(fade into flashback, chapter 58)
This is where I got half of my summary for my Ishval fic, Order 3066. Summaries can be hard, but at least half the work was done for me.
"I entered the Ishval War in my final year of training at the military academy. Usually a cadet is sent to the battle field for acclimatisation during one's graduating year. In my case the academy happened to be based in the East Area. They were short on manpower then, so I was dispatched to Ishval ... In the end I gradually became embroiled in the conflict."
Everyone who returned from Ishval changed, and Riza Hawkeye was no different. She caused more deaths than any other person - not only with her own hands, but also with the weapon she unleashed upon the world. No-one could return from a massacre like that the way they were before.
Cadet battlefield experience is standard in the Amestrian military. Front lines are not standard, as is made clear later in Hughes and Mustang's conversation after Riza shoots the Ishvalan about to attack them (Hughes: "She's still an officer cadet. Green around the gills. But least she's a crack shot. / That's why she's been sent to the front lines." / Mustang: "Sheesh, they were desperate enough to drag a cadet outfield ... Looks like this country is beyond hope.")
Standard cadet battlefield experience would be in areas where they expect little action. They'd rather have fully trained soldiers operating under more extreme conditions, after all, otherwise you'd just be stuck with people who don't know what they're doing, or are so unused to the conditions that they freeze up under pressure.
Acclimatisation to a battlefield isn't all about combat. It would also include support to communities in the aftermath of combat (like in Risembool, where the train station was hit and would need to be rebuilt), and lower intensity duties, like patrolling, guarding, driving supplies, building defenses, and establishing or maintaining communications. Combat could still happen, but is something to be on the watch for rather than the main duty.
But she's a crack shot. And they were desperate.
