Mission Injury

When confronted with a perceived military mission failure like that in Afghanistan, service members may reflect upon the personal and family sacrifices committed in support of the mission and may no longer be willing to make the same sacrifices for future missions. This dynamic can be referred to as mission injury. This article applies a feminist analytical framework to the lived experiences of military personnel during the Global War on Terrorism and worldwide operations against terrorism that continued after 2013 to engage the structural dynamics of military life that shape mission injury. Mission injury may lead to retention and recruitment issues that weaken the nation's military force against future threats. To mitigate this risk, the US military should implement institutional changes to the structure of military life in order to alleviate the personal and family sacrifices required by US military service.