Question: In the opening scene, when Hummel passes the four soldiers in the graveyard he salutes them but they pay him no attention, even though he is a general. I was thinking it could have been because they are taking part in the funeral procession, even though Hummel probably couldn't tell that, as they weren't carrying the coffin anymore at that point. Also, it seems a bit strange for a funeral as they're not victims' family or any other participants. Is there any explanation for this?
killin_kellit
17th Nov 2005
The Rock (1996)
Chosen answer: I'm no expert on military protocol, but those soldiers (marines?) are marching with their rifles as part of some tradition or honour guard, and so are probably not required to salute.
Negative on that they present arms with their rifles.
20th Jun 2005
The Rock (1996)
Question: What is the purpose of the special gear given to Mason? He uses them to kill the bad guy later in the movie but he was just there to lead the way and wasn't meant to take part in any action, so is there any other reason why he was given them?
Answer: He led them to believe he needed it to break in.
Chosen answer: He wasn't meant to be involved in any action, but being SAS-trained he could defend himself if needed. He was given the equipment just in case.
26th May 2005
The Rock (1996)
Question: During the SEAL team raid on the rock, they are using two "decoy choppers" which fly towards Alcatraz. What is the point of this? Wouldn't it be easier to just have the transport chopper fly all the way to drop zone under radar coverage?
Chosen answer: Alcatraz is small enough and out in the middle of the bay that any lookout in a high point could see and hear a chopper, no matter where it approached from. The idea of the decoys was to split any enemy fire received. The whole insertion of SEALS was absurd, in a real situation like that, the SEALS would have been inserted by submarine or used dive motors to pull themselves to the island.
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Answer: When marching with a rifle a soldier rests the rifle on the right shoulder. In order to salute with the rifle the soldier holds the rifle vertically, with both hands, in front of himself/herself. This is known as "present arms." As the Honor Guard is approaching the General you can see them move their weapons to the present arms position and hold them there until the General returns their salute.