Staff Perspective: Moral Injury Related to the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan and a Large-Scale VA Study
A few years ago, I had the privilege of treating an Afghan interpreter who had served alongside U.S. soldiers for several years during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); he had witnessed and directly experienced a multitude of traumas. When the U.S. decided to fully withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021, my patient became incredibly anxious about the safety of interpreters and their families still in that country, as well as his own safety in the U.S.