As a consequence of deployment to war many individuals suffer “moral injury” as some combat and operational experiences will inevitably transgress deeply held moral beliefs like not killing fellow human beings and obeying the law. Some moral injury is inevitable in any war, but it can be minimized by not going to war except when necessary to defend America.
Brett Litz, Director Mental Health Core, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiological Research and Information Center, defines moral injury as “perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or learning about acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.”
Examples:
- A soldier who gunned down disarmed Vietnamese when the commander said, “We don’t take prisoners.”
- An interrogator ordered to abuse and torture prisoners.
- A guard seeing a prisoner abused and not reporting it.
- Soldiers surrounding a town and killing all the men and boys who refuse to leave.
- Destroying a village to save it.
Moral injury can result in severe outcomes:
- Psychological dissonance and internal conflicts.
- Guilt.
- Shame.
- Self-condemnation.
And, symptoms similar to PTSD may manifest themselves.
- Avoidance.
- Numbing.
- Demoralization.
- Self-handicapping behaviors like self-sabotaging relationships.
- Self-harm like drug and alcohol abuse, even suicide.
While killing-based transgressions are more likely to result in moral injury, betrayal at either a personal or an organizational level can also act as precipitant. For example, when a commander gives soldiers orders that are contrary to the rules of engagement or the Geneva Conventions, he has betrayed his troops. In short, politicians and high command betray the troops by ordering inappropriate killing, or wars.
Sending troops to war and combat is the gravest responsibility a commander faces. The troops rely on their commanders to send them to war and combat only in appropriate circumstances. After all, troops are trained to have “the skill and will to kill” and go to war and kill as ordered. Troops need exceptional fortitude to stand down in the face of orders that are illegal, unethical, or that goes against individual or shared moral expectations. When war, and killing, violates personal and shared American principles, we should not be surprised that troops suffer moral injury, and moral injury is probably a factor that makes suicide the second leading cause of death in the Marine Corps.
The Iraq war was not authorized under international law and domestic authorization was obtained under false pretenses. Although Saddam Hussein was an irritation, he was not an imminent threat to the United States that justified war. Maintaining troops in Afghanistan doesn’t advance the national security of the United States and may well hurt it.
The WMD stories that justified the Iraq war were fabricated. The beneficiaries of keeping troops in Afghanistan are a corrupt government, drug lords, and military contractors. The United States can’t afford the cost of keeping troops in Afghanistan for little, if any, benefit to America.
Sending troops to invade Iraq or leaving them in Afghanistan at this time runs counter to American ideals and principles. And in truth, the commander-in-chief and politicians betray our troops by ordering them to war contrary to law, morality, and common sense.
Is it any wonder that a third of the troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars now suffer from PTSD that includes a high incidence of moral injury?
Every veteran in distress should remind us of the failure of leadership that wrecked the veteran’s life.
The American people should never honor leaders who betray the troops’ trust by unnecessarily exposing them to moral injury. Instead, the failed leaders should be confronted with the consequences of their decisions and held accountable.
Sources:
- Moral Injury gaining traction, but still controversial http://www.wbur.org/2013/06/25/moral-injury-research
- Combat stess as ‘moral injury’ offends Marines http://www.wbur.org/2013/06/25/moral-injury-research
- War zone killing leaves troops with ‘moral injury,’ may rival PTSD cases http://www.infowars.com/war-zone-killing-leaves-troops-with-moral-injury-may-rival-ptsd-cases/
- Moral Injury in the Contest of war: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/moral_injury_at_war.asp
- Moral Injury in Veterans of War http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/v23n1.pdf
Sources:
- Moral Injury gaining traction, but still controversial http://www.wbur.org/2013/06/25/moral-injury-research
- Combat stess as ‘moral injury’ offends Marines http://www.wbur.org/2013/06/25/moral-injury-research
- War zone killing leaves troops with ‘moral injury,’ may rival PTSD cases http://www.infowars.com/war-zone-killing-leaves-troops-with-moral-injury-may-rival-ptsd-cases/
- Moral Injury in the Contest of war: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/moral_injury_at_war.asp
- Moral Injury in Veterans of War http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/v23n1.pdf