Why does Kat say, “young innocents-” When Paul is a soldier and his job is to kill others?

Kat calls Paul a young innocent because he has yet to discover the harsh true reality of war. Paul has experienced the death of many comrades and friends but has yet to understand the true meaning of war. This can be seen when Kat and Paul find a wounded recruit on the verge of death. Kat suggests putting the poor recruit out of his misery but Paul is hesitant to end the life of his comrade. At first, he was okay with it because he didn’t recognize the recruit but after further examination, he recognized the recruit. It was the recruit who he helped clean up and comfort after a poor accident. That’s the point where Paul started hesitating. Although he did not know the recruit well, it felt wrong to him to kill someone he knew even though the recruit was going to die either way. This shows that Paul is unequipped for the harsh reality of war, so Kat calls Paul a young innocent. Kat is an experienced soldier so he is used to this kind of stuff and believes that it would be better for the recruit since he wouldn’t have to suffer any more pain. Paul on the other hand believes that the recruit could be able to find a little bit more joy before passing away. It reminded him of his friend Kemmerich who was the first to die in the friend group. Before Kemmerich died he was unable to his family again, Paul believes that this recruit should be able to see his family one more time. The recruit asked Paul and Kat to stay by his side the whole time because Paul and Kat reminded the recruit of his mother. Paul and Kat stay by the recruit’s side while also carrying him back to camp comforting him along the way.