mistakes = tragedy in war - TTTC

"A stupid mistake. That's all it was, a mistake, but it had killed Kiowa."

(p. 161)

"In the field though, the causes were immediate. A moment of carelessness or bad judgment or plain stupidity carried consequences that lasted forever."

(p. 170)

wow, if that doesn't make you re- and over-think all of your actions first...
sure, in a war environment every decision has a little bit more gravity, especially if you're in command, but this whole "think before you act" idea has been around since the beginning of time probably. it's still pretty powerful, I think. there's no greater guilt than knowing you could have prevented something, but didn't because you were distracted or not paying attention or lazy. it's a plague that I find especially prevalent in today's society, sadly. if only people were a liiiiittle more tolerant or a liiitle more attentive, proactive, focused... the world could be a better place.

in this chapter, "In The Field", we see the other soldiers talking to one another more. we definitely get a taste of colloquialism in use. sure, it doesn't seem that different from what we use when we speak, but it's still colloquial. for example: "Screw him." (p. 159) and "Man, I got to find it." (p. 165) in formal English are grammatically incorrect and/or inappropriate in formal situations, but given the circumstances are completely okay.