U.S. casualties are stated to be eight million dead; the "low" number is because of the Soviet attack hitting military bases, instead of cities.

Furthermore, the president is depicted surrendering very quickly, but realistically, any attack on America would have unleashed a swift response by the entire armed forces of NATO in Europe under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

An additional scene provided by the United States Navy depicts the USS Francis Scott Key getting underway for a patrol.

None of the Air Force personnel was credited in the film, but the ICBM launch crew has visible name tags as "Lieutenant Krause" and "Captain Stanton."

First Strike shows the first half of the conversation in which Krause is on a date with a girl and invites her to a party at La Hacienda, a popular steakhouse near Minot.