Chapter 10 Summary

Historians debate whether to call the conflict that arises after Rico finishes basic training “Third (or Fourth) Space War” or the “First Interstellar War”. Either way, Rico joins Company K, Third Regiment, First MI Division “Willie’s Wildcats” and ships out in the Valley Forge; but soldiers call it the “Bug War.” “Operation Bughouse,” the First Battle of Klendathu, is ordered as retribution for the destruction of Buenos Aires, as politicians give up the idea defensive action can suffice against a race of arthropods that look like giant spiders. “Bugs” are divided into castes: workers that cannot fight; smart, skilled, aggressive soldiers that cannot surrender and are hard to kill; the “brains”; and the queen.

En route to the planned seizure and occupation, MI troops are strapped unconscious in their bunks. On arrival, Rico is assigned as an extra to PFC Dutch Bamburger...