These veteran soldiers are each wiping the blood from their bayonets and reloading ammunition.
If you pay attention to their positions and the way they inadvertently scan their surroundings, you'll realize they are on alert and ready to engage in combat at any moment.
These veterans have mostly battled these deceitful heretics before; in the wilderness, there is no safe place, and they may spring from anywhere at any time, so vigilance is essential.
The veterans' decisiveness and ruthlessness starkly contrast with the state of the new recruits, and more importantly, it's about experience—some lessons come at the price of blood.
But veterans also grow from new recruits; in this operation, the new recruits were split up and supplemented into squads, with basically two or three newbies in a ten-man team.
This kind of team, where the old lead the young, ensures combat effectiveness while allowing new recruits to grow quickly.
