The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday/Trivia

Trivia

 * The level's title is derived from the motto of the U.S. Navy SEALs, "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday".
 * In the art book, it is stated that originally there were plans for a campaign level that had the player controlling a U.S. Navy SEAL team.
 * As a nod to the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs series, one of the TF 141 members that assists in this section has the callsign "Boomer," the same name as a SEAL team member from the series, along with "Jester," another reference as well.

Underwater and Lower Levels

 * This is the first level in the Call of Duty series to take place underwater.
 * The guard by the railing near the beginning has only 1 HP.
 * Whilst under the oil rig, the player can see many fish swimming past. If they look closely, the fish will actually swim through the pipes as well as occasionally through the player's face as they move towards the platform whilst still under the ice.
 * Ghost is never underwater on this map and only spawns once the first guard is killed.
 * When the player has killed the guard, the water level suddenly rises.
 * The soldier that the player drags underwater and kills always has the same model, while the one opposite him will always be different. Likewise, the soldier having a smoke while leaning over the rails will always be the same.
 * The two TF 141 members who pull Roach from the water are always the same models.
 * When starting the level, there will be two randomly generated Task Force 141 soldiers. They will stay at the bottom, but when the player breaches the first room and then goes back down, they will have disappeared.
 * If the player, after watching the helicopter, goes to the breached room and knifes the television, the player will fail the mission, with the statement, "You alerted the enemy." This is very odd as the enemies are not alerted at Task Force 141's presence until they detonate the C4 on the second room where the hostages are being held at.
 * If the player tries to knife the soldier leaning over the rail, one of the TF 141 soldiers will shoot him before the player can get to him. However, actually managing to do so will fail the mission and bring the, "You alerted the enemy," warning on-screen.

Middle Levels

 * When the player gets to the room on this level with hostages inside, after putting a breaching charge on the first door and before it is detonated, Soap (who always runs to the same door) will have an ID tag that changes from "Captain MacTavish" to "Zach" for about half a second.
 * If the player alerts the helicopter that is seen patrolling the perimeter, it will spin up its guns, and he/she will fail the mission and receive the message "You have alerted the enemy - the hostages have been executed." Oddly enough, if the player manages to hit the chopper with the M203 Grenade Launcher, it will burst into flames and crash into the sea, though the player will still be able to continue the mission without penalty. However, even though they just destroyed the helicopter it reappears as scripted and player has to destroy it again.
 * The body on which the player plants the C4 explosive is scripted to lie in that location and is dead as soon as the player breaches the room.
 * After the player has planted the C4 following the second breach, the hostages can be seen being escorted downstairs. The hostages then go downstairs where the player cannot follow them. If the player tries to keep the hostages on screen while planting the C4 and then waits inside the room, they would see the hostages magically disappear when the enemies approach the room. In the PS3 version, if they are in the player's line of sight the entire time, the mission will fail when the C4 is detonated.
 * When the player climbs up the platform after planting the C4 before Soap does and goes prone, he will be stuck behind the player and stay standing.

Compromised

 * Soap always starts the mission with an MP5K silenced Red Dot Sight, but as soon as he goes prone on the scaffolding after breaching the second room, his MP5K automatically changes to an M4A1 Grenade Launcher and Red Dot Sight.
 * If the player ignores the enemy helicopter when it attacks, it will continue to pursue all the way to the top deck, providing the player stays in its spotlight. If the player evades its light, it will stay on lower decks searching. It will instantly disappear when the player breaches the final room.
 * This is the only MW2 level in which the player uses or has access to the M4A1 SOPMOD.
 * Before detonating the C4, if the player still has his/her default weapons (M4A1 and SCAR), the M4A1 SOPMOD and SCAR-H Thermal w/Silencer will still be silenced. However, when the C4 on the bodies are detonated, the M4A1 SOPMOD changes to an M4A1 Red Dot Sight w/Grenade Launcher (un-silenced) and the SCAR-H Thermal loses its Silencer and is now just called SCAR-H Thermal. However, it is possible to keep the silencers on the weapons; the player must trade the SCAR-H for the AT4 and the M4A1 for the MG4 before breaching, which are located on the table. After breaching the player can pick up the M4A1 and SCAR and the weapons will still have the suppressors.
 * After being compromised, an NPC will spawn with a M14 EBR scoped which can be picked up.
 * When the player destroys the helicopter, the helicopter sound can been heard for a while.

Top Deck

 * The smokescreen will not disappear until the player has breached the final room.
 * Even though the enemy doesn't have Thermal Scopes on their weapons, they can still see the player.
 * The player can sprint through the smokescreen to the left door, and just by killing some enemies with a shotgun or M203 (about four or five) he/she can breach that door without having to kill all the enemies, but the player must rush to that door.

Extraction

 * The player boards the right side of the Little Bird. By the start of the next mission, the player has switched sides.
 * Ghost will not get on the Little Bird with Roach and MacTavish, but after reaching The Gulag he gets off from another Little Bird.
 * This is the only mission in which the Marines are actually seen, as they rope down a helicopter to disarm the SAM sites and rescue the hostages.
 * The Marines are wearing ACU camo instead of the Desert MARPAT seen in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.


 * It is possible to kill the Marines disabling the SAM sites, however it is rare to do so do to being on a moving platform (the helicopter).
 * All of the Marines use M16A4s.
 * Of the two pilots in the player's helicopter at the end of the level, the pilot on the player's side of the Little Bird has the model of Lt. Volker from the level "Shock and Awe" in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, whereas the other has the model of Captain Pelayo, the female pilot rescued in "Shock and Awe".
 * If the player looks at the soldiers riding on the Little Birds as the mission ends, the player can see they are character models of the Army Rangers instead of the TF 141 operators.
 * When Soap is on the Little Bird, he is holding an M4A1, while in the next level, he is holding an M14 EBR.

Miscellaneous

 * Peasant always carries a MP5K with Red Dot Sight and silencer.
 * If Peasant dies when the player sees the enemy helicopter the second time, a randomized TF 141 soldier will replace him. He carries an M14 EBR.
 * Although difficult, it is possible to keep Peasant alive the entire level, if done at extraction Peasant will stay with Ghost on the helipad while Roach and Soap will fly off.
 * A PP2000 with a Thermal Scope can be found in this level.
 * It is possible to find an Intervention with a Thermal Scope. It is seen on a crate near several F2000s, right when Soap says Let's go, those hostages aren't going to rescue themselves.
 * If the Intervention is equipped during the final breach, the breaching animation will be different, spending less time planting the charge and a longer slow-motion time.
 * In this mission, the rare White Tape Camouflage can be found.
 * In Multiplayer, the Navy SEALs' faction borrows Task Force 141's character models from this mission.
 * At the very end on the helipad, the Little Bird has the words "No Fear" written on its nose.
 * The SPAS-12, P90, Dragunov, and MP5K with Arctic Camouflage can be found in the map.
 * Before breaching the second room, if the player aims at the green window and strafes, auto-aim will be in effect for an enemy directly behind the window that the player can vaguely see through the window. However, after breaching, there is no enemy in that corner.
 * The fish and seagulls in this level are the only wild animals in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * This is the second time in a Modern Warfare game where the player can wield a M4A1 w/ Suppressed Red Dot Sight and Grenade Launcher since some of the missions of Modern Warfare.