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HEALING
retired Marine Maj. Gen. Thomas
S. Jones, a decorated combat veteran who has had to raise his own
money for research into combat
stress and moral injury and treatment for wounded Marines. “It is
true the folks are loath to use the
word ‘moral,’” he said of military
brass. Those outside the military
“will think it means somebody did
something immoral,” which may
not be the case, he said.
The Pentagon declined to make
policymaking officials available
to discuss moral injury. Instead,
Defense Department spokeswoman Joy Crabaugh issued a
statement observing that moral
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
injury is “not clinically defined”
and that there is no “formal diagnosis” for it. The statement said
the Defense Department “provides a wide range of medical and
non-medical resources for service
members seeking assistance in
addressing moral injuries.”
Mental health care providers
“often address moral injury when
treating a psychiatric disorder,” the
statement said, and chaplains are
available as well. Crabaugh would
not say why Pentagon policymakers
refused to discuss moral injury.
Litz accepts the military’s reluctance to recognize moral injury.
“I’m very respectful of how difficult it is for them to embrace,” he
said. “After all, service members
have to follow orders, and if or-
U.S. Marines
carry Cpl.
Jorge
Villarreal of
San Antonio,
Texas, to
a medical
evacuation
helicopter
on Oct.
17, 2010,
in Kajaki,
Afghanistan.
Villarreal was
killed after
stepping on
an IED.