The Consequences of Personal Desires in Catch-22
             Idealy, in wartime situations, a fighting force will exhibit complete unification and support among one another in its common conquests. This is not always the case, however, as is evident in the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. In this novel, the self interests of some of the characters, produce dire consequences for the rest of the group. Two of these characters include Milo Minderbinder and Colonel Cathcart whose desires for personal gain have negative effects on the rest of the squadron.
             First of all, Colonel Cathcart's ambitions for advancement in rank fuel his illogical and harmful actions against the soldiers of the squadron. Colonel Cathcart wants to obtain a promotion, but in trying to do so, he puts his soldiers in increased and often senseless danger. This is exemplified when he continually raises the number missions required of each soldier to fly before being sent home, thus allowing no one to go home. The soldiers prolonged stay forces them to endure more the nightmare and atrocity of war and imprisons them in a catch-22 since the only way to escape war is to reach the required number of flights but that number becomes unattainable and the war meaningless. This illogic and senseless disregard is further exemplified when the soldiers are thrown into ruthless combat, not with the objective to just destroy their targets, but more importantly to obtain aerial photographs of explosions. Colonel Cathcart also volunteers his men to fight in the bloody battle in dangerous Bologna in order to impress his superiors. Such irrational actions increasingly expand the dehumanization of the war among the soldiers and decreases their morale. Colonel Cathcart's motivation to endanger the lives of his troops being one of purely personal gain can be recognized when he refers to successful actions as "feathers in his cap" and unsuccessful ones "black eye...