It was a key scene in the film showing how difficult it is to bear up under the stress of this kind of combat, specifically for the commanders close to the men who send them on these missions. The film has made the point from the beginning that it leads to the very human tendency to "over-identify" with your men which is what Col. Keith Davenport fell into that led to an inability to focus on mission.
The early scenes laid out the risk of this for commanders and contrasted Davenport and Gately. Davenport supported and worried about his men, flew too many missions as commander, and ended up feeling unable to prioritize the mission over the men. They kept pointing out this happened because Davenport is a "first rate human being." Gately coped with the stress differently, staying more withdrawn from the risk and stress of sending men, flew too few missions, and didn't offer support that Davenport needed to stay mission focused. This is how a good person with potential could end up acting cowardly, and, like the poster said, Savage was right to call him out.
Having laid out this argument, the film works to avoid a more formulaic solution to the problem. War movies traditionally see this as a character issue. Good men with good characters are brave and follow through and don't fail. Men with bad character shirk their duty and fail.
But the film wants to show that what these air crews are being asked to do is entirely unreasonable and unfair to ask of young men. But they have to ask it anyway or lose the war. It's an impossible position to be in. Davenport fails but fails in an honorable human way.
This film doesn't want the point to be that Savage is braver or stronger or a better commander or has a better character than Davenport and that's why he succeeds. Leave that to a lesser film. This film wants to show that the difference is the choice to focus on the mission and Savage can do this in part because he's learned from Davenports mistake and in part because he's had time at mission control to understand the reasons for the missions. The ongoing conversation with the flight doctor keeps making the point that it's an unreasonable stress men are asked to do and the question is not "which man is good enough to do it?" but "how many missions can even the best men survive before they breakdown and are not mentally fit to fly?"
To do this he has to prevent himself from "over-identification" with his men, and you can watch Savage struggle all along with his human tendency to like people and be a good guy. When his adjutant agrees to delay the transfers and believes in the 918th, Savage wants to thank him and shake his hand but he carefully limits himself and does his "you red tape guys are all alike" knowing line and keeps his distance. You see many moments where Savage carefully limits closeness to the men so he can help them focus on mission and so he can keep himself from getting to close. To the same end you can see many scenes where he doesn't say what he's really feeling (his fear, relief, or gratitude) so he can keep the breezy front going that models the fortitude you need. For example, big smile "it was a great mission, we lost only one plane" is what you have to say, when what you want to say is, horrified look "oh my god, which plane?! Oh no, that guy had a family and his co-pilot just got engaged!!!" The second is what humans want to say, and continually stuffing that down and staying focused and positive is probably not easy. And in that kind of stress will eventually lead to the kind of breakdown Savage has later. At the beginning of the film you see Davenport saying some of the second.
The hospital scene is the key and major example. Jtk is probably right that Savage has prepared a tell-off about Gately endangering his crew but Savage can't help but feel emotionally proud of Gately for his bravery and commitment and for bearing up under the stress of the Leper Colony treatment and changing himself--becoming the officer he should have been. Savage paces outside the hospital trying to compose himself with the proper distance. At the bedside you can almost hear all the things Savage wants to say but doesn't because they need to keep strong and stay mission focused. Gately now is right on key and shows the same calm strength and fortitude. Savage only lets Gately know his appreciation and pride in Gately indirectly through the nurse's comment, and Gately's controlled emotional response shows the kind of fortitude these men have to commit to in order to risk death everyday and coldly send fine men to death.
The fact that Savage has his combat fatigue breakdown to me is part of the film's powerful argument that this kind of combat stress breaks even the best men. The difference isn't if you're brave you're fine. The difference is if you're willing to give "maximum effort" and risk this kind of breakdown then you're doing your job and we just might have a chance in this war. The breakdown shows Savage's bravery more to me, not less, because he is willing to go that far and risk that much. That's what Savage earlier at the hospital appreciated about Gately too, but held himself back from saying it.
This theme is interesting to me, a non-combatant, because war films frequently make the argument that you need close human inter-identification with your men to survive terrible combat. They're right and it's probably more the role of sergeants who hold their men together this way. But even when sergeants aren't determining the mission, they still are sending their men into mortal danger regularly. Over-identification is likely a risk at all levels.
So there is in many films a fond and romantic idea about the closeness of men in combat and we might think over-identification is impossible and soldiers need to support each other no exceptions. But I'm guessing there are limits. Men in combat probably have to shape each other up sometimes and stiffen resolve even if it seems callous. This film is about the commanders' responsibility to do that. And it makes sense. Why let all these young men come to the mortal risk of this theater of war if you're just going to reduce their chances of victory by protecting them from the mission.
It also shows the absolute importance of having a damn good reason to fight a war if you're going to ask people to fight it.
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