A helicopter circles above the Panamanian Jungle while a hurricane rages above. On board is a team of Army Ranger trainees, Kendall, Pike, Dunbar, Nuñez, Castro, Mueller, and their drill instructor, MSG Nathan West, (Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs, Brian Van Holt, Roselyn Sanchez, Cristián de la Fuente, Dash Mihok, and Samuel L. Jackson, all on a weapons-only training mission. Hours later, Dunbar come running out of the jungle carrying a wounded Kendall on his shoulders. Before he gets on the evac helicopter, Mueller comes firing out of the trees and is gunned down by Dunbar. The base commander (Tim Daly) calls a favor to DEA agent and a former Ranger trained by West, Tom Hardy, (John Travolta) to find out what happened. He and the base’s MP commander, (Connie Nielsen), race to find out what happened before command takes over.
Veteran Drill Instructor Master Sergeant West, (Samuel L. Jackson), carries a Colt M1911A1 in a black holster on his hip. He fires it at Nuñez, (Roselyn Sanchez), during a version of what happened.
All of the Rangers carry M4A1s into the field for the operation. All of them have an ACOG sight attached to the carry handle and a M203 launcher. MSG West's rifle has what appears to be an ELCAN C79 sight on top of his rifle however this may be a more streamlined ACOG as well. MSG West gets a hold of one after killing Pike (Taye Diggs), during a version of the operation. Hardy also has one hanging on his wall at his apartment, which is understandable, as he is in “Cocaine Central” and would need protection. A sound error means that spent casings can be clearly heard hitting hard ground even in scenes in muddy jungle where it is raining very heavily.
The U.S. military’s standard sidearm, the Beretta 92FS is used by almost every character in the movie. It is seen in the hands and holsters of Rangers, MPs, and everyone in-between.
