Touche, guys that take it, pass, learn to work together outside emotional variables, fight in missions. & plus keep level head with Chapters in different offices. Talking for my Lifer Army/GB/Chaplain , some lower rank Marines like DI, & Airforce/Citadel. Love my family 🤷 Think this movie (art piece) was a Generation transition of comparison time with youth of MEDIA & opinions creating disrespectful behavior not making them battle ready! Now we make kittens for Bull arenas & give them pills
R. Lee was hired as a technical consultant, but not to the actor originally cast to play the part. After Tim Colceri got the part, he was put up in a hotel to rehearse his part with an assistant director...Kubrick did not want Tim to do the basic training stuff with the other actors so that he would be more realistic as their drill instructor later. Meanwhile, R. Lee is on the set with everyone and Kubrick is watching him work with the actors, and eventually decides that R.Lee is his Drill Instructor, and not Tim Colceri. Kubrick apparently felt bad enough about it that he cast Tim as the door gunner that laughed about murdering all the women and kids and water buffaloes. Stanley Kubrick was quite often not a very nice person to people that worked for him.
RAMIVO DASTIN HEWITT , film has an exceptional quality. When they first started recording digitally, the quality was poor; it was a step backward, in a way.
@@samm1561 You don't become a Sgt that fast. The Tet Offensive was in Jan of 1968, so we can safely date the back half of the film from the fact Joker was defending a post the night it took place. But the first half of the film had to have been a couple years before that. I'd place it somewhere around Nov/Dec 1964 - Jan/Feb 1965. Which gives Joker and Cowboy 3 years to earn promotions to Sgt.
After my first deployment I met one of my DI’s and we are really good friends now. I’m glad that they all treated me and everyone else I was in boot camp with equally worthless, it turned us into good Marines
I used to watch Mail Call every night before bed when I was a kid. R Lee Ermey was also great as the cannibal sheriff in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot movies, he was the best part of the movies.
My Late Father was a Drill Sergeant, 66-68 active duty. He had survivors guilt over the men he trained coming back from Vietnam either maimed or in a bag. He felt as if he had not done his job properly for them to not come back the way they left. He respected anybody that survived. He always said his job was to break down cocky kids and build them back the way the Army wanted them. Follow orders and doing military actions without question, so when they were in battle, they did not have to think to do something. Due to Vietnam going on, corners were cut, training was intensified, and sometimes people got out of hand. I watched this movie with him once. He hated it, but he also said this kind of training did happen, not all the time, but this would have been many years worth of incidents piled into one example. He did say he was always with 2 other Sergeants, and his role was normally "Good Cop" where another Sgt would tear them a new asshole about doing something wrong, and he would follow up with his part being the guy to teach them how to do it the right way. He did say he got to be Head Asshole sometimes. As somebody that got in trouble as a teen a few times, I think he had the " Head Asshole" part down pat when he needed it. "Boy, you couldnt pour piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel!". I deserved it, and I loved him for it. Now that he is gone, would love to hear it from him one more time. Anybody else says it to me, Im punching them in the kisser.
Did he hate it because he just didn't think it was a good movie, or because it was too hard to watch? If you don't mind sharing of course. I'm always interested in the opinions of servicemembers regarding movies that supposedly depict their time in service.
@@hopefulagnostic336 I think he liked the movie overall, but he was upset with how much Hell came down on this company of trainees. Maybe one or two things in this movie would happen over a boot camp to a group. I really cant speak for him now. I just remember seeing a sour look on his face every time something shocking would happen.
You know that kinda of went with the territory right? It got so bad for a while that 3rd awards of Purple Hearts were simply not made for Marines in I Corps, because the 3rd award was a ticket home. So if a Marine had two awards, even though he went to the hospital, if he could return to the line, he didn't get a third award.
Artur, I am 73. I was in boot camp, Parris Island, South Carolina in 1966. This is a true depiction of my time there, that's why I am so tight with this film. I only got slugged by my Senior Drill Instructor once for a wrong facing movement. That was the last time I forgot the left from the right. Staff Sargent Cornielson was a good teacher, God bless him! When I was in route to Vietnam I had to report for final assignment at Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan. I saw S.Sargent Cornielson returning from his 13 month tour. He did not look well. I didn't speak to him. When I returned after 19 months I understood...........Artur you would make a fine Marine! You would "take it" because you would have to. Never give up! God bless, OLD PETER U S A
Well said Marine! I think what many people are confused by is the fact that the movie can give the impression, to people who don't know, that the recruits were subject to beatings all the time for everything. The Marines I know all said the same thing as you, "After getting smacked, I NEVER MADE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!". But that was it - message received. Also, and you would know, "blanket parties" did occur as well. They were rare, but they did happen. Marines back in the day were not to be messed with!
Remember. This is just not for elite troops. Cooks , bakers, truck drivers are all indoctrinated this way. This is from the 60’s. My 1962 boot camp was exactly this.
Not true, you got only part of it right. I knew R.Lee Ermey personally I worked for his website for 26 years I attended Knob Creek firing range with him twice. he was supposed to train another actor to play the part but he made the other actor cry. That is when Kubrick decided to drop the other actor and get Gunny to do it.
@@tammycenter8757 GTFO outta here....lol maybe you met him, maybe you worked for his website but the only story I know coming from Him, Colceri and Kubrick mouths is that he was the technical director for the military stuff, he wanted to role, Kubrick cast Colceri. But Gunny had sent Kubrick am audition tape of him saying his lines and ad-libbing more while tennis balls and oranges were thrown at his face...he never skipped a beat...Kubrick chose him for the role and Colceri ended up playing the Iconic Door Gunner. Never once did i hear that Gunny made Tom Colceri...another Marine Vet cry from him acting like a DI and chewing his ass
@@nofuxgivens2797 , LMAO sorry you are offended and as I said most of what you posted is correct but the fact still remains that Kubrick had no intention of placing Gunny in the role until Gunny made the other actor cry. That is a fact. You can get pissed all you want but your emotions don't change facts. I got my information directly from Ermey. Also , no one said he cried because of Ermey training. It was actually a whole different matter but since you want to pretend like you know more about it than R. Lee Ermey himself, then knock yourself out.
@@tammycenter8757 look i have no clue who you are. You come outta nowhere with some claim that Gunny made Tim Colceri cry and that's why Kubrick chose him. A story that nobody seems to ever tell. Tim spoke at length at his memorial. No one is emotional here except maybe you. Feeling compelled to correct or add on with information backed only by your claim...from all the documentaries, the letter from Kubrick to colceri, the time when I was graduating from Infantry school at camp pendleton Gunny came to speak and people asked him about the movie, even what tim colceri has spoken at length about the movie...I know I can pull up tons of stuff referring to what most people know...can you do the same? Because as a Marine and fan of R.Lee Ermy I want to know more about him and the movie which played a huge part of my joining the marine corps. So before another 'thats not true, you're only partly correct' bring some receipts. You're just another random person on the internet why would anyone believe you vs all the other facts put out there?
@@nofuxgivens2797 , again, I worked for R Lee Ermey for 26 years. Or did you somehow miss that part of my post? It's really convenient when people cherry pick what others write simply to fit their own personal narrative. I am going by what he told me himself. You can take that at face value or you can take the Hollywood version of it but we all know that Hollywood isn't exactly honest about what goes on behind the scenes.
God I love R. Lee Ermy, he came in to consult for the movie (being a Drill Instructor himself) but ended up becoming the actor for the role. Most of his lines were improvised in order to give a real experience.
