The military weapons and gear used and worn by the actors in the video are not all period-authentic. The M16A2 is used (which was not used until the 1980s), as well as the Nomex flight gloves which were not used until well into the Vietnam War. Dale Dye provided James Elliott with some of his own personal combat gear which Dye had actually worn during multiple tours in Vietnam, including his military watch and map light, among other items.
Vietnam Veteran and Military Technical Advisor Dale Dye served as advisor on both the "Rooster" video and on the movie Platoon (1986).
James Elliott portrayed the title role of "Rooster", the Team Leader of a Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRPs) in the combat scenes. Elliott, who is right-handed, had to learn how to handle multiple combat weapons left handed for the production in order to match the real Cantrell Sr.'s footage (Cantrell Sr. is left handed and holds his knife/rifle that way in the video).
Based on the traumatic experiences of Jerry Fulton Cantrell, the father of the band's founder, guitarist and co-vocalist, Jerry Cantrell, in the Vietnam War. Cantrell also served as a consultant on the video and appears in it.
Initially censored by MTV for scenes of gore.