Chapter 6, Escape Summary and Analysis

In Advanced Infantry Training, O'Brien learns to more ways to kill. The soldiers in infantry training are informed upon arrival that they are destined for the foxholes of Vietnam, without exception. This motivates O'Brien to use his precious little free time to go to the library to research airfares and the routes to Sweden. He then writes to his parents, inventing an excuse for them to send his passport and shot record.

While he waits and trains during the wet cold winter of Ft. Lewis, Washington, O'Brien requests a meeting with the battalion commander, yet military hierarchy deems that before a soldier can meet with the battalion commander he must first visit the Chaplain, a military officer who is also a religious officiant and counselor. In a discussion with the Chaplain, O'Brien states his opposition to the Vietnam War...