mercenary Ian Yule (qv), who was cast as Tosh in this film, had  previously worked with Col. Mike Hoare (qv), an Irish soldier of  fortune whose exploits were allegedly the inspiration for this film.  Yule introduced producer Euan Lloyd (qv) to Hoare, and eventually  the latter was made an adviser on the film, in an attempt to boost  the realism of the combat sequences.