While writing on this site, I noticed that one of the hardest things to do is to write how fighting the Covenant really effects the men in the field. A lot of times, we'll kill off so many soldiers, not thinking of the true effects that would come as a result. For example, in The Fall of Reach, Nylund kills off over 1,500 Marines out of the 1,600 stationed on Sigma Octanus. Despite this, the few survivors seem quite fine, going about their daily routines afterwards. I think this is hardly realistic, as almost anyone who survived an event as horrible as that would be mentally scarred, having nightmares of being full of vengance.
However, some people do capture this, Buckell's Dirt, in my opinion captured the true face of the Human-Covenant War. He showed the effects the death of one's allies felt, even going as far as showing that even when faced with a greater foe, paniced and worried soldiers will fight against each other.
So to finish it off, does anyone have any tips on how to capture the true face of war?