COURTESY OF STEPHEN CANTY
THE GRUNTS
in war, the dark experiences that
many veterans have always been
reluctant to talk about. Are the
young Americans who volunteer for
military service prepared for the
ethical ambiguity that lies ahead?
Can they be hardened against moral injury? Should they be?
With widespread public impatience to move beyond the long
war years, it’s easy to overlook
the pain that endures among service members and their families.
Experiences like those of Nick
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
Rudolph and tens of thousands
of others are theirs to bear. Many
have found peace and acceptance:
I did what I had to do, and I did it
well and honorably. Others struggle to reconcile the people they
have become with those innocent
selves who jubilantly enlisted
just a few years before. Either
way, they manage mostly out of
sight and on their own.
Yet a glimpse into their world
also raises troubling questions
for those of us outside the military — about wartime morality,
about the accountability of those
who encouraged or tolerated the
A photo
taken during
Stephen
Canty’s
time in
Afghanistan.