Legally the marine DIs weren't allowed to hurt them back then, but because the marines were rushing training for Vietnam in order to give these kids even a slight chance of survival... The restrictions weren't enforced as strictly and many DIs resorted to this sort of thing because they needed them to learn as fast as possible to make sure they'd survive.
it's what we experienced during the early/mid 2000s, preparing for Iraq/Afghanistan. The Army threw out all the rules, and went hardcore like this. I first saw this movie a few weeks after getting out of Basic, and I honestly thought it was very soft at various points. It's not obviously tougher than the Army circa 2004.
@@catlover1986 I went to Army boot camp in the mid 2000s and technically the Drill Sergeants weren't allowed to strike us but they still did honestly its not a big fucking deal. Getting punched or smacked once or twice isnt going to cause that much pain or discomfort at least not compared to the agony of getting smoked for hours and hours straight in the sweltering heat of summer in the southeastern united states or going on ruck marches in full battle rattle for fucking 40-50 miles. I would rather get beat up then forced to go on another ruck march lol.
@@joshuaortiz2031 Thank you for your service, brother. And yes, those marches SUCKED ASS, lol. Man, the color would drain from most of our faces the moment we were informed of another - always longer - ruck march. Some thrived on them - I wasn't one of those guys, lol. Oh my poor dogs!!!! I still remember our cadences, though, haha. As most can, I remember moments of my basic like it was yesterday. Two-branch vet, here - Army (Bremerhaven, Germany) then Navy (USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63) - but my heart calls back mostly to my Army days. Ruck marches, bivouacs, the gas chamber, our 5'6" Sr Drill Sargent Burleson - _God_ in our opinion at that time, lol. I took Basic at Ft Sill in the summer of '78. Hotter than hell on Christmas. Yes it was Army and yes it was peacetime - blessedly - but still, I watch this and it is SO reminiscent of what we were put through. Looking back, I see that it was necessary to tear us all down to then be built back up as a fighting unit of brothers. Peace and blessings to all my brothers, whether they served in peacetime or on the battlefield.
@@nEthing4Her Yeah I have chronic back and shoulder problems from the ruck marches alone. I am not a big guy I am 5'6" so my stride doesnt cover the same distance as some dude that is 6'4" not to mention when I was training to deploy to the middle east in Ft hood back in 2010 they issued me the M249 SAW and didnt give me the right padded sling for it because there were supply issues so I used the shitty old m16 sling and the weight of the SAW made the sling dig and cut into my shoulders. One time I had to use fucking 550 chord as a makeshift sling for my SAW in a training exercise which was even worse. I have a torn rotator in both shoulders thanks to the supply issues i my old unit, at least I get 10% disability for it from the VA. The cadences were fun that took your mind off the misery whether you were running or on a ruck march. The gas chamber in basic was no big deal. I didnt eat hardly anything that morning knowing what to expect no one else heeded my warning and the entire trail leading out the gas chamber was covered in puke. Those were some good times. I had a friend that was a helicopter mechanic on the USS enterprise. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would pick navy or air force. Army and Marines is a brutal life.
@@joshuaortiz2031 OMG I can't imagine trying to carry a saw with an M16 sling or a specially paracord. What the f*** was wrong with them oh wait it was basic so we didn't matter until graduation LOL. I was also 5'6" so yes keeping up with the taller guys was rough. My legs always ached from soles to balls. Looking back I wouldn't trade it for anything. It took a grandma's boy from Missouri and turned him into a man. I'm 61 now, and like I said, I didn't like it then but I realized how much it helped me now.
That DI is Ronald Lee Ermey. Not only was he an actor but a real US Marines Gunnery SGT and Vietnam vet. That man was an American treasure! This movie was set in 1968.
@@juanduenas1943 Kubric might have tried to make an anti-war film, but what he made was the greatest recruiting tool to help find those in the room who saw that movie and said: "I have gotta do that."
@@jamesmcgrath849 lol It is kind funny how it works out. I am fine with the film till it gets to depicting the actual war. Vietnam Vets hold a speical place in my heart, due to the way they were treated after returning home. It was simply not right. In my opinion the movie portrays the GI's in an unrealistic bad light.
RLE wasn't even supposed to be in the movie, he was there as a consultant, showing them how to be a DI. They saw the demonstration and wanted him to do it on set, and this is what we got, some of the best cinema in history
Another thing to remember about this film is that it takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. One of the themes here is that a majority of the recruits really did not want to be there at all, but due to the draft they had to go. During basic training the DI breaks down individuality and uses the soldiers' dislike for him to unite them together as a unit. He dishes out praise seldom, making it a point of extreme pride for soldiers who receive his praise, making the soldiers unite even more and create a natural pecking order among themselves, with a sense of respect for those that excel at being soldiers.
you have to appreciate the insults and yelling its comedic gold. I did nine years in the Army and the crazy shit the drill sergeants say helped me get through boot camp. It's fucking hilarious and if you take it personally you're pathetic. These guys have the job of training hundreds of men every year to prepare them for war. Not an easy thing to do.
He was a legend. He said what he said and did was a little over the top for the movie... But there is usually multiple DI's yelling at once so it's absolute chaos.
Back when this movie was set, the standard issue was the M1 Garand 30-06. Featured in the film was the M14 7.62x51mm. During Vietnam, the US military switched to the M16 5.56 (.223) Now is the M4 5.56 (.223)
The movie was about Parris Island during the Vietnam War. When I went through Parris Island, we had 3 Drill Instructors and 1 Senior Drill Instructor for a Platoon.
At Leonard Wood in 86 a private killed a big ass fly in formation and they made us dig a hole and give it a proper burial, when the DI’s asked about the ceremony and asked if he was buried at parade rest we said we don’t know, we properly dug another hole and hurried it in parade rest. Leonard Wood OSUT was way tougher than Benning jump school by miles. Sapper training is insanely bad ass.
The setting of the movie was in the 60's and 70's when training time was shortened in order to send more guys to Vietnam. R. Lee Ermy was an actual DI during those times and what you see is a slight exaggeration of what he did during those times. Every day he would read the obituaries of those killed in the war and it was his motivation to train these guys tougher and better.
The time frame of this movie is Vietnam War, in the 60's early 70's. R. Lee Ermy, the actor portraying the DI also wrote the script for the basic training portion of the movie. And he was a former Marine Corp Sergeant when the movie was made.
The movie was made in the 80's but the time period being portrayed was probably circa mid 1960's. An infamous incident at Paris Island, South Carolina, was instrumental in bringing about a major change in the way recruits were trained and treated.
R Lee Ermey really was a drill instructor. He improvised most of his lines. In real life however, all of the people that had a chance to meet him have said he was one of the nicest, kindest people they've ever met. He went out of his way to promote the military and advocate for soldiers, and was given an Honorary promotion to Gunnery Seargent years after his service. He was the only person the Marine Corp has even given an honorary promotion to.
They all were like that while they were DI. They have to be mean to prepare you for war and death. Sad truth about DI. Most of them are very nice people outside of basic, but they are sobs during.
I was in the Air Force. We had two Drill Sergeants. Our senior instructor was a former Marine, and he had quite a mouth on him. Nevertheless, I went on to do 22 years.
I was in the Marines during the 70's and there was 2-3 Drill Instructors with the platoon. That is the way we were spoken to by the Drill instructors and yes, they would hit you. I went to the theater to watch this when it first came out and I almost got up and left because it reminded me so much about what I went through.
