 This is especially true of the parts of his training that involve indoctrination, such as the claim by one of his instructors that rule by military veterans is the ideal form of government, because only they understand how to put collective well-being above the individual.The story traces Rico's transformation from a boy into a soldier, while exploring issues of identity and motivation, and traces his overall moral and social development, in a manner identified by commentators as similar to many stories about German soldiers in World War I. Rico's transformation has been likened to the common narrative within stories with military themes by scholar Howard Franklin.This typical narrative is that of a sloppy and unfit civilian being knocked into shape by tough officers, whose training is "calculated sadism" but is depicted as fundamentally being on the right side.