Developing Good Soldiers: The Problem of Fragmentation Within the Army

Addressing moral injury in the military

“…Third, preparation for PMIEs should be incorporated into resilience and predeployment training. Berghaus and Cartagena25 note that traditional resilience training often aims to prepare personnel for highly stressful and traumatic events but not for addressing moral issues or the moral dimensions of traumatic events. Notwithstanding the absence of evidence for the effectiveness of resilience training,26 these authors argue that the moral development of personnel would be best served by combining resilience and ethics training.…”

“…Leaders also have a role in addressing transgression-based PMIEs experienced by their teams. Rather than routinely referring personnel experiencing moral distress to a chaplain or psychologist, Berghaus and Cartagena25 argue that leaders can often ameliorate distress by helping members to make meaning of their experiences through discussion after a PMIE (eg, integrated into regular after action reviews) focused on reinforcing the mission, sense of purpose in the activity, acknowledging the moral dilemmas and reinforcing the principles that guide decision making in this context. However, this should not be done in a way that glosses over the moral complexity of experiences, or fails to acknowledge and address negative emotions such as sorrow, guilt and shame; these efforts are more likely to engender, than prevent, MI 27.…”

‘Meaningful service’: Pedagogy at Israeli pre-military academies and the ethics of militarism

“…Scholars have also argued that military ethics can make a moral contribution beyond this. Distinguishing between ‘functional’ and ‘aspirational’ approaches, Wolfendale (2008: 161) argues that the latter model also prioritises the development of soldiers’ autonomous ‘moral character’ as ‘virtuous people’ (see also Berghaus and Cartagena, 2013). However, this distinction assumes that the only ‘functional’ contribution that ethics makes is in ensuring ‘correct behaviour’ (Wolfendale, 2008: 165).…”

Virtuous Soldiers: A Role for the Liberal Arts?

“…By moral injury, I refer to what Johnathan Shay (2012: 58) describes as 'the soul wound inflicted by doing something that violates one's own ethics, ideals, or attachments. ' Berghaus & Cartagena (2013) tell the story of Corporal Sanchez, a man who discovered that he had accidentally killed a fourteen year old boy in the line of duty. His ruminations are telling: '[t]he Army says I did the right thing, so why do I feel so guilty?…”

“…This is why Aquinas chooses to situate his discussion of war within a discussion of the virtues rather than within discussions of justice (Reichberg 2011), because he believes that ethical conduct in war requires the same character traits and does ethical conduct in other walks of life, and that the virtues of soldiering must be directed toward happiness in the same way as other virtues. The model proposed by Berghaus and Cartagena (2013;297), which helps soldiers to 'develop character traits in the professional and personal domains of their moral selves. It also encourages soldiers to acquire goods that are external to the Army profession but are relevant for members of that profession' appears much better suited to protecting against moral schizophrenia (viz.…”