INDIANAPOLIS – A law that requires mental health assessments for all service members has been implemented.
Introduced by Sen. Joe Donnelly in 2014, the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It requires all service members to get annual health assessments, including those of the active, Guard and Reserve components.
The law was named after an Indiana National Guardsman, from Farmland, who took his life in 2009 while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan. Between three and seven service members commit suicide in Indiana each year.
"As a veteran myself, I knew back then that you just bucked up and ate it. You kept your feelings to yourself. But, we can't do that any longer,” said Jeff Sexton, who lost his son.
The law will also require The Pentagon to evaluate existing mental health services and find ways to improve them.
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