Ash Kyrie spent 18 months serving the USA as a Wisconsin National Guardsperson sent to Iraq, and it changed him. The road home to fullness includes time with other vets, support from family & community, and a long peace march in Japan, plus lots of subsequent Japanese connections. And art that helps bridge the gap from soldier to civilian, and war zone to back home.
Moral Injury
Bringing Peace to Soldiers
Anti-war activists and military folks are predisposed to see each other as "the enemy", but even mainstream or conservative folks can have a very difficult time truly welcoming home vets. Zachary Moon is very concerned about treating vets as real people, not political or theological pawns in some game. Relatively few Quakers serve in the military, even as chaplains, as Zachary does, and too few know how to really support our troops when they return home, so he has helped pioneer a way forward.
Soul Repair - Recovering From Moral Injury After War - Rita Nakashima Brock
Rita Nakashima Brock is a theologian, teacher, and co-author of Soul Repair- Recovering From Moral Injury After War. She was an organizer of the 2010 Truth Commission on Conscience in War, and she recently became the co-director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School. Her thoughts and stories are profound and transforming..
Singing & Biking Afghan Vet Jacob George
Jacob George, a 3-tour Afghan vet, has just released Soldier's Heart, part of his recovery from the Moral Injury of war. Self-described as "a peace seekin, bicyclin, ramblin hobo from the hills of Arkansas", Jacob has biked across much of the South in the past 3 years, spreading peace and healing.