Moral Injury

The war in Ukraine is proving to be a tragic proving ground for trends that will almost certainly be replicated in other twenty-first-century warfare. Decentralized decision-making, the targeting of population centers, tactical speed in decision-making, the rise of artificial intelligence, vital intelligence sharing, and the strategic impact of moral and spiritual injury demonstrate the boundaries for future combat.

Numbers and statistics can desensitize students of war to real tragedy. But Keefe’s focus on Jean McConville’s murder in Say Nothing gives readers a detailed examination of the Troubles while reminding them of the victims.

Studying King Saul’s combat experiences can help us understand his personality change and violence toward David.

On the surface, Nicholas Irving’s Way of the Reaper seems to be a typical shoot-‘em-up memoir designed for men vicariously seeking adventure. But by the end of the book, Irving has turned reflective.

Against pacifist sentiment and calls for isolationism, Reinhold Niebuhr insisted on a realistic Christian response to political crises, one willing to dirty its hands to avoid catastrophic evil. However, his dialectic between love and justice produces a catastrophic paradox.

President George W. Bush’s Portraits of Courage can help the nation, and especially the Church, better understand wounded warriors.

Much has been written on the types of “woundedness” warriors suffer in combat, including physical, mental, emotional, and even moral injury. However, the U.S. has failed to explore a warrior’s spiritual injury in combat and its debilitating, life-long effects (including for a warrior’s family).

In the most recent Fox News Debate, Donald Trump proved himself unfit to lead our nation’s military. He demonstrated that he thinks our airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines will jump when he snaps his fingers to do the abhorrent — murder women and children.

The observance of the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has garnered reflection, especially about the nature of apologies.