The Chaplain's Crisis of Faith

The chaplain struggles with his faith in God and his role as a minister in the army. He is haunted by the vision of a naked man in a tree at Snowden's funeral and by the constant death around him. He feels useless and isolated, bullied by his assistant, Corporal Whitcomb, and ignored by the officers. His crisis is a central thread, exploring the difficulty of maintaining belief in a world of absurdity and suffering. He eventually finds a new resolve after Orr's escape, deciding to 'persevere' and fight against injustice.