In his own understated way, Captain Lee hinted at something that is a matter of public knowledge with a bit of research: the Army has lowered its standards for mental fitness because of the needs for bodies to fill the ranks. Pvt. Bolton should not have been let in, being at threshold level for PTSD as it was because of the things he had gone through. Many people in the U.S. living in extreme poverty go through this, but it goes officially un-acknowledged. I personally know children who, at the time I started working with them, were showing signs. Yet at the same time, poverty is a reason that people volunteer for the military... catch-22 in a time of long war, because troops are desperately needed. Still, if you take someone already broken and put them in wartime situations, predictably, they will be further broken, and not be able to hang on long. That was the sad fate of Pvt. Bolton, who had full-blown PTSD after just one deployment. However, he had served well, so, his commanders -- and, if you read between the lines, perhaps Captain Lee himself in his manifestation as celebrated and feared colonel -- were able to spare him from just being tossed out.