Proud to say I'll actually be leaving for the 2 week quarantine on Sunday November 29th before making my way down to MCRD Parris Island, SC. And I also wanted to say Artur, thanks for the awesome content, I just started watching your videos a few weeks ago and I really like them, stay strong in these difficult times my friend, and a big hell yea for Berlin, New Hampshire, US.
The rifle was the M14 in the movie because it takes place during the Vietnam war. In the 80's it was the M16 A2. Later in Vietnam as depicted in the movie they carried M16 A1s.
I’m old enough to have gone to the theater as a kid with my parents and watch this when it came out. This was also filmed in the UK in a time when everything wasn’t CGI.
The anti-war movie that caused an entire generation of young men to go and join the Marines! Gunnery Sergeant R Lee Ermey! RIP sir, hoorah! Semper Fi 🇺🇸
My grandfather went in to the Marines in '75, did the full 20 years and then retired as a Gunnery Sergeant, was an MP stationed at Iwakuni in Okinawa, Cherry Point NC, Hawaii (not sure which base) and Norfolk VA. Anyhow, I've talked to him about this movie. He said that all of it was extremely accurate in terms of the boot camp scenes. All of his DI's were Vietnam combat veterans, and ran him and everybody else through the wringer. They had one guy, a Jamaican, who was basically their Private Pyle, that was given the honorary title of "Platoon F*ck Up." On one occasion he was getting ripped for doing something wrong and was being corrected with leg lifts on his back on the parade grounds. Being that this was August at Parris Island, SC meant that the sun during the day was bright and hot as hell, so the Private kept putting his hand over his face to shield his eyes from the sun. After doing that after being told by his DI two or three times to quit, the DI kicked the shit out of him and then sent him and my grandfather's platoon on a several mile run. Now with the blanket party scene, the USMC did not regularly allow that to occur. My grandfather and his platoon are one example, because they planned a blanket party for their Private Pyle, but the DI's caught wind of it and transferred him out of that platoon and into another one. Hazing like that was pretty much banned after the US Gov't ended the draft in 1973, and the Marines went back to an all volunteer force like it was prior to 1965, although DI's could still put their hands on a recruit for "corrective purposes." Fun times, lol.
This movie was made in the 80’s but they are portraying basic training for the Marines during the Vietnam war. So this kind of training was during the the 60’s and 70’s. My dad served and got wounded in the Army fighting in Vietnam.
This movie is depicting the late 60s and early 70s. When I went to Marine boot camp in the 90s the racism wasn’t there but they were similar to the movie. We were lucky we had 4 Drill instructors one got investigated for a week for a false claim from a recruit and they gave us a new one that stayed or the rest of the training so we were lucky to have 4. But normally there is only 3 DI’s
The man playing the DI is actually a great guy. He got the part by accident when one of the actors didn't do a good enough job as a DI so this man was advising on the movie about boot camp he was also a Drill Instructor back in the day so they offered him the part and he went on to do a bunch of different movies. Marines love the man.
The guy that was getting slapped around was actor Vincent D'Onofrio. Great actor. I was at PI in the mid 80's. People were not beat up but there were short gut punches and once in awhile someone was taken behind the racks for a minute. Usually when they messed up and the platoon was punished.
The basic training in this movie was set in 1967. The rifle in the basic training is the M14. Estonia also uses a number of M14s as DMRs and cerimonialy.
Almost all of the recruits in the first half of the movie were involuntarily conscripted, the movie was set in 1967. “Snowball” was maybe a volunteer judging by his “gung ho” schtick, but the rest were almost certainly picked out at random from a line of draftees. About one out of ten draftees were sent to the Marine Corps and the vast majority of the rest went into the Army. A lot (maybe even most) Air Force and Navy recruits at the time were people who didn’t want to get drafted into the Army or Marines, and those branches still have a “softer” reputation. A Navy recruiter I met with in the early 90s even used that “in the rear with the gear” line! I’ve heard stories from friends about Marine boot camp and hazing of the type depicted in the movie continued at least into the 1990s. I bet it probably still takes place to some degree. The extreme degree depicted came from a few factors. The Marine boot camp was cut from 12 weeks to 8 weeks in the mid 1960s, increasing pressure on the DIs to prepare the recruits to go straight into a war zone. Additionally, the services began conscripting people who would normally be disqualified for being too physically unfit or who had mental problems or learning disabilities. They were called “McNamera’s Morons” after the Secretary of Defense at the time. These poor guys weren’t washed out early on like would normally happen in peacetime but rather force fed through the system. They are represented in the film by characters like “Pyle” and the Huey door gunner. The training weapons are the M14, a semi automatic battle rifle, most typically held a 20 round clip. The field issue ones were very similar but had a synthetic stock because the wood stock would mold and rot in places like Vietnam.
Movie was made in 1987, however the time period is in the 70's during Vietnam war. The DI in the movie, was a real ex-marine DI ( Gunnery sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey) that was originally hired for consultation in the movie, however the director was so impressed with his abilities, he just put him in the role of the DI. Gunny passed away in 2018. The rifles were M14.
I heard in your other recent vids you have been suffering from depression, Im not a doctor but I feel for you and Im praying for you everyday. 😊 Stay happy and stay strong.
My unit , 2CR trained with the Estonian Army in Tapa for Operation Atlantic Resolve. We were treated with great hospitality and generosity by the Estonians, who are great warriors. Also great party nights in Tallinn and Independence Day parade in Narva. 🇺🇸 🇪🇪
3 DI’s per platoon. A Senior( who he represents) and 2 juniors. The Juniors were actually the bad asses. In this, they rolled them all together to make filming easier.
Everytime I see this I always remember that the Drill Instructor knew that in a few weeks these kids were going to to be in a Viet Nam Combat zone and going to face a very capable and highly motivated enemy that really wanted to kill them and many of these kids were going to get maimed or killed at their hand. It must have been a haunting job being a DI in the Corp back then.
Smallest town in the USA has 1 citizen. She's the. mayor, runs the post office, and a small bar. As the mayor she issued her own business license for the bar.
On the locker thing - at basic training (in 2001 at least) they had a sheet on each of our lockers showing how it has to be laid out (where to put socks etc.), and that sheet itself has a classification level (Restricted, from memory), making it illegal for a soldier to tell people how Australian soldiers sort their wardrobe! :)
Abraham Lincoln When I was in basic, I did so many push-ups for laughing at shit my Drill Sergeants said. I couldn’t help it, they said said the craziest stuff!🤣
messing up drill. i screwed up an about on the march. I did it on one leg. started with the wrong foot. I nailed it, carried on like nothing happened. Everyone saw it. my DI was impressed. called me out. made me redo my maneuver in front of everyone. it was funny. one of my best memories.
Artur. As someone has already mentioned, this story takes place in the mid-late '60s. Not every recruit was a volunteer. The US still relied on conscripts (draft) back then to back fill any shortages in man power. You're going to get a few jokers here and there who just don't want to be there and have attitudes.
I remember when I accidentally ran into a DI when rushing to my bed. He grabbed me by the collar and put me against the wall. Haha. I was told not to do it again. Looking back, recruit training was one of the funniest experiences I’ve ever went through. The insults were insanely creative and hilarious.
The movie came out in the 80’s but the time period depicted was about 1967. My dad joined the army in 1967 and said their boot camp was exactly like this as well. He also went threw boot camp with the M14 rifle, used the M14 in Korea on the DMZ, then switched to the M16 when he arrived in Vietnam in January of 1968.
