Gene Hackman

Col. Cal Rhodes: [Addressing the men, gathered at the Texas training camp] Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I knew you would come, 'cause you men have got what it takes. Molded over a little, but, uh, you've still got it.

Col. Cal Rhodes: -

[the men are silent as he continues]

Col. Cal Rhodes: There's a bond between you men... as strong as the bond between my son and me. Of course, there's no bond as strong as that shared by men who have faced death in battle. You men seem to have a strong sense of loyalty, because you're thought of as criminals, because of Vietnam. You know why? Hmm? Because you lost. And in this country, that's like going bankrupt. You're out of business. They want to forget about you. You cost too much, and you didn't turn a profit.

Col. Cal Rhodes: -

[continuing]

Col. Cal Rhodes: That's why they won't go over there and pick up our buddies and bring 'em back home: because there's no gain in it. You and I know, that the books are still in the red. And the politicians know, too. The same politicians that never lost a single son in Viet Nam - not one.

Col. Cal Rhodes: [continuing] Now, they say they've been negotiating for ten years. Well... the other side's not buying. And while the politicians sit on their asses, I'm going to ask you to lay yours on the line. Again. Because, gentlemen... we're the only hope those P.O.W.s have. So, we're going back there. And this time... this time, nobody can dispute the rightness of what we're doing!

Wilkes: [Demonstrating to the men how to do a lethal knife attack, using Johnson as his "victim"] You come in low under his line of sight. You leap... taking him down, placing your hand over his nose, pulling his face away from your knife hand.

Wilkes: [points his knife at the back of the skull] At the base of his skull at the right of his spine - what the Chinese call the wind gate - you insert, scramble the brains... what you have is instant rag doll.