Character Analysis
There are plenty of other soldiers in and around Birdy's Civil Affairs unit that we don't get to know, or only meet in passing. Birdy mostly sticks with his squad, but he occasionally goofs around or goes on missions with these guys:
Ahmed Sabbat is a field interpreter. He's American, but his Lebanese grandmother made him learn Arabic…which definitely ended up coming in handy. Ahmed lets Birdy and his squad know what the Iraqis they encounter are saying. He also encounters suspicion from some racist higher-ups just because of the color of his skin.
On their mission to treat injured Iraqi village children, Ahmed helps an Iraqi man dig a grave for a boy who has died. After the other soldiers help him bury the boy, Ahmed thanks them. Jonesy says, "Hey, we're in the same army, bro" (6.232). It's clear, though, that Ahmed felt a connection to the Iraqi community.
Jean Darcy's one of the only women in their unit. And she's usually angry. In the beginning, she complains because she doesn't understand the rules that dictate who they're supposed to shoot at, and keeps saying that she can't explain any of it to her grandmother.
She shows a softer side later, on her twenty-first birthday. Her hometown of Oak Park, Illinois sends her a huge package of gifts and letters, and she cries and gives the gifts away to the other soldiers.
Victor Ríos is a soldier who is always described as tough. At one point, he reads a letter from home (Albuquerque) and gets angry because his little brother has joined a gang. At another point, he ordered a tiny stuffed money off Ebay for luck and is delivered a huge taxidermied monkey instead. He gets angry and doesn't like the attention. (Or the massive monkey.)
Ríos' hand is injured in the ambush that killed Pendleton, and he leaves to get treated. They don't know whether he'll lose some of his fingers.
Barbara Owens is a female medic who travels with Miller and sometimes hangs out with Marla. She's referred to as Owens in the first part of the book and mostly Barbara in the second half, showing that Birdy has gotten to know her well enough to use her first name.
Barbara gets a bump on her forehead in the first push into Iraq. Later, when a marine jokes to Birdy about trading all his possessions for Marla and Barbara, Barbara gets angry. We can't really blame her.
Eddie Evans is on the Second Squad with Jean Darcy and Harris.
Sergeant Love is on the Third Squad. He has kids, like Pendleton, and after Pendleton dies, Birdy makes sure to ask Love if he can see their pictures.
We don't learn much about Corbin—not even his first name. We only know that he's quiet, on the Third Squad, and used to work in a rehabilitation center.
Shelly Danforth is on the Third Squad. He's originally from Richmond.
Jerry Egri is only in their unit for a week, but it's long enough for him to teach them soccer so they can lose spectacularly to some local kids.