the Navy. Possibly Patrick Caserta had one time wanted to be a Navy SEAL and had consciously or unconsciously tried to relive his life thru his son by encouraging him to become a SEAL, to make Mommy & Daddy proud of him. Just my personnel assessments based on what I have discovered about other folks lives, i.e. follow the family. Brandon’s parents were not with him when he went thru all of his training as well as being on a ship. They took their son’s story at face value. Am coming across harsh, but the parents are blaming the Navy for their son’s suicide (they call it murder). They come across as parents who believe their son could never do wrong, was perfect in everyway and who knows, perhaps brainwashed him in thinking he was perfect or as shared before, his father was trying to relive his life through his son. Suicide is a mental disease that is brought on by many factors. Genetics, Family Upbringing and a Brain deficiency hiccup play a huge role as to why a person ends their life. We don’t know the demons or darkness a person carries inside their head. Some hide those demons by being class clowns or trying to make others laugh to help conquer their own demons (think Robin Williams). Others turn to religion to battle those demons. Sadly, our society still shuns or mocks those who have “suicidal” thoughts or behavior. However, that person has to be willing to reach out to others for help and not be stigmitize for having those thoughts. And yes, if it turns out they have a narcisstic personality disorder, they will never admit they have a problem. Brandon defitinely had a brain hiccup that was most likely shaped by his genes and his family upbringing. IMHO, DON’T… Read more »
Sadly the everybody gets a trophy, my son/daughter is a perfect little cherub and would never do xyz mentality played a major role in this. I don’t advocate child abuse, (my dad was known to take a belt to me when he felt it was warranted) I think this one could have benefited from the occasional dope slap and being allowed to fail and suffer its’ consequences. Unfortunately, there will be fallout from this and everyone is going to suffer. This kid wanted the Navy to do things in his comfort zone on his schedule after his med drop from BUD/S – apparently nobody taught him that an E-3 don’t pack that kind of weight Navy brat or not. It’s too bad he chose to end it all, but I think his parents played a major role in this by allowing a sense of entitlement which is what I perceived from the way the article talked about him.
I tend to agree with you. The guy always seemed to be the victim of something or someone. He probably shouldn’t have been in the military at all.
His father pisses me off. If, that is, he is the actual author of that article. Some of that article appears to me to be disingenuous. For instance, a retired Navy career counselor should know scoring 70 on the ASVB(?) does NOT qualify you for your choice of training.
He worked the candy stand while recovering from his broken leg the first time. The second time was after he broke his collarbone in a bicycle accident.