ABSTRACT
Litz and colleagues state that "Moral injury (MI) requires an act of transgression that severely and abruptly contradicts an individual's personal or shared expectation about the rules of conduct, either during the event or sometime after". In war, there are numerous potentially morally injurious experiences; experiences that hold a different set of moral values and rules that are inconsistent with civilian society. Military personnel serving in war are confronted with ethical and moral challenges, most of which they navigate because of effective and learned rules of war backed by their leadership and the purposefulness that arises in units. Working with the military, with warriors who have experienced MI, is simultaneously deeply rewarding and challenging. MI is different from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) although it can be a factor in it. Some of the behavioral symptoms of MI will overlap with those of PTSD but not all persons with MI will develop PTSD and not all people with PTSD experience MI.
