The first soldier that came down before the group layed down a couple of umbrellas. Some speculate they were passing out pocnhos. Although it seems like Pr. Bush and others had their cheap ponchos before this. Who knows. If it was protection against a threat I would think they would have stayed longer.
They came down twice. The second time was with umbrellas and panchos. The first time, about 6 minutes in, was very odd.