LAUNCH THE MISSILE NOW!!!!

LAUNCH THE MISSILE NOW!!!!

You do it, I'm too lazy.

I'd like to but you know......union rules.

AVFYRA MISSILEN NU!!!

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IMO he was unbelievably stupid to fire the missile towards a town, but one has to remember all the shame, failure, and shit he passed through the days before. When the battle seemed over, he just couldn't take it anymore. He just lost his mind.

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Was he right or wrong?

You're the boss!

In retrospect, don't they have military radio talk for this shit? Who would listen to some asshole just screaming LAUNCH THE MISSILE NOW into their radio. It's been forever since I seen the movie so I don't remember the exact details leading to that moment but it still sounds dumb.

I think it's more a lapse of better judgement. He just saw his superior officer hesitate on destroying what he's convinced himself to be the greatest threat to the country and maybe if the president found out he took charge and saved America from an alien killer robot, that's a guarantee cabinet position at least. He was hoping to drive far enough away from the blast

soldiers are drilled from day zero to never question the chain of command. if the guy who outranks you says shoot the missile, you shoot the missile or face court marshal, dishonorable discharge, and up to twenty years in prison

But he wasn't even military, only the general had authority to make such calls.

WHERE'S THE THREAD, MANSLEY?!

But I'm le tired.

It was the General's radio

What did he mean by this?

Yes and the General has just been talking to the guy controling the missile both on that radio and that fequency giving the apropriate code words. The guy on the other end then hears a panicked "LAUNCH" being shouted, in an era of high paranoia and more importantly when the target is "a giant robot." Its safe to assume the guy thought the general was either the one shouting or that he was dead and someone else was shouting it instead.

It wasn't the General speaking.

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This was what, the 60s? I heavily doubt radiotechnology was good enough yet to transmit a completely clear signal, meaning it'd be harder to differentiate voices.
On top of that, he was screaming. I'm sure the guy on the other end just got a garbled version of LAUNCH THE MISSILE, shit obviously going down heavily for the general to be that out of his mind, any soldier would have fired the rocket instantly.

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Okay, go take a nap, ZEN FIRE ZE MISSILES!!!