NPR Fresh Aire: Moral Injury Is The 'Signature Wound' Of Today's Veterans

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Link to the broadcast here: http://www.npr.org/2014/11/11/363288341/moral-injury-is-the-signature-wound-of-today-s-veterans

Moral Injury Is The 'Signature Wound' Of Today's Veterans

Many veterans face an injury that goes largely unacknowledged — but journalist David Wood is bringing it to the forefront.

"I think that almost everyone who returns from war has suffered some kind of moral injury," Wood tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "And I do not mean by that that they have done something wrong — only that they have seen or experienced things, which violate their own sense of who they are, their own sense of right and wrong, their own sort of moral compass."

Wood wrote a three-part series in March on moral injury for the Huffington Post. He's their senior military correspondent, and won a Pulitzer Prize two years ago for his series on severely wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wood says that moral injury has been described as a "bruise on the soul."

http://projects.huffingtonpost.com/moral-injury

A Warrior’s Moral Dilemma

By David Wood


I have covered conflict and the military for 35 years, drawn to the adventure and adrenaline rush, and fascinated by the drama of Americans at war. I feel privileged to have been accepted by soldiers and Marines in their squads, platoons and battalions. Living with the grunts, I have come to respect their grit, their sense of honor and commitment, their bearing, their courage. I’ve been enriched by their unfailing humor and spontaneous generosity. Amid the horror and squalid waste of war, I have seen young Americans at their best. In a very personal way, I honor their service.

It took me a long time to recognize that something was wrong. I know too many accomplished warriors who return home proud but uneasy about their experiences. Some have sought therapy, but most have not. Some were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most were not.

But they are not okay.

[marions ghost]

1. Moral Injury

---well if you have it at least you know you still have a conscience. But it is just as serious as any physical wound.

I know the feeling--after living in this era of Rethuglicon rule--I think a lot of us are "morally injured."