Today’s article, while it’s an interview / opinion does nothing to dispel the tired trope that someone who experiences PTSD or moral injury is somehow mentally deficient or has a character flaw. That a major general in the Marines still thinks this way is chilling. Though he has started a ranch for veterans, the ramifications of his explicit bias gives me little hope that it will have favorable longitudinal outcomes.

Another point of contention with the general is the conflation of moral injury and lack of resilience. The presence of a moral injury does not mean someone lacks resilience, it points to a soul shattering disintegration of the core of one’s belief about the world and the individual’s ethic, religious, and spiritual beliefs. That’s not a lack of resilience.

In addition, I was disappointed that it was framed in the context of recruiting. Yes, it’s lamentable that physical and criminal histories preclude military service., I personally believe the military’s recruiting woes have more to do with the prospect of dying to prop up despotic regimes that have no bearing on defending American people than a reduced eligibility pool. Furthermore, the recent push to get every high school graduate to go to college is having an effect. I personally don’t agree with this push, but that is a topic far removed from moral injury.

Read the article here:
https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/opinion/columnists/2023/10/13/juggling-the-eggs-and-tennis-balls-in-modern-military-recruiting/71147351007/