Devindra's Tumblog of the Whatever

In contrast [to The Hurt Locker], another current film received lavish aid from the military. That would be “Transformers.” According to a well-researched article in Variety by Peter Debruge, it was the first film ever to receive sooperation from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. This taxpayer-supported assistance included use of uniformed and armed troops as extras, and a hardware display including, he writes, “Marine hovercrafts, Navy subs and nearly every kind of Army helicopter and Air Force plane in service (from the Frisbee-topped E-3 Sentry to a retired SR-71 Blackbird that transforms into the Decepticon character Jetfire), all coordinated through special arrangement with the Department of Defense.” Some scenes were bankrolled as “training exercises,” including, he writes, “a day at White Sands when a formation of six F-16s popped flares over the set, simulating a low-level, air-to-ground attack.”

In what way was the military exposure in “Transformers” more beneficial than cooperating with “The Hurt Locker?”