"Stripes" showcased Murray's detached, sardonic humor and was his second feature with director Harold Ramis. The film grossed over $83 million in the United States, helping Murray establish his box-office drawing power after leaving "Saturday Night Live" the previous year.
After their drill instructor's injury, Winger rallies his platoon with a speech in which he quotes Emma Lazarus' poem, "The New Colossus" and exhorts them to succeed. Winger supervises the remainder of the platoon's training in scenes spotlighting his unorthodox approach, including his use of Manfred Mann's 1964 hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" as a cadence.
"Army training" is Winger's response when General Barnicke asks Winger what his troops have been doing. The scene provides the transition between the basic training storyline of the movie's first half and the platoon's adventures in Czechoslovakia in the film's second half.