For a veteran returning home from Afghanistan or Iraq, the mental trauma of having killed someone can be just as devastating as physical injury. The Department of Veteran Affairs has called this problem "moral injury," but some veterans think this phrase minimizes the horror of killing. In 2013, Timothy Kudo, a former Marine captain, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post about grappling with moral injury. In this text, he shares his experience with NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin
Pair “For Many Returning Vets, ‘Moral Injury’ Just as Difficult” with “How Resilience Works” and ask students to analyze how former Marine Captain Timothy Kudo exemplifies the qualities of resilience that Coutu describes. In this NPR interview, Kudo states, “And so you just keep pushing, and you try and make it the best for the rest of your life. And I think you also realize that despite what you’ve done, you’re more than your worst action.” Point students to Kudo’s perspective on moving on after killing enemies on the battlefield as an example of how, as Coutu puts it, “resilience is neither ethically good nor bad.” Ask students to discuss the experiences of returning veterans in the context of resilience.