Summary

In Chapter 36, the protagonist is assigned to regularly drain an abscess on the posterior of one of the sergeants. Meanwhile, the soldiers find a dog and bring it to the base. The soldiers eventually shoot and kill the dog, and the protagonist feels a strange sense of pain and loss for the dog. In Chapter 37, an army administrator arrives at the base to let the soldiers know that they will receive their army pensions, but that starting that day, new recruits may not receive pensions. A week later, a man in the platoon—Private Grace—is killed by an IED while on patrol. In Chapter 38, the protagonist is sent on patrol with a novice lieutenant. At one point, frustrated with the lieutenant’s incompetence, the protagonist loses his temper, yells at the lieutenant, and then goes back to the base on his own. The...