- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: [into a phone] Yes?
- [pause]
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: How can that happen?
- [pause]
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: Look here, mister... I don't want explanations. I want results! You call Colonel Harker right now and tell him that he has 36 hours to get back on schedule or his command is terminated! Do you understand me?
- [pause]
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: Good. Keep me informed.
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: I can assure you gentlemen that everything is under control and you have nothing... absolutely nothing to worry about.
- Michaelson: Don't stroke me, Delevane! This scheme was your idea. My involvment was purely contingent upon your personal abilities to bring this project to a prompt and promptable conclusion within the time frame established by you. And quite frankly, General, I'm beginning to doubt those abilities.
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: Listen, Mr. Michaelson, I told you that a project of this magnatiude never really reaches its conclusion without some temporary setbacks none of which I might add are unsolvable.
- Michaelson's Friend: General, our clients have nearly 100 million dollars at stake. They're not intrested in temporary setbacks. Only results.
- Brig. Gen. George Delevane: They'll have the results and so will I. Everything will proceed on schedule. You have my word.
- Michaelson's Friend: Remember, General... public officials that go down... go down very, very fast.
- [after Smitty shoots Adams as he attempts to run away]
- Sgt. Holt: You're a dead man!
- Lt. Smitty: Not quite yet, Sergeant Holt. Not quite yet.
- Sgt. Holt: How'd you guys get in here?
- Specialist Hawkins: We're rats. Tunnel rats.
- Cpl. Butler: Tunnel rats? Christ, now we're running a fucking zoo around here!
- [enraged, Hawkins punches Butler]
- Sgt. Holt: That's enough!
- Cpl. Butler: [to Hawkins] Payback's a bitch, rat man!
- Sgt. Holt: Put a lid on it, Butler!
- Specialist Hawkins: Hey, why don't you guys go jerk off somewhere else? In five minutes, these tunnels are gonna be cramming with gooks and I don't plan on being their main course!
- Sgt. Holt: [after their fistfight] All right, you gonna level with me and tell me what's going on, or are we gonna dance again?
- Specialist Hawkins: All right! I'll level with you. But first... let me ask you something. How long have you been here in country?
- Sgt. Holt: 18 months.
- Specialist Hawkins: And in those 18 months, how many times have you and your men taken a hill, village, or piece of ground only to return it back to the enemy days later?
- Sgt. Holt: So?
- Specialist Hawkins: Don't you get it? They're not gonna let us win. Because if we win, the war stops and if the war stops, the money stops.
- [last lines]
- Cpl. Butler: What was that about? What'd he say?
- Sgt. Holt: He gave me the code. The real code.
- Cpl. Butler: Yeah?
- Sgt. Holt: He said we should use it, get the arms shipment... win the war. Can we do it?
- Cpl. Butler: [after a pause] Why the hell not?
- Col. Harker: [after reading a letter from High Command] Damn it! Do you know how embarrassing this is, Corporal? How in the hell did Washington find out about this before I did?
- Cpl. Stringer: Well, sir... I ridley don't know.
- Col. Harker: Never mind! Do I have to go out in the field and find him myself?
- Cpl. Stringer: We're doing our best, sir.
- Col. Harker: Well, your best isn't good enough, Corporal Stringer. I trust you have not forgotten that the very balance of this war depends on the information carried by the General. If that information falls into the wrong hands or even arrives late... everything we worked for is lost.
- Cpl. Stringer: Yes sir. I understand that sir, but...
- Col. Harker: Shut up and listen! You go out in the field and you find the General. I don't care if you have to kill every son-of-a-bitch in this outfit. You find him and you bring him here to me! You got that?
- Cpl. Stringer: Yes sir.
- [during the firefight with the Viet Cong]
- Cpl. Butler: We're in trouble now! I'm running low on ammo!
- Sgt. Holt: No shit! So am I!
- [Adams stops firing and begins banging his fist against his M-16 rifle]
- Cpl. Adams: Argh! My fucking gun is jammed again!
- Sgt. Holt: Hit it harder!
- [after a pause, Adams head-butts his M-16, and after testing it by firing a single round in the air, he resumes firing]
- Sgt. Holt: Look, a tunnel!
- Cpl. Butler: Tunnel? No way, I hate tunnels! Tunnels are death traps!
- [bullets being ricocheting around them]
- Sgt. Holt: They're all around us! We're going down!
- Cpl. Butler: Oh no no, not me!
- Cpl. Adams: You got a better idea?
- Cpl. Butler: Yeah! Stay alive!
- Sgt. Holt: Good luck!
- [Holt and Adams crawl into the tunnel and, after a pause, Butler follows suit]
- [points his .45 caliber pistol at Hawkins]
- Sgt. Holt: Let's get something straight here! I'm the sergeant... which puts me in command. You got a problem with that?
- Spc. Sgt. Hawkins: No.
- Sgt. Holt: [to Jenson] Do you?
- [Jenson shakes his head meaning 'no']
- Sgt. Holt: [lowers his gun] Now that we have a mutual understanding. We need to get out of here. We need food, we need water, and we need ammunition.
- Spc. Sgt. Hawkins: I know where you can get some.
- Sgt. Holt: How far?
- Spc. Sgt. Hawkins: Three... four miles at the most. But we gotta travel underground. It's too damn hot upstairs.
- Cpl. Butler: Oh, that's great! That's just fucking great!
- Sgt. Holt: [to Hawkins] Why should I trust you?
- Spc. Sgt. Hawkins: Because you don't have a choice.
- Sgt. Holt: Very well. Lead the way rat man.
- [last lines]
- News Reporter: [voice-over] There has been an unexpected change in the shape of things in Vietnam. Apparently, the United States has launched the largest scale military offensive since the beginning of the war against the North Vietnamese. Though incoming reports are still sketchy, it is clear that this offensive is making headway deep into enemy territory with no signs of being stopped. So much so, that some military officials have expressed their opinion that this offensive will be the single biggest factor in bringing the war in Vietnam to an end. Although unconfirmed, we at the station have just received reports that this offensive is related to an enormous arms shipment that was made to the U.S. forces in Vietnam without the knowledge of the President or his chief of staff, but may be somehow linked to Brigadier General George Delevane based in the Pentagon. It is believed that an official investigation is already underway and we will keep you informed as more information comes into us.