Moral Injury : The Hidden Adversary of War. A Qualitative Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of United States Army combat veterans who have supported combat operations at least once over the past fourteen years in either Iraq or Afghanistan who self-identified as suffering from symptoms of moral injury.

This study was designed to elucidate the impact of faith on resilience and coping mechanisms and broaden previous research on moral injury and whether Army leaders should identify and mitigate moral injury within the ranks. Phenomenology focuses on the interpretation and meaning of how individuals experience their world within a given context. Seven individuals who have experienced moral injury were purposively selected to participate. Audio and video interviews were conducted through the social media platform Zoom, allowing participants to tell their lived experiences of combat operations, moral injury, and the impact of faith.

Five themes emerged: 1) faith, 2) lack of resources, 3) lack of anonymity and confidentiality, 4) lack of training, and 5) duty to God and country. Combat veterans described leadership involvement in helping soldiers cope with moral injury as lacking or non-existent. The data also indicated that faith directly impacted and enhanced the resilience and coping mechanisms of the participants.