Staff Perspective: On Moral Injury
In a 2011 research article by Kent Drescher, et al titled “An Exploration of the Viability and Usefulness of the Construct of Moral Injury in War Veterans,” there was universal agreement among the subject matter experts interviewed that the concept of “moral injury” is needed to describe and discuss the complex range of consequences of combat. Moral injury arises when a Service member cannot reconcile what he or she has done or experienced in war with his worldview of him or herself prior to war. Commonly this involves killing, especially of non-combatants, often women or children.
