The military is a unique institution within the framework of the United States, with its own cultural identifiers and particularities related to different branches of service, jobs, traditions, etc., that have been sustained for hundreds of years, largely independent from the rest of the nation. With the influx of military veterans back into the civilian population following two decades of wartime duty, there are millions of current and former service members who have served in overseas campaigns, many within combat or in “hazard” duty stations where violence and hard choices were often required.

Dr. David Gosling will detail the mental, physical, and spiritual consequences of our nation’s extended military campaigns on those who served and fought in them, particularly around the phenomenon of moral injury and the shattering of deeply held value systems when in conflict with the realities of both peacetime and wartime military service.

• This event is free and open to the public.

The University Lecture Series features scholars and experts from the University of Lynchburg and celebrates their roles as educators, mentors, and researchers who make an impact on our campus and beyond. We invite our entire campus community as well as the general public to come and learn from their fascinating insights.