As National Geographic’s scripted series The Long Road Home illustrates, returning to civilian life after active military duty can be challenging. Recent statistics show that 20 American military vets commit suicide daily. It’s challenging for vets to access mental health support through government programs due to strict eligibility requirements and complex bureaucracy.

To fill the gap, Bravo Tango Brain Training was developed in partnership with former Air Force Psychologist and combat veteran Dr. Michael Valdovinos, who specializes in military and veteran psychological health and works with reintegrating service members. The voice-powered app gives veterans easy access to effective methods for reducing stress and maintaining healthy coping practices: meditation and mindfulness.

This approach is supported by numerous studies published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, Military Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Psychology, finding breathing-based meditation intervention results in reduced stress, anxiety, feelings of depression and slowed respiration rates.

Bravo Tango Brain Training is free and available on all smart phones and voice-powered devices with Google Assistant. To use, veterans open the Google Assistant app, and say “Ok Google, talk to Bravo Tango”. The program then guides the user to an appropriate exercise based on how they’re feeling. Bravo Tango recognizes over 40 moods, including anger, loneliness, anxiety, disappointment, regret, sadness, fatigue, fear and insomnia. Exercises range from breathing and focus, to grounding and visualization, even interpersonal connection and muscle relaxation. If it detects distress, Bravo Tango Brain Training provides information for additional veterans’ emergency resources.

Bravo Tango minimizes the stigma, expenses, and inaccessibility surrounding mental healthcare, and makes it truly accessible for veterans. A user stated: “When trying to manage PTSD, you’re only as good as the tools you have on you. And with Bravo Tango, you have a set of tools on you at all times.”

Bravo Tango Brain Training generated over nearly 75 pieces of press in outlets including Psychology Today, Mashable, USA Today, HuffPo, Bustle and more, driving 405M media impressions. The app hosts 6,000 conversations per month, with thousands of unique visitors spending an average of 10 minutes with the program – indicating deep engagement.

Bravo Tango users have given us overwhelmingly positive feedback such as: “I use it almost every day. BT uses that language that resonates with the military. It was more personal and I appreciated that. Veterans miss that camaraderie and it felt like she was saying ‘understood, we got this.’  That is why it was so powerful.”