@Joseph Melcher Uh... no, it’s not. I had a friend come back from boot camp recently and he had three DIs cussing him out half the time and PTing the class the other half of the time. The idea of those damned liberals making DIs soft is just a grade-A level of right-wing bullshit. They only stop when they believe someone of higher rank is watching.
Umm, where did you get that piece of information? In the 60s there was very little if anything that a DI could do that would get them NJP'd (charged with a crime) because the need for more troops in Vietnam was so high. The DI's made it their mission to break recruits down so that they could be rebuilt into combat effective Marines and this included physical punishment that would without question get a DI busted down if they were caught doing this now. I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001 and went to MCRD San Diego for boot camp. The platoon I was assigned to had 4 DI. One was the heavy hat, he didn't get involved directly in the daily training, that was left to the 3 junior DI's. They were responsible for waking us up in the most unpleasant way possible and they spent the entire day making you hate every single one of them in the worst way possible because if they made every recruit hate them to death it would cause the recruits to work together and it builds a bond between them forcing them to work together to stay out of trouble with the DI's. In 2001 DI's weren't "allowed" to physically assault recruits, but it didn't stop them from doing it. None of us wanted to snitch on the DI's because most of the recruits that joined already knew that Marine Corps boot camp would be about as fun as a late night with a sandpaper dildo so it was expected. Each platoon had a Guide and squad leaders and the DI's would get them to administer some corrective training after the lights went out. I got slapped in the face during hygiene, DI's would beat the shit out of us during MCMAP, I got kicked right in the ass during runs for slowing down, mail call was like playing a game of Russian roulette. You could get destroyed because sadistic family members would send the recruits pogey bait (snacks and stuff we couldn't have). None of my DI's followed the rules about the mistreatment of recruits and I thanked my DI's for doing that at graduation because it made me a better person. I would've felt cheated if the DI's hadn't treated us like that...
Mr. Ermy spoke about his days as a DI during the Vietnam War era. The scene where he slaps Pvt. Pyle on the left and the right he spoke about as a method to ensure a soldier was trained as effectively as possible in the very short amount of time that they had. They were sending these men off to fight in a war right out of basic, and the amount of time they had to train them was very limited, so more extreme measures were often taken. They weren't out to abuse these men, but they were not there to be their friends. Their entire job was to try and train them as best they could so they would survive and be effective soldiers.
I think you have to understand that a lot of these guys didn't know this was going to happen at this time. It's a movie, but a lot of these Marines were drafted to go to Vietnam. I doubt they truly understood what was about to happen when they got to boot camp.
I personally witnessed 2 recruits get thrown to the ground, one kicked in the ass pretty hard and 1 guy on the range that got a Rifle butt to his helmet. That was in 86
R. Lee Ermy, who was the DI in the film, was actually a DI. And after this film he got his own show on the History Channel called Mail Call. Might be a good thing to do a reaction to?
In case anyone is still wondering: DI's (Drill Instructors) and all military personnel are not allowed to harm another person, unless its training. The military gets mad even for the minor ones. If its an accident, they shove it off, but if its on purpose, your sent to a school room where you discuss about it. Repeat offenders are threatened with Court martial or demoted.
R.I.P. R Lee Ermy. I went to basic in 89 and we had a thing called "wall to wall counseling " it's where the Drill Sgt. (Army) wound bounce you off every wall in the office as a "re training or counseling" method. As a soldier I would take it because I wanted to be there. I wanted to be a soldier. 30 years later I still wear a uniform.
I went through Parris Island in 1969. Yes, there were 3 Drill Instructors per Platoon, one senior DI and two green belt DIs. After regular hours 2 DIs' would go home leaving one DI with the recruits as the "Duty DI" through the night. They were not allowed to touch us back in 1969 either. BUT THEY DID! It was unofficially accepted as part of the training regime. Every member of my 80 man platoon got hit at least once, some more than others. The Marine Corps felt that if they could make a recruit "break" under stress and pressure in a safe, controlled environment, then that recruit would probably break under the stress of combat getting himself killed and probably other Marines as well. The task was to make us strong mentally and physically.
"...an exaggeration of 1960s attitudes..." Not true. I have had many Vietnam Vets tell me basic training was EXACTLY like that. Korea and WWII were often worse. Although, by the 80's things had changed a bit.
R. Lee Ermy was a DI during Vietnam and said it was totally true. The USMC greatly shortened Basic training and sent 95% of draftees direct to the Nam meat grinder. Ermy said he and his fellow DIs resorted to slapping, punching and kicking in desperation to get recruits to learn the hard way and hopefully prevent them from becoming KIAs.
I hit boots on the ground parris island 2008. USMC. We had 4 D.I.'s. One ssgt and three sgts. All of my D.I.'s were African American. The whole race thing didnt even exist as far as we were concerned. We had such a camaraderie and brotherhood. They told us the same thing about the rules. "Not allowed to strike, not allowed to haze, etc.." But, PLENTY of shit happened. No one is going to snitch or cry about it. I got my head split open by a D.I. and spent a day in the med bay. Got my head stitched. That was the end of that. No snitching. Our scribe was stealing peanut butter packets from the chow hall. They were found during an inspection but none of us would snitch. So the whole platoon went through hell. I have so, so many stories. I hated it.. but also Loved every second of it.
During basic at Parris Island the DI's would sometimes use their hard covers to hit you right on the bridge of your nose. Happened to me once and a few others. It sucked lol, but that way they could say it was accident if you complained lol. That's one thing you didn't do was file a complaint they would make your life a living hell. Gotta love basic!
I was at Ft. Jackson, SC in August 1965 and went through basic there and SSG Nixon, a WWII veteran, was our platoon DI. About 3/4ths of our company had graduated college in June - our S-2 deferments ended with our graduation and it was enlist or be drafted. All the college people had enlisted. Nixon was tough but fair and told us that he had limited time to teach us to survive if we were to be sent to The Nam. We paid attention. No one was slapped or punched and it was a major life experience. Years later I can still recite my service number by rote, and enjoy some of the characters, such as SGT Pomales of 'your Baiyonet Commeeteeee.' I became a lawyer and another guy from my training company became a lawyer and the Chief State's Attorney for Connecticut. We both served in Germany with Military Intelligence. I had some other life changes later.
Fun Kansas Fact: Eastern Kansas has a lot of hilly regions, however mid to Western Kansas is always a favorite for Tornado Storm Chasers as the flat Terrain allows for safe viewing from a very far distance.
R. Lee Ermy, was actually a Drill instructor for the USMC during Vietnam 1960's-70's, he even said in an interview it was very sressful, just a meat grinder pushing replacements trough as quickly as possible
The idea behind 'boot camp' is to put stress on the trainees & have them function under that stress. Currently, the reasons that trainees are authorized to have 'hands laid on them' involve their safety (to keep them from harming themselves or others, administering first aid, etc.) Giving trainees brain damage by striking them can be considered 'damaging government property'. On a side note, most American veterans consider the first half of this movie to be comedic.
Joker and his crew defend their base in that one scene which takes place during the Tet Offensive of 1968. That means that Joker's training probably happened in 1967 or early 1968. 👍🖖✌
I was an army vet and stationed in Germany and I left one month before the wall came down. You had tor be hard or both off. Succeed or get out.Disabled vet now. Desert storm
I have a confession, Artur. I joined the USMC the very next day after watching FMJ all the way through for the first time. It was early 1991 and Desert Storm just kicked off. I thought, life sucks...embrace it!
This movie was made in the 80's but time period was in Vietnam era DI's were different but I joined in 1989 DI's still said a lot of the same stuff in bootcamp as this movie.
