British soldiers feel guilt after Afghan withdrawal, researcher says

Moral injury could stem from missions where members of the armed forces feel a ‘personal dilemma’ due to the commands they have been given, says Professor Walter Busuttil

British soldiers tell documentary they feel ‘changed’ by their experiences in Afghanistan as they question Britain’s two-decade mission there

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UK military personnel board an aircraft departing Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021. Photo: Ministry of Defence via AP

Published: 3:00pm, 2 Jul 2023

British armed forces personnel who assisted with the Afghanistan withdrawal may be suffering from a “moral injury” on top of post-traumatic stress from their experience, according to a former military psychiatrist.

Professor Walter Busuttil, director of research at veterans mental health charity Combat Stress in Britain, said moral injury could stem from missions where members of the armed forces feel a “personal dilemma” due to the commands they have been given.

His comments come ahead of Channel 4 airing the first episode of Evacuation on Sunday, a documentary about the efforts by the military, Border Force and the Foreign Office to help 15,000 people escape Kabul during the allied withdrawal in August 2021 as the Taliban took the country in a lightning offensive.

In candid interviews during the three-part series, servicemen and women open up about not feeling proud of some of their actions during Operation Pitting, recalling how they had to decline to evacuate Afghans begging for their lives as they did not qualify for British support.

Combat Stress said that media coverage of the evacuation almost two years ago triggered post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among veterans and that it was preparing its helpline for a possible increase in calls after the documentary is broadcast.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Prof Busuttil, a retired wing commander and consultant psychiatrist, said: “The problem with moral injury is that we feel a lot of shame, guilt, betrayal, and it is a kind of transgression of our innate principles.

“Moral injury is not actually a mental illness but it reflects the dilemma in relation to the challenge we have, if you like, to go against our own moral code and moral ethics, perhaps even our religion.

“It is not a mental illness but it can exist with a mental illness.”