Edit: While this post was focused on veterans like myself, moral injury can occur in many professions including first response, medical care, and in other situations.
–
When a veteran returns from war, the focus—if there is any—is usually on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The trauma from the battlefield is the most visible, the easiest to name.
But the deeper damage is often invisible. Underground.
It’s the moral injury—a wound many veterans, including myself, carry silently because of what we were asked to do in uniform.
Moral injury comes from following orders that violate your core beliefs, values, or ethics. Sometimes there was no real choice—except the threat of court-martial or worse.
I will always feel partially responsible for the harm and loss caused by the operations I was part of—especially the pain endured by fellow veterans and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
PTSD wounded my mind.
Moral injury wounded my soul.
It struck at the root of who I am—quietly, deeply—where no one could see. I buried it, hoping it would stay buried.
But today, I’m speaking about it—for the first time in my life.
It’s terrifying.
But it’s real.
To any veterans carrying this same invisible weight: this post is for you.
This is my attempt to give moral injury a voice—and to begin creating space for healing.
More to come.
If you—veteran or not—need support or resources for moral injury, trauma, or other life challenges, please reach out.
