My regular reader (hi, Jeff!) will recall I often mount my rickety soapbox to decry hypocrisy. Few things outrage me as much as the type of hypocrisy we are seeing on a near-daily basis from the national Republican Party, and I’m very tempted to write yet another column in which I call out examples of the GOP’s outrageous behaviors (Editor: please, no).

You know, things like condemning President Joe Biden as too old, while still supporting Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is actually nine months older than Biden, and has recently had not one but two episodes in front of cameras in which he just faded out for the better part of a minute, unable to speak or move. Oh, and as an aside, I strongly feel that after decades of service, it is far past time for California Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest serving senator ever, to resign.

And so, my indignation at hypocrisy matches up really well with a column I’d like to write today about our state’s ongoing national embarrassment, U.S. Rep. Lauren Bobert. No doubt you’ve seen the reports she and a gentleman friend (whom, according to various reports, is a Democrat who owns a bar in Aspen where – gasp – drag shows take place) misbehaved while watching a musical version of the movie “Beetlejuice.”

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Her initial statements dismissed the kerfuffle as her just enjoying the music too much and singing along too loudly. But then she learned there is actual video footage of her and her date in the theater, and she was, in fact, vaping (and blowing the smoke on a pregnant lady who complained), taking pictures and video of the show (which is against the rules for us mere mortals) and other shenanigans that I won’t list here, in case there are any kids reading my column (Ed: really? You think there might be?). Yet no doubt she will continue to spout the GOP line on family values and such, even while behaving like an ass.

But I’m not going to write about that. You’ve already seen and heard too much.

Instead, I’d like to draw your attention to an important Colorado Politics story, dealing with the ongoing struggle to provide critically needed mental health assistance to our military members. The Brandon Act, named after yet another tragic soldier who committed suicide, compels commanders to connect troops in need to mental health professionals.

This is a big deal, folks, that unless you served on active duty, you may not fully appreciate. Over my 25-plus years in uniform you were basically expected to suck up any mental health challenges you faced, be they in your personal life or as a result of your time in the military. Going to the mental health clinic was seen, especially for officers, as a way to sabotage any chance of promotion. To need mental health support was to be, well, weak, and so you didn’t go.

This strikes very close to home for me, and I hope you will forgive me for getting personal for a moment. While serving in Washington, D.C. as a military advisor at the State Department, I happened to be in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. I had to see things and do things, and I won’t say anything more about it. But my experiences that day triggered what was later diagnosed as PTSD, and in my case the symptoms were (and, frankly, continue to be) rather standard, plus nasty nightly nightmares as an especially unpleasant gift of that day. I can’t do crowds anymore, as I realized when I attended a Broncos game a few years ago and found myself in a near panic for the duration. I hate loud noises and the Fourth of July is a tough day. I could go on, but please accept that PTSD can be a pretty tough burden to shoulder daily. I could go on, but you get the idea.

When I was transferred back to the U.S. Air Force Academy after my D.C. tour, I decided to seek help for the symptoms I was feeling. I was already a Lieutenant Colonel and because of a family illness, I had taken myself out of consideration for future promotions. So, I literally had nothing to lose by seeking help, unlike a younger up-and-coming officer might feel.

In my own case, years of talk therapy as well as trying quite a variety of medications proved ineffective, and today I just live with the symptoms, but that is not the case for every other service member. And that is why this new law is really a good idea.

Under this new law, commanders can no longer tell their troops they need to tough it out, suck it up, or just deal with it when confronted with mental illness challenges. Though I’m sure the stigma will still be there, at least to some degree, commanders no longer have an out and must help the troops get the mental health aid they need. And to be fair, lots and lots of commanders, the vast majority in fact, want what’s best for their troops. And there is a cultural shift happening within commanders and the attitude toward mental health counseling. That’s a good thing.

You’ve likely heard of the number of daily suicides by military and former military folks. Back when I was working military casework for Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, the count was roughly 23 per day. Now, happily, that number is down to perhaps 19, which is still way too many, but it is moving in the right direction. But change isn’t coming soon enough for far too many.

The parents of Navy Petty Officer 3 Brandon Caserta received that most horrible of all news: their son was dead, and by suicide, in 2018. To their immense credit, they turned their efforts toward getting Brandon’s Law passed, in hopes of saving other families from the terrible tragedy that is suicide.

Now, there are certainly bumps in the road ahead as the new law is implemented. I’ve been retired since 2006, so I may be out of date on this, but I’d be surprised if the stigma had entirely vanished from those seeking mental health care. But I am sure that it is likely much less than in my time and it will continue to improve over the years to come.

I hope it improves because, frankly, the cost of failure is far too high. Dark unbidden thoughts can enter anyone’s mind, I know they often do mine, but with Brandon’s Law, I hope those in need of support will now get the help they need, and they will be able to see brighter days ahead.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.