Hi - I saw an interview about this film behind the scenes, and they do in some scenes show two other DI's just standing in the background, but they stay silent so it is easy to catch every word the characters are saying, otherwise there would be a lot of screaming.
Fun fact Artur, R. Lee Ermy actually served in the Corps and was a DI. Most of his lines during this were actually improv.
We all miss him
I met him at an NRA Convention in 2016 next to the hosts of Top Gun. He was a super down to earth guy
Touche, guys that take it, pass, learn to work together outside emotional variables, fight in missions. & plus keep level head with Chapters in different offices. Talking for my Lifer Army/GB/Chaplain , some lower rank Marines like DI, & Airforce/Citadel. Love my family 🤷 Think this movie (art piece) was a Generation transition of comparison time with youth of MEDIA & opinions creating disrespectful behavior not making them battle ready! Now we make kittens for Bull arenas & give them pills
From my understanding, he was initially hired to assist/train the original actor, but they ended up using him instead.
R. Lee was hired as a technical consultant, but not to the actor originally cast to play the part. After Tim Colceri got the part, he was put up in a hotel to rehearse his part with an assistant director...Kubrick did not want Tim to do the basic training stuff with the other actors so that he would be more realistic as their drill instructor later. Meanwhile, R. Lee is on the set with everyone and Kubrick is watching him work with the actors, and eventually decides that R.Lee is his Drill Instructor, and not Tim Colceri. Kubrick apparently felt bad enough about it that he cast Tim as the door gunner that laughed about murdering all the women and kids and water buffaloes. Stanley Kubrick was quite often not a very nice person to people that worked for him.
As a Marine, I can promise you that Marine vets actually laugh at the boot camp scenes. We lived it, we survived it, we can see the humor... now.
The movie was made in the 80s but took place in the 60s
@RAMIVO DASTIN HEWITT Stanley Kubrick was a genius.
this movie is set in 1967-68
@RAMIVO DASTIN HEWITT you're right in the 80s they made movies with rocks and sticks and bearskins
RAMIVO DASTIN HEWITT , film has an exceptional quality. When they first started recording digitally, the quality was poor; it was a step backward, in a way.
@@samm1561 You don't become a Sgt that fast. The Tet Offensive was in Jan of 1968, so we can safely date the back half of the film from the fact Joker was defending a post the night it took place. But the first half of the film had to have been a couple years before that. I'd place it somewhere around Nov/Dec 1964 - Jan/Feb 1965. Which gives Joker and Cowboy 3 years to earn promotions to Sgt.
After my first deployment I met one of my DI’s and we are really good friends now. I’m glad that they all treated me and everyone else I was in boot camp with equally worthless, it turned us into good Marines
DI in this movie was an actual DI. He did a show for the History channel after he retired about answering questions about the military.
I used to watch Mail Call every night before bed when I was a kid. R Lee Ermey was also great as the cannibal sheriff in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot movies, he was the best part of the movies.
He had two shows at different times. One was Mail Call and the later one was Locked and Loaded. Both were pretty good.
@joseph ka Was R. Lee Earmey part of prophesy? Wow. Gee never knew THAT.
What was it called? Mail call I think, Right?
I was in boot camp at mcrd in 1956 and that shit went on
Lee Emery was a DI at mcrd in 1957. Iam sure it was more brutal befor 1956. EMPER Fi.
My Late Father was a Drill Sergeant, 66-68 active duty. He had survivors guilt over the men he trained coming back from Vietnam either maimed or in a bag. He felt as if he had not done his job properly for them to not come back the way they left. He respected anybody that survived. He always said his job was to break down cocky kids and build them back the way the Army wanted them. Follow orders and doing military actions without question, so when they were in battle, they did not have to think to do something. Due to Vietnam going on, corners were cut, training was intensified, and sometimes people got out of hand. I watched this movie with him once. He hated it, but he also said this kind of training did happen, not all the time, but this would have been many years worth of incidents piled into one example. He did say he was always with 2 other Sergeants, and his role was normally "Good Cop" where another Sgt would tear them a new asshole about doing something wrong, and he would follow up with his part being the guy to teach them how to do it the right way. He did say he got to be Head Asshole sometimes. As somebody that got in trouble as a teen a few times, I think he had the " Head Asshole" part down pat when he needed it. "Boy, you couldnt pour piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel!". I deserved it, and I loved him for it. Now that he is gone, would love to hear it from him one more time. Anybody else says it to me, Im punching them in the kisser.
"Boy, you couldnt pour piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel!" .... that's gold!!!!
Did he hate it because he just didn't think it was a good movie, or because it was too hard to watch? If you don't mind sharing of course. I'm always interested in the opinions of servicemembers regarding movies that supposedly depict their time in service.
@@hopefulagnostic336 I think he liked the movie overall, but he was upset with how much Hell came down on this company of trainees. Maybe one or two things in this movie would happen over a boot camp to a group. I really cant speak for him now. I just remember seeing a sour look on his face every time something shocking would happen.
Thanks for sharing your dad's story.... Also thanks for his service to our country... I bet he got it n your ass a time or two lol
You know that kinda of went with the territory right? It got so bad for a while that 3rd awards of Purple Hearts were simply not made for Marines in I Corps, because the 3rd award was a ticket home. So if a Marine had two awards, even though he went to the hospital, if he could return to the line, he didn't get a third award.
Artur, I am 73. I was in boot camp, Parris Island, South Carolina in 1966. This is a true depiction of my time there, that's why I am so tight with this film. I only got slugged by my Senior Drill Instructor once for a wrong facing movement. That was the last time I forgot the left from the right. Staff Sargent Cornielson was a good teacher, God bless him! When I was in route to Vietnam I had to report for final assignment at Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan. I saw S.Sargent Cornielson returning from his 13 month tour. He did not look well. I didn't speak to him. When I returned after 19 months I understood...........Artur you would make a fine Marine! You would "take it" because you would have to. Never give up! God bless, OLD PETER U S A
Thank you for your service, Marine.
Thank you for your service.
God bless you, soldier. Thank you for your service. Ive had 4 that served in Vietnam.
Semper Fi Marine. Welcome home.
Well said Marine!
I think what many people are confused by is the fact that the movie can give the impression, to people who don't know, that the recruits were subject to beatings all the time for everything.
The Marines I know all said the same thing as you, "After getting smacked, I NEVER MADE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!". But that was it - message received.
Also, and you would know, "blanket parties" did occur as well. They were rare, but they did happen. Marines back in the day were not to be messed with!
Right off the bat, I love that you distinguished a DI instead of saying "drill sergeant." A lot of people don't know the difference. Much love!
Remember. This is just not for elite troops. Cooks , bakers, truck drivers are all indoctrinated this way. This is from the 60’s. My 1962 boot camp was exactly this.
Still had all the overt civilian racism, despite the 1947 changes to the ucmj banning it.. And recruits had few protections.
@Walter Getfucked uh. No. In the 60s the racism was still very overt.
Did you only have 1 DI for a platoon? Army in 2010 had 8-10 for a company or 2-3 per platoon. Was it the draft causing more recruits per DI?
@@arble9 Dunno about them back then, but in the 90s, we had 2 RDCs per division in Navy boot.
Fuck you guys are tough as nails
Absolutely love you and your content! Keep it up man!
Fun fact...Gunny was just supposed to teach an actor to play this role...but then his example of what to do was so good that Kubrick used him instead
Not true, you got only part of it right. I knew R.Lee Ermey personally I worked for his website for 26 years I attended Knob Creek firing range with him twice.
he was supposed to train another actor to play the part but he made the other actor cry. That is when Kubrick decided to drop the other actor and get Gunny to do it.
