How understanding moral injury could save veterans’ lives

For most of her 16 years with the New Mexico Army National Guard, retired Master Sgt. Crystal Romero loved with her job and the opportunities that came with it. She worked in logistics, public affairs, human resources and homeland security. She supported relief efforts for three major hurricanes and the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

She loved the people she worked alongside and felt like a respected part of a team.

Romero was working as a victim advocate and suicide prevention coordinator. It was meaningful work she believed in. So when she saw a counterpart neglecting responsibilities in ways that put vulnerable service members at risk, she reported it to her supervisor. The supervisor said the person in question was related to someone high up.

Not long after she filed a formal complaint, Romero said, her support staff was reassigned, leaving her isolated. Colleagues told her she’d “poked the bear” and ruined her career. When Romero sought mental health support, she said her personal information was circulated around the office. It felt like retaliation.

“It was humiliating,” Romero said. “Everything that I believed in was betrayed, and it just killed a big part of me.”

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Source: DAV News
Website: www.dav.org