Plot: Hawkeye accidently insults a tough Army colonel, B.J. helps Sgt. Zale, who complains about his wife's affair while having one of his own, and Frank searches relentlessly for saboteurs.

BJ' in Radar's office looking for Zale. Radar's eating. There's a cut in this scene. After BJ says he finished Sgt. Zale's letter, there's a close-up of BJ's face a riotous laughter. What's missing is BJ's joke about what Radar's eating.

About that sign that Frank wants to take a picture of... It says, "DON'T STOP HERE!! You are clearly visible to snipers!" (or words to that effect). Uh, one question, if this is a place where snipers have an unobstructed view where they can shoot people, who put the sign up?

Potter tells Colonel Stryker that he has "to go to the latrine by remote control." How common was the term "remote control" in the Fifties?

I suppose "moose" is the corruption of a Korean word. Does anyone know the proper Korean word? (If there is one.)

Hawkeye apparently had no idea that Stryker was going to "lower the boom" on the Captain. He looks very astonished at the news that Stryker had changed his mind about doing so.

I can't think of any Korean word that sounds like "moose," especially one obvious enough to be a title pun. Korean words never end with fricative sounds like /s/.
Neither can my wife think of one.

I think it's explained in an earlier episode (where Pierce and McIntyre "buy" a moose in order to free her) that "moose" is a corruption of a Japanese word for girlfriend.

Desmond's right. I've just rewatched the episode "The Moose". The episode explains that the term is taken from the word musume.

Benn,

Uh, one question, if this is a place where snipers have an unobstructed view where they can shoot people, who put the sign up?

Even more stu-pid is the idea of putting a sign right there, because everybody will have to slow down to read this sign, thus making himself more vulnerable! It would make more sense to put the sign hidden by the trees, saying sth like: "snipers for the next 50 meters, don't stop, drive quick"

Agreed, Constanze.

What I wonder is why don't the snipers just shoot down the sign.

That is military thinking for you. My combat boots I bought at the salvation army still had the orginal instruction booklet that told you how to lace and wear them as if you didnt know what foot to put a boot on.

General Error,

probably because soldiers aren't allowed to put the boots on their feet without an explicit order or instruction. You know that the military wants people to obey, not think!

Muscles Are Required Intelligence Not Essential

That may have been true in the past.

Has ANYONE out there who is bashing the military had any actual experience with them? The military people I have dealt with (and I've dealt with a lot of them) have been, without exception, intelligent, clueful, and thoughtful.

A touch more on that.

Current US doctrine is to decentralize everything... push tactics down to the lowest level possible. To do that, you need more than drones. You need people who think. The "Obey Not Think" mentality is how the Soviet military worked. It's how the Iraqi military worked. The US military (and the UK as well, to a certain extent) push decision making as low as possible.

I have worked around the military types (being located in Dayton Ohio where a Major Airbase is located) and there are all kinds it seems to depend on what they do. There are those I have met that definately meet the stereotype and then those that if you took them out of uniform could pass for college professors and other intelligent urbane types. Like many opther types of people in an organization/group that large there are all kinds both those who prove and those who disprove the stereotype.

Constanze frequently mocks the military in general and the U.S. military in particular. She has also admitted that she does not really know anyone in the army.

Gee just a bit touchy aint we? Sorry, But my dad was in the military adn other than him I aint dealt with many of them. Me being the long haired freeloving hippy freak like my dad calls me,if he talks to me. I do like the garb though as is comfy and dang near indestructo. but gets my droopy loop is got instructions on how to do simple things any hoop should know. Gotta figure brains on high aint figurin low stripes got any brains.

Who am I and what am I doing on your computer

Mike,

I mock the Army/Military because of the inherent structure and idea behind that organization, which stresses obeying first, thinking on your own seperately.

It may be true that for todays modern warfare you need people to push buttons rather than shoot with a gun, but how much has the internal structure changed because of that? There were always specialists (e.g.pioneers...) in the army, but the grunts still had to obey. (there is a famous story in literature, also as play, about some prince who, IIRC in the 17th century, wins a battle by disobeying orders and following his own judgment: He is put on trial and accepts the death sentence because he realizes the importance of keeping the disclipine! Need I say more?

I do not see how knowing individual people would change that, as there are exceptions to every rule, and people in every organizations big enough will be different.

