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Students attending a course at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College at Air University participate in a small-group discussion at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, March 5, 2026. The college prepares chaplains and religious affairs Airmen to advise commanders on matters involving ethics, morale, spiritual fitness and the well-being of service members and their families, strengthening trust and resilience across the force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Billy Blankenship)

Ethical Performance and Moral Injury

Published April 13, 2026
By JSOU

The military services and the Joint Force hold themselves to a high standard of ethical performance. This is important not only to preserve the trust of the nation, but also to protect the force from moral injuries. How can military leadership best identify, address, and learn from ethical lapses? Are there metrics that can be collected to measure ethical performance? In what ways can ethical behavior be inculcated within the services and the broader Joint Force? Are there ethical concepts that are not adequately taught to service members? What is the relationship between ethics training, ethical performance, and the mitigation of moral injury? How can military ethics education be used to mitigate post-combat trauma?

Aether: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower special issue (Fall 2023): Moral Injury
Behn, Lt. Col. Beth, "The Stakes are High: Ethics Education at US War Colleges," AWC Strategic Studies Paper, 2018, subsequently published as an AU Press Maxwell Paper, 35 pgs.
Binzer, Maj. Hank, "Mitigating Moral Injury: Front-Line Defense against the Increased Risk of Moral Injury in Modern Military Operations," AFGC thesis, 2026, 36 pgs.
- Binzer argues that mitigating moral injury must be treated as a proactive leadership function rather than a reactive clinical one. Leaders must be trained to recognize the precursor to moral injury, which he identifies as "ethical dissonance"—a sustained mismatch between a service member's moral framework and the actions demanded by operational necessity. Because ethical dissonance often presents subtly through withdrawal, cynicism, or a fixation on past decisions, leaders must be deliberately trained to identify it early. To address this organizationally, Binzer recommends integrating ethical dissonance recognition into Professional Military Education (PME) for Company and Field Grade Officers. Furthermore, leaders can mitigate moral injury in their units by formalizing "mission framing" (explicitly acknowledging moral complexity during pre-mission briefs and debriefs) and by establishing permission structures that allow subordinates to express moral concerns without stigma.
Nelson, Col. Ross F., "The War Inside: The Unfamiliar Concept of Moral Injury," AWC Strategic Studies paper, 2019, 28 pgs.
Taylor, Lt. Col. Stephanie, "The Moral Hazard and Coercive Capabilities of Drones in Insurgent Warfare," SAASS thesis, 2024, 99 pgs.