@@tammycenter8757 GTFO outta here....lol maybe you met him, maybe you worked for his website but the only story I know coming from Him, Colceri and Kubrick mouths is that he was the technical director for the military stuff, he wanted to role, Kubrick cast Colceri. But Gunny had sent Kubrick am audition tape of him saying his lines and ad-libbing more while tennis balls and oranges were thrown at his face...he never skipped a beat...Kubrick chose him for the role and Colceri ended up playing the Iconic Door Gunner. Never once did i hear that Gunny made Tom Colceri...another Marine Vet cry from him acting like a DI and chewing his ass
@@nofuxgivens2797 , LMAO sorry you are offended and as I said most of what you posted is correct but the fact still remains that Kubrick had no intention of placing Gunny in the role until Gunny made the other actor cry. That is a fact. You can get pissed all you want but your emotions don't change facts. I got my information directly from Ermey. Also , no one said he cried because of Ermey training. It was actually a whole different matter but since you want to pretend like you know more about it than R. Lee Ermey himself, then knock yourself out.
@@tammycenter8757 look i have no clue who you are. You come outta nowhere with some claim that Gunny made Tim Colceri cry and that's why Kubrick chose him. A story that nobody seems to ever tell. Tim spoke at length at his memorial. No one is emotional here except maybe you. Feeling compelled to correct or add on with information backed only by your claim...from all the documentaries, the letter from Kubrick to colceri, the time when I was graduating from Infantry school at camp pendleton Gunny came to speak and people asked him about the movie, even what tim colceri has spoken at length about the movie...I know I can pull up tons of stuff referring to what most people know...can you do the same? Because as a Marine and fan of R.Lee Ermy I want to know more about him and the movie which played a huge part of my joining the marine corps. So before another 'thats not true, you're only partly correct' bring some receipts. You're just another random person on the internet why would anyone believe you vs all the other facts put out there?
@@nofuxgivens2797 , again, I worked for R Lee Ermey for 26 years. Or did you somehow miss that part of my post? It's really convenient when people cherry pick what others write simply to fit their own personal narrative. I am going by what he told me himself. You can take that at face value or you can take the Hollywood version of it but we all know that Hollywood isn't exactly honest about what goes on behind the scenes.
God I love R. Lee Ermy, he came in to consult for the movie (being a Drill Instructor himself) but ended up becoming the actor for the role. Most of his lines were improvised in order to give a real experience.
R Lee Ermey is a legend.
RIP to a legend
an american legend
I met him at an NRA Convention in 2016 next to the hosts of Top Gun. He was a super down to earth guy
Ye he was i say was bcs sadly he died 3 years ago
DI was a real former DI that got hired as a consultant, got along so well with the director he got cast as the DI- wrote his own lines.
Legally the marine DIs weren't allowed to hurt them back then, but because the marines were rushing training for Vietnam in order to give these kids even a slight chance of survival... The restrictions weren't enforced as strictly and many DIs resorted to this sort of thing because they needed them to learn as fast as possible to make sure they'd survive.
it's what we experienced during the early/mid 2000s, preparing for Iraq/Afghanistan. The Army threw out all the rules, and went hardcore like this.
I first saw this movie a few weeks after getting out of Basic, and I honestly thought it was very soft at various points. It's not obviously tougher than the Army circa 2004.
@@catlover1986 I went to Army boot camp in the mid 2000s and technically the Drill Sergeants weren't allowed to strike us but they still did honestly its not a big fucking deal. Getting punched or smacked once or twice isnt going to cause that much pain or discomfort at least not compared to the agony of getting smoked for hours and hours straight in the sweltering heat of summer in the southeastern united states or going on ruck marches in full battle rattle for fucking 40-50 miles. I would rather get beat up then forced to go on another ruck march lol.
@@joshuaortiz2031 Thank you for your service, brother. And yes, those marches SUCKED ASS, lol. Man, the color would drain from most of our faces the moment we were informed of another - always longer - ruck march. Some thrived on them - I wasn't one of those guys, lol. Oh my poor dogs!!!! I still remember our cadences, though, haha.
As most can, I remember moments of my basic like it was yesterday. Two-branch vet, here - Army (Bremerhaven, Germany) then Navy (USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63) - but my heart calls back mostly to my Army days. Ruck marches, bivouacs, the gas chamber, our 5'6" Sr Drill Sargent Burleson - _God_ in our opinion at that time, lol. I took Basic at Ft Sill in the summer of '78. Hotter than hell on Christmas. Yes it was Army and yes it was peacetime - blessedly - but still, I watch this and it is SO reminiscent of what we were put through. Looking back, I see that it was necessary to tear us all down to then be built back up as a fighting unit of brothers.
Peace and blessings to all my brothers, whether they served in peacetime or on the battlefield.
@@nEthing4Her Yeah I have chronic back and shoulder problems from the ruck marches alone. I am not a big guy I am 5'6" so my stride doesnt cover the same distance as some dude that is 6'4" not to mention when I was training to deploy to the middle east in Ft hood back in 2010 they issued me the M249 SAW and didnt give me the right padded sling for it because there were supply issues so I used the shitty old m16 sling and the weight of the SAW made the sling dig and cut into my shoulders. One time I had to use fucking 550 chord as a makeshift sling for my SAW in a training exercise which was even worse. I have a torn rotator in both shoulders thanks to the supply issues i my old unit, at least I get 10% disability for it from the VA. The cadences were fun that took your mind off the misery whether you were running or on a ruck march. The gas chamber in basic was no big deal. I didnt eat hardly anything that morning knowing what to expect no one else heeded my warning and the entire trail leading out the gas chamber was covered in puke. Those were some good times. I had a friend that was a helicopter mechanic on the USS enterprise. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would pick navy or air force. Army and Marines is a brutal life.
@@joshuaortiz2031 OMG I can't imagine trying to carry a saw with an M16 sling or a specially paracord. What the f*** was wrong with them oh wait it was basic so we didn't matter until graduation LOL. I was also 5'6" so yes keeping up with the taller guys was rough. My legs always ached from soles to balls. Looking back I wouldn't trade it for anything. It took a grandma's boy from Missouri and turned him into a man. I'm 61 now, and like I said, I didn't like it then but I realized how much it helped me now.
The more Estonians I see and meet the more esteem I have for them. Great people.
Fun fact: the guy playing the GI is not an actor. He is a real life GI who was brought on during filming and ended up taking up the role full time.
That DI is Ronald Lee Ermey. Not only was he an actor but a real US Marines Gunnery SGT and Vietnam vet. That man was an American treasure! This movie was set in 1968.
This movie inspired an entire generation of marines.
Likely a couple generations.
From slaying dragons to little girls breaking moulds: every modern generation of marines has a place in their heart for this movie.
Ironically it is antiwar propaganda.
@@juanduenas1943 Kubric might have tried to make an anti-war film, but what he made was the greatest recruiting tool to help find those in the room who saw that movie and said: "I have gotta do that."
@@jamesmcgrath849 lol It is kind funny how it works out. I am fine with the film till it gets to depicting the actual war. Vietnam Vets hold a speical place in my heart, due to the way they were treated after returning home. It was simply not right. In my opinion the movie portrays the GI's in an unrealistic bad light.
I'm surprised this video subject didn't come up a long time ago lol. Good video, good perspective. Solid content.