I admit that I do not know how close the general portrayal of military in both US movies and series is close to reality - most people I know here in germany haven't been to the army, having opted out to do ersatz duty (e.g. working in hospitals), because they weren't militaristic.
And of course I judge the US military by their past behaviour. :-)

(The only exception is my boy-friend, who was drafted in the 70s, and took nothing much serious in the army, and got extra duties as punishment for being uppity to superiors (a little bit like hawk, who never cares about rank and procedure, either).)

'70s force structure and '90s force structure are radically different. The US learned the lessons of Vietnam.

It's not just "Pushing buttons instead of shooting". Actual tactical (not strategic) decision making power is pushed down as far as it can go, because the guy on the scene is the best one to evaluate the situation. You can't just be a mindless drone to function in today's Army.

"And of course I judge the US military by their past behaviour. :-)"

So I should judge the German army by theirs? This is something else you do frequently. You do not give any specifics.

Also, YES, the portrayal of the armed forces in the media isn't realistic. This is because most of the people who write movies and tv shows do not like the armed forces and wish to portray them in the worst possible light.

We learn in this episode that Potter is 1/4 Cherokee Indian.

When Hawkeye and Frank arrive in camp with the wounded Colonel, Pierce starts to give orders to the corpsmen. Frank, because he's a Major, I guess, says he's the one to give orders around here. Actually, I would think in a medical situation, which is what this is, it's the Chief Surgeon who should be giving the orders. And the Chief Surgeon is Captain Pierce.

When haggling over the price of the gun lighter, Radar says he can't say "six in Korean". When the final price is settled on ("Six and 100 pennies"), Radar turns to Mr. Park and says, in English, "Seven dollars". First of all, I thought Radar couldn't say "six" in Korean, so how was he going to say "six and 100 pennies"? Second of all, it seems that all four locals understood English. Note that when one of the locals is told by Major Burns to report to the guards, Radar mouths, "See me". Apparently, they understood what Major Burns was telling them. (To work in the camp as they do, knowing at least some English would help them.) And finally, Radar doesn't tell Mr. Park the final cost of the lighter in Korean, he tells him in English. Then again, Frank's not very bright if he doesn't catch on to the fact that Radar can't, allegedly, say "six" in Korean, but can say "six and 100 pennies."

Something that's never explained in this episode is what exactly triggered Frank's hyper-paranoia in this ep. Yes, he's paranoid. But in this ep, he's more so than usual. What, exactly, set him off?

This is interesting. When giving directions to Zale's moose, Radar mentions it's near the bend where they bury the arms and legs. I've never noticed that line before. (Maybe it's been cut?) But it does explain what the unit does when they have to remove a limb from one of the wounded.

Seeing that Hawkeye says Eisenhower's coming, this episode may take place before "The Late, Great Captain Pierce".

Judging by the sound the lid on the kimchi pot made when it was put back on, the pot is made of clay. So just how would a metal detector find it?

This is probably the only episode in the series to give the character Zale any depth. In all other episodes, he's played as a trouble making hot-head.

Sufferin' saddle soap.

Something that's never explained in this episode is what exactly triggered Frank's hyper-paranoia in this ep. Yes, he's paranoid. But in this ep, he's more so than usual. What, exactly, set him off?

I believe it was the beginning of the episode when they were at the check point and Colonel Stryker said they were checking for infiltrators in the area. I just assumed Burns thought all Korean civilians were the enemy in disguise.

They didn't actually find the kimchi pot with the metal detector. Frank and his men were dithering around in the general place, when one of his men told him that the ground was disturbed in a certain spot.

Frank must waste an awful lot of toothpaste if he checks it for sabotage every morning.

I believe it was the beginning of the episode when they were at the check point and Colonel Stryker said they were checking for infiltrators in the area. I just assumed Burns thought all Korean civilians were the enemy in disguise. - Corey Hines

Yeah, but isn't that Burns' normal train of thought? I assume it's the Colonel Spiker checkpoint that got Frank going, too. But it just doesn't have the punch of some of the other things that pushed Burns over the edge like this.

They didn't actually find the kimchi pot with the metal detector. Frank and his men were dithering around in the general place, when one of his men told him that the ground was disturbed in a certain spot. - D.K. Henderson

Yeah, you're right. The one soldier, with the football shoulder pads on, says, "Fresh earth", indicating that the ground there had been freshly dug up.

BTW, are the football pads an anachronism? My guess is that they are not the type of pads used by football players in the Fifties, but ones that had in the Seventies (when the series was made). But I don't know for sure. Does anyone?

Horse hockey!