When Miller and his squad locate Ryan, and Miller tells him the bad news about his brothers, the dramatic twist in the story occurs on the Bridge at Ramelle, with Ryan explaining that his duty is to defend the bridge, along with the "only brothers he has left." All this time though, he is standing about on top of the bridge with no rifle, having left it in the sandbagged position where the other paratroopers are waiting. No properly trained soldier would have wandered so far from his rifle in this situation, defending a strategically vital location which is in imminent danger of attack.