Originally, the story was to have Hawkeye and BJ being equally eager to perform the medically needless appendectomy to put the warmongering colonel out of action. However, Mike Farrell objected to this plot development on the basis that it was an act of mutilation and is never justifiable. While Alan Alda was equally adamant that it was appropriate for the sake of the lives of the soldiers the colonel was about to manipulate into battle, despite that colonel being clearly ordered to keep out of needless combat. The resulting argument between the actors was incorporated into the revised script which also has BJ refuse to cooperate with Hawkeye's surgery.
Hill 403 that Col. Lacy is planning to attack is the infamous Pork chop hill.
While imitating a news bulletin, Hawkeye says "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Ship and all the Americans at sea." This is a play on Walter Winchell's sign-on: "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea."
Interestingly enough, Hawkeye taints a Colonel's drink to have him develop pains that he blames on appendicitis. This is actually not the first time Hawkeye has ever done this. In the season 3 episode "White Gold", fed up with Colonel Flagg harassing the camp with an investigation into penicillin theft, both Hawkeye and Trapper gleefully fake the very same symptoms and perform an appendectomy on Flagg. It's even hinted slightly that they had approval from their commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake, to make it so Flagg leaves them alone "indefinitely". Not one of them ever gives a single mention to this obvious betrayal of the Hippocratic oath, which B.J. stands firm against in this latter episode. Quite the contrary, the whole issue is treated as a joke in "White Gold".
Apparently Radar has a few chickens among his collection of skunks, turtles, rabbits, and other rescues: (he says to Klinger, "That better not be one of mine.",when Klinger waves a dead chicken at Potter).