R. Lee Ermy will be missed. Rest In Peace Marine!
RLE wasn't even supposed to be in the movie, he was there as a consultant, showing them how to be a DI. They saw the demonstration and wanted him to do it on set, and this is what we got, some of the best cinema in history
"Kansas is flat"
Just like the Netherlands and my Ex
Florida is flatter than Kansas I know this because I live in Kansas and have seen the average heights of each state and florida is flatter
And the planet Earth in general.
Now back under the bridge I go to wait for some unsuspecting billy goats to happen along.
@@fredvincent7967 do you want to know wants flatter apparently his ex
Damn
Nice .
m.th-cam.com/video/1-z75g7MF_4/w-d-xo.html
Another thing to remember about this film is that it takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. One of the themes here is that a majority of the recruits really did not want to be there at all, but due to the draft they had to go. During basic training the DI breaks down individuality and uses the soldiers' dislike for him to unite them together as a unit. He dishes out praise seldom, making it a point of extreme pride for soldiers who receive his praise, making the soldiers unite even more and create a natural pecking order among themselves, with a sense of respect for those that excel at being soldiers.
they yell and insult you to emotionally harden you, if you go out on duty they want you to be as unfazed as possible by anything
Recruits need to be shocked out of their civilian complacency for their own good.
Yes, screaming and smacking and pt are way easier than bullets and grenades and artillery to deal with.
@@jimdandy8119 No way a D.I. can make it as hard as what they'll experience on the battlefield, but they do their best.
you have to appreciate the insults and yelling its comedic gold. I did nine years in the Army and the crazy shit the drill sergeants say helped me get through boot camp. It's fucking hilarious and if you take it personally you're pathetic. These guys have the job of training hundreds of men every year to prepare them for war. Not an easy thing to do.
He was a legend. He said what he said and did was a little over the top for the movie... But there is usually multiple DI's yelling at once so it's absolute chaos.
That is a real DI. He’s an amazing yeller and an amazing marine.
Back when this movie was set, the standard issue was the M1 Garand 30-06.
Featured in the film was the M14 7.62x51mm.
During Vietnam, the US military switched to the M16 5.56 (.223)
Now is the M4 5.56 (.223)
This movie is a classic!
The movie was about Parris Island during the Vietnam War. When I went through Parris Island, we had 3 Drill Instructors and 1 Senior Drill Instructor for a Platoon.
When I was in the US army, exercise used for punishment was referred to as smoking, or getting smoked.
At Leonard Wood in 86 a private killed a big ass fly in formation and they made us dig a hole and give it a proper burial, when the DI’s asked about the ceremony and asked if he was buried at parade rest we said we don’t know, we properly dug another hole and hurried it in parade rest. Leonard Wood OSUT was way tougher than Benning jump school by miles. Sapper training is insanely bad ass.
In the navy we called it "Getting beat"
@@jamesphillips7341
Fort Leonard Wood .. Sept 97
B 2 10
@@w.n.y_n.j.2584 D-4-2 1986
The setting of the movie was in the 60's and 70's when training time was shortened in order to send more guys to Vietnam. R. Lee Ermy was an actual DI during those times and what you see is a slight exaggeration of what he did during those times. Every day he would read the obituaries of those killed in the war and it was his motivation to train these guys tougher and better.
There's actually a whole second half of the movie where they're all in Vietnam. And it's actually, like, just as intense. It's wild.
The time frame of this movie is Vietnam War, in the 60's early 70's.
R. Lee Ermy, the actor portraying the DI also wrote the script for the basic training portion of the movie. And he was a former Marine Corp Sergeant when the movie was made.
fun fact. Stanley Kubrick had to ask R. Lee Ermey what a reach around was.
"Ermey".
The director of Full Metal Jacket asked him!
@@christophertrout6826 that was Stanley Kubrick
Weinstein didn’t have to!
The movie was made in the 80's but the time period being portrayed was probably circa mid 1960's. An infamous incident at Paris Island, South Carolina, was instrumental in bringing about a major change in the way recruits were trained and treated.
In that movie Ermey was the SDI and he had other DI's with him but they are only seen in a couple of the boot camp scenes.
R Lee Ermey really was a drill instructor. He improvised most of his lines. In real life however, all of the people that had a chance to meet him have said he was one of the nicest, kindest people they've ever met. He went out of his way to promote the military and advocate for soldiers, and was given an Honorary promotion to Gunnery Seargent years after his service. He was the only person the Marine Corp has even given an honorary promotion to.
R. Lee Ermey is not like that in real life. He was very well liked and respected it's just a movie my friend
He was like than when he was a true DI.
They all were like that while they were DI. They have to be mean to prepare you for war and death. Sad truth about DI. Most of them are very nice people outside of basic, but they are sobs during.
"Ermey"
@@catlover1986 whoops lol
@@2g6382 Everyone does it. I just fix it everywhere. Do what I can 😹
I was in the Air Force. We had two Drill Sergeants. Our senior instructor was a former Marine, and he had quite a mouth on him. Nevertheless, I went on to do 22 years.
I was in the Marines during the 70's and there was 2-3 Drill Instructors with the platoon. That is the way we were spoken to by the Drill instructors and yes, they would hit you. I went to the theater to watch this when it first came out and I almost got up and left because it reminded me so much about what I went through.
Proud to say I'll actually be leaving for the 2 week quarantine on Sunday November 29th before making my way down to MCRD Parris Island, SC. And I also wanted to say Artur, thanks for the awesome content, I just started watching your videos a few weeks ago and I really like them, stay strong in these difficult times my friend, and a big hell yea for Berlin, New Hampshire, US.
The rifle was the M14 in the movie because it takes place during the Vietnam war. In the 80's it was the M16 A2. Later in Vietnam as depicted in the movie they carried M16 A1s.
For war movies react to the following:
- apocalypse now
- hacksaw ridge
- good morning vietnam
- merry christmas mr lawrence
You forgot heartbreak ridge. Clint Eastwood. But good choices.
Fuck yes!
Platoon
Don't forget Top Gun! The original, of course.
Brush you forgot saving private ryan
I’m old enough to have gone to the theater as a kid with my parents and watch this when it came out. This was also filmed in the UK in a time when everything wasn’t CGI.
The anti-war movie that caused an entire generation of young men to go and join the Marines!
Gunnery Sergeant R Lee Ermey!
RIP sir, hoorah! Semper Fi 🇺🇸
I thought it was a comidy
I keep saying... Full Metal Jacket is not a war movie, it is an anti-war movie. I think the same goes for Apocalypse Now.
@@bravo6959 it most certainly isn't a comedy one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen
@@1313tennisman ok
@@1313tennisman Were you in the military? It's normal life for soldiers and Marines.
My grandfather went in to the Marines in '75, did the full 20 years and then retired as a Gunnery Sergeant, was an MP stationed at Iwakuni in Okinawa, Cherry Point NC, Hawaii (not sure which base) and Norfolk VA. Anyhow, I've talked to him about this movie. He said that all of it was extremely accurate in terms of the boot camp scenes.
All of his DI's were Vietnam combat veterans, and ran him and everybody else through the wringer. They had one guy, a Jamaican, who was basically their Private Pyle, that was given the honorary title of "Platoon F*ck Up." On one occasion he was getting ripped for doing something wrong and was being corrected with leg lifts on his back on the parade grounds. Being that this was August at Parris Island, SC meant that the sun during the day was bright and hot as hell, so the Private kept putting his hand over his face to shield his eyes from the sun. After doing that after being told by his DI two or three times to quit, the DI kicked the shit out of him and then sent him and my grandfather's platoon on a several mile run.
