Chapter 3, Chapters 13, 14, 15 Summary and Analysis

Beckwith is repeatedly meeting with colonels and generals who are still over him. He now has a number of officers under him in addition to enlisted men—sergeants and noncomissioned officers. In this case, he is urged to accept a specific mission. During the meeting he asks for permission to quit and leave without getting into trouble. This is with the understanding that he wants to avoid being misused. Here "used" is meant in the best sense of being functional and beneficial instead of meaning "misused." Here "misused" also has the special meaning of being asked to work outside of their capabilities. This relates back to why the SAS asks applicants what they cannot do. He calls "enemy territory" Indian country, based on the old metaphor of the US military and settlers trying to make their way into...