Captain John Yossarian is a 28-year-old bombardier in the United States Army Air Force stationed on the Italian island of Pianosa. Convinced that the military is trying to kill him—either directly through enemy fire or administratively by constantly raising the mission quota—he desperately seeks ways to avoid combat. He operates as a highly rational actor trapped in an irrational system, leading his peers and superiors to frequently label him as crazy. He carries deep psychological trauma from previous missions and prioritizes personal survival over abstract concepts of patriotism.

A meek, anxious religious leader attached to the squadron who genuinely wishes to offer comfort to the men. He finds himself caught in an ongoing crisis of faith brought on by the horrors of the war and the military's suffocating bureaucracy. Intimidated by his domineering superiors, he struggles to assert himself but finds a renewed sense of moral purpose through his friendship with Yossarian.

The squadron's intensely capitalistic mess hall officer who rapidly builds a sprawling, transcontinental black-market operation known as the syndicate. He operates with a ruthless, amoral business acumen, successfully trading goods with allied and enemy forces alike. He masks his extreme war profiteering behind socialist-sounding rhetoric, falsely claiming that everyone in the squadron holds a share in the profits.

An unintelligent but intensely ambitious squadron commander desperate to be promoted to general. He routinely volunteers his men for dangerous missions and raises their required combat flights to impress his superiors and secure positive newspaper coverage. Plagued by insecurity, he relies heavily on his smarter assistant while treating the airmen's lives as completely expendable.

Yossarian's diminutive, eccentric tentmate and an exceptionally skilled bomber pilot. He possesses an uncanny ability to crash-land his damaged aircraft safely, often surviving harrowing incidents that leave him floating in life rafts. He frequently infuriates Yossarian with his bizarre habits, such as installing a fully functioning stove in their shared tent.

The squadron's medical officer who feels deeply resentful about being drafted into the war, which forced him to abandon a lucrative private practice in New York. He is terrified of personal sickness, deployment to the Pacific, and flying in airplanes. He strictly adheres to bureaucratic rules to protect himself, famously outlining the absurd clause that keeps the exhausted pilots in the air.

A highly educated, idealistic Harvard graduate who firmly believes in duty, country, and logic. He is repeatedly baffled by the military's rampant illogic and frequently argues with Yossarian, insisting that the military's intentions are noble and that Yossarian's survivalist paranoia is entirely irrational.

A naive, patriotic 21-year-old officer hailing from a wealthy, aristocratic family in the United States. Unlike the deeply cynical veterans around him, he remains an earnest believer in the American war effort. He spends his free time in Rome hopelessly infatuated with an apathetic local woman, continuously trying to win her affection and reform her lifestyle.

Yossarian's frequently assigned pilot, known for his cheerful disposition and extreme confidence in the air. He maintains his sanity in the chaotic war environment by treating the conflict as an elaborate game, displaying a reckless disregard for safety. His favorite pastime involves buzzing the camp in his airplane, much to Yossarian's terror.

Colonel Cathcart's highly intelligent, deeply cynical assistant. Because Cathcart lacks the intellectual capacity to manage the squadron's complex bureaucracy alone, Korn effectively orchestrates the unit's policies. He acts with self-serving pragmatism and barely conceals his disdain for his ambitious but dense superior.

The squadron commander who possesses a bizarre name due to his father's cruel joke and a clerical error that automatically assigned him his military rank. Lacking any real leadership experience, he is deeply insecure, profoundly depressed, and universally shunned by the men. He copes with the stress by ordering his assistant to only allow visitors into his office when he is not there.

The squadron's unnervingly placid navigator (whose nickname is short for Aardvark). He constantly gets lost during combat missions and remains entirely oblivious to enemy anti-aircraft fire, viewing the explosive flak as beautiful confetti. He frequently tags along with Nately on trips to Rome, harboring ambitions to secure a lucrative job from Nately's wealthy father after the war.

Yossarian's close friend who shares his intense desire to survive the conflict at all costs. Dunbar operates on the unusual philosophical belief that engaging in intensely boring activities slows down his perception of time, effectively lengthening his life. He frequently joins Yossarian in malingering to escape the base's dangers.

A highly strung former photographer suffering from severe combat trauma and psychological distress. Ironically, he only experiences agonizing nightmares when he is not scheduled for a combat mission; when he is actively placed in mortal danger, he sleeps peacefully. He constantly tries to take artistic photographs of women but always fumbles with his equipment in his excitement.

An ambitious, articulate general obsessed with neatness, aesthetics, and seizing power from his rival, General Dreedle. He invents the meaningless term 'bomb pattern' to judge missions solely by how uniformly explosions look on aerial photographs, completely disregarding actual military strategy or the safety of the airmen executing the drops.

A military instructor who cares about nothing except winning marching parade competitions. Completely oblivious to his wife's rampant infidelity with his trainees, he continually invents elaborate new marching formations. Despite his singular, absurd focus, he manages to climb the ranks of the military hierarchy.

A deeply cynical and vindictive intelligence officer who actively hates the enlisted men and delights in their fear. Embittered that Major Major was unexpectedly promoted over him, he launches a convoluted loyalty oath crusade to prove his own patriotism and artificially construct grounds to accuse his rival of treason.

A blunt, terrifying, and temperamental commander who travels everywhere with an attractive young nurse and his deeply loathed son-in-law. He expects his arbitrary, often violent orders to be obeyed instantly and harbors an intense administrative rivalry with General Peckem.

An illiterate, frequently intoxicated Native American intelligence officer. He harbors deep cynicism toward white society because oil companies continuously forced his family to relocate whenever they settled on oil-rich land. He takes malicious pleasure in terrorizing his superstitious tentmate with midnight threats of violence.

Chaplain Tappman's deeply resentful, atheistic assistant. Despite lacking any religious belief whatsoever, he constantly seeks to expand the chaplain's administrative power so he can ultimately usurp the role. He actively attempts to sabotage the chaplain and align himself directly with Colonel Cathcart.

A tall, vibrant Italian woman who catches Yossarian's eye during his leave in Rome. She bears a large scar on her back from an American bombing raid, serving as a physical reminder of the severe civilian cost of the war. Her brief romance with Yossarian highlights his desperate craving for genuine human connection amidst the combat.

A strict, straight-backed nurse at the base hospital who initially harbors a strong dislike for Yossarian. She strictly enforces the ward's rules but eventually softens her stance, engaging in a physical relationship with him and offering a rare glimpse of comfort away from the war's violence.

A highly anxious co-pilot who suffers a severe nervous breakdown following a disastrous combat flight. Desperate to survive as the mission quota continually rises, he secretly conceives a drastic plot to assassinate the squadron commander to save the rest of the pilots.

A young airman whose gruesome injury aboard a bomber profoundly traumatizes Yossarian. The young man's suffering and his desperate complaints of feeling cold become the central catalyst for Yossarian's utter disillusionment with the military and his terrified hyper-awareness of human mortality.

A severely wounded, anonymous soldier in the hospital who is entirely wrapped in bandages, unable to speak or move. To the other patients, his silent, horrifying presence serves as a grim symbol of the military machine's ability to erase human identity and agency entirely.

A young woman living in Rome who approaches her transactional interactions with deep apathy. She becomes the object of Nately's intense, unrequited infatuation, reacting with profound indifference to his earnest attempts to win her affection and reform her lifestyle.