I thought it interesting that the names of the two soldiers were so similar - Kent and Kenneth.  The question about the 653 - I was thinking that as he was being questioned/brainwashed he was given that number rather than a name, so he was repeating what his captors had said to him and I'm sure they used violence as well (and thus his violence when repeating it).  That is only a supposition, but that's my guess.  The first comment does mention filler/padding and I agree that this one had some, but the quote from King is good in both directions - sometimes a longer version of something can really be shortened, but in this case it had to last long enough for the show.