The suits used in this episode are the same as the ones used by the renegade Asgardians in Stargate: Atlantis (2004)'s The Lost Tribe (2008), but with different helmets.
The story that Sgt. Riley tells about the Chinese miners who survived a cave-in for six days by drinking their own urine and eating coal is actually true. They were brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou, and the events described occurred roughly 2 years prior to the airing of this episode.