The recruits were so raw they touched a nerve. He was furious with they incapability and more furious still at the command that had sent them, but he couldn't vent his anger up, so it went down.
It might seem harsh to an outsider, these young people didn't get a say in the quality or length of their training and it wasn't their fault that they'd had their heads stuffed full of rosy ideas to puff up their bravado. Propaganda is sweet while the yell of a Sergeant Major is about as sour as it comes.
But it might save your life. That's why he was so hard on them, because when push came to shove, the enemy, in all their alien ways, were a million times worse than he could ever be. And he thought about all the body bags he'd have to load onto trucks, and the letters he'd have to write to mother's.
Paddy Dobson
5th March 2023