SOURCES: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETRANS AFFAIRS
HEALING
people in the room, and they got
it. I didn’t need to have anyone say
it’s OK, because it’s not OK — that
would have just pissed me off.”
What was the response of his
peers? “It was silence,” he said.
“That unsaid, ‘I don’t care what you
did, we are still good.’
“People give you space. And
they got a therapy dog in there,
and he comes over and wags his
tail a little bit, tells you it’s OK,
too, you know? Not saying it’s
OK, but just to say you’re not
some wicked person.”
Felipe Tremillo, the Marine staff
sergeant, took part in the San Diego program last fall. One assignment was to write an imaginary
letter of apology. His was intended
for a young Afghan boy whom
he had glimpsed during a raid in
which Marines busted down doors
and ejected people from their
homes while they searched inside
for weapons. The boy had stood
trembling as Tremillo and the
Marines rifled through the family possessions, his eyes, Tremillo
felt, blazing shame and rage.
“I didn’t know his name,”
Tremillo said. But in his letter, “I
told him how sorry I was at how I
affected his life, that he didn’t have
a fair chance to have a happy life,
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
TROOPS SEE THINGS THEY CAN’T FORGET
A study of the 3,761 paratroopers and marines after returning from combat in Iraq in late
2003 found grim results about troops’ exposure to morally damaging events.
48%
Killed an enemy
combatant
Were responsible
for the death of
a non-combatant
14%
65%
28%
Handled or
uncovered
human remains
50%
57%
Saw ill or injured
women or children
whom you were
unable to help
69%
83%
22%
26%
Had a buddy shot or
hit who was nearby
Paratroopers
Marines
21%
19%
Saved the life of a
soldier or civilian
THE WOUNDS THAT DON’T SHOW
Mental health wounds far outnumber physical injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Physically
wounded
Affected by
PTSD
52,000
Between 275,000 and 500,000
based off of our actions as a unit.”
Writing the letter, he said, “wasn’t
about me forgiving myself, more
about accepting who I am now.”
Former Navy psychiatrist William P. Nash takes a slightly
different approach in the experimental sessions he runs. His
pioneering work with moral injury
grew out of his experience as a
combat therapist deployed with