Now with the blanket party scene, the USMC did not regularly allow that to occur. My grandfather and his platoon are one example, because they planned a blanket party for their Private Pyle, but the DI's caught wind of it and transferred him out of that platoon and into another one. Hazing like that was pretty much banned after the US Gov't ended the draft in 1973, and the Marines went back to an all volunteer force like it was prior to 1965, although DI's could still put their hands on a recruit for "corrective purposes."
Fun times, lol.
Almost all of what he says in this video was just off the top of his head. He was a great actor, DI, and an American hero. We'll all miss R Lee Ermey.
This movie was made in the 80’s but they are portraying basic training for the Marines during the Vietnam war. So this kind of training was during the the 60’s and 70’s. My dad served and got wounded in the Army fighting in Vietnam.
This movie is depicting the late 60s and early 70s. When I went to Marine boot camp in the 90s the racism wasn’t there but they were similar to the movie. We were lucky we had 4 Drill instructors one got investigated for a week for a false claim from a recruit and they gave us a new one that stayed or the rest of the training so we were lucky to have 4. But normally there is only 3 DI’s
The man playing the DI is actually a great guy. He got the part by accident when one of the actors didn't do a good enough job as a DI so this man was advising on the movie about boot camp he was also a Drill Instructor back in the day so they offered him the part and he went on to do a bunch of different movies. Marines love the man.
It’s crazy Artur now has 309k subs, I remember when he had 10k!
@@aliceshaw8265 Good left is the best side to be on
The guy that was getting slapped around was actor Vincent D'Onofrio. Great actor. I was at PI in the mid 80's. People were not beat up but there were short gut punches and once in awhile someone was taken behind the racks for a minute. Usually when they messed up and the platoon was punished.
The basic training in this movie was set in 1967. The rifle in the basic training is the M14. Estonia also uses a number of M14s as DMRs and cerimonialy.
Almost all of the recruits in the first half of the movie were involuntarily conscripted, the movie was set in 1967. “Snowball” was maybe a volunteer judging by his “gung ho” schtick, but the rest were almost certainly picked out at random from a line of draftees. About one out of ten draftees were sent to the Marine Corps and the vast majority of the rest went into the Army. A lot (maybe even most) Air Force and Navy recruits at the time were people who didn’t want to get drafted into the Army or Marines, and those branches still have a “softer” reputation. A Navy recruiter I met with in the early 90s even used that “in the rear with the gear” line! I’ve heard stories from friends about Marine boot camp and hazing of the type depicted in the movie continued at least into the 1990s. I bet it probably still takes place to some degree. The extreme degree depicted came from a few factors. The Marine boot camp was cut from 12 weeks to 8 weeks in the mid 1960s, increasing pressure on the DIs to prepare the recruits to go straight into a war zone. Additionally, the services began conscripting people who would normally be disqualified for being too physically unfit or who had mental problems or learning disabilities. They were called “McNamera’s Morons” after the Secretary of Defense at the time. These poor guys weren’t washed out early on like would normally happen in peacetime but rather force fed through the system. They are represented in the film by characters like “Pyle” and the Huey door gunner.
The training weapons are the M14, a semi automatic battle rifle, most typically held a 20 round clip. The field issue ones were very similar but had a synthetic stock because the wood stock would mold and rot in places like Vietnam.
Movie was made in 1987, however the time period is in the 70's during Vietnam war. The DI in the movie, was a real ex-marine DI ( Gunnery sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey) that was originally hired for consultation in the movie, however the director was so impressed with his abilities, he just put him in the role of the DI. Gunny passed away in 2018. The rifles were M14.
Did you really call him an "ex" marine? Those don't exist.
There were actually 3 DIs in this movie. The other two were not actively involved in the movie
I heard in your other recent vids you have been suffering from depression, Im not a doctor but I feel for you and Im praying for you everyday. 😊 Stay happy and stay strong.
My unit , 2CR trained with the Estonian Army in Tapa for Operation Atlantic Resolve. We were treated with great hospitality and generosity by the Estonians, who are great warriors. Also great party nights in Tallinn and Independence Day parade in Narva. 🇺🇸 🇪🇪
3 DI’s per platoon. A Senior( who he represents) and 2 juniors. The Juniors were actually the bad asses. In this, they rolled them all together to make filming easier.
Everytime I see this I always remember that the Drill Instructor knew that in a few weeks these kids were going to to be in a Viet Nam Combat zone and going to face a very capable and highly motivated enemy that really wanted to kill them and many of these kids were going to get maimed or killed at their hand. It must have been a haunting job being a DI in the Corp back then.
The gunny was a retired marine Vet and Drill instructor in real life so hes not making this up he knows how the
DI's really were
I was in Army Basic in 1990 and my ranger buddy had a blanket party. Its an unfortunate event, but a necessary teaching tool.
He says we don’t have small towns here. Bro my town here in Texas has a population of 200. The whole county has less then 5000.
And my county has 10 million people in it. I wish I lived in a rural county 😔
Smallest town in the USA has 1 citizen. She's the. mayor, runs the post office, and a small bar. As the mayor she issued her own business license for the bar.
@@kgkbuugj I used to live in Dallas county. I know the feeling and that’s why I moved lol
How many voted Biden? The entire cematary?
My small Kentucky town has about 600 souls and the county...about the same at a 5 or 6000 . I couldn't imagine living in city stacked upon on another.
On the locker thing - at basic training (in 2001 at least) they had a sheet on each of our lockers showing how it has to be laid out (where to put socks etc.), and that sheet itself has a classification level (Restricted, from memory), making it illegal for a soldier to tell people how Australian soldiers sort their wardrobe! :)
This movie certainly gave me a good laugh with the Gunnery Sergeant's creative insults.
Abraham Lincoln When I was in basic, I did so many push-ups for laughing at shit my Drill Sergeants said. I couldn’t help it, they said said the craziest stuff!🤣
messing up drill. i screwed up an about on the march. I did it on one leg. started with the wrong foot. I nailed it, carried on like nothing happened. Everyone saw it. my DI was impressed. called me out. made me redo my maneuver in front of everyone. it was funny. one of my best memories.
I remember watching this movie when I was a teenager with my dad rip the drill Sargent
He brought out everyone's race. No racism
Artur. As someone has already mentioned, this story takes place in the mid-late '60s. Not every recruit was a volunteer. The US still relied on conscripts (draft) back then to back fill any shortages in man power. You're going to get a few jokers here and there who just don't want to be there and have attitudes.
I'd guess 95% of Vietnam Era Marines were probably draftees. They certainly had no motivation to perform when they arrived at basic!
I remember when I accidentally ran into a DI when rushing to my bed. He grabbed me by the collar and put me against the wall. Haha. I was told not to do it again. Looking back, recruit training was one of the funniest experiences I’ve ever went through. The insults were insanely creative and hilarious.
6'4" or not, you wouldn't have wanted to mess with R. Lee.
I went through Parris Island in 1972. Go ahead and try one those Drill Instructors. 😂😂
The movie came out in the 80’s but the time period depicted was about 1967. My dad joined the army in 1967 and said their boot camp was exactly like this as well. He also went threw boot camp with the M14 rifle, used the M14 in Korea on the DMZ, then switched to the M16 when he arrived in Vietnam in January of 1968.
Oh, no... DI’s are still as scary as they are in FMJ.
@Joseph Melcher 6 months ago I would say you were wrong but
40 years later I still remember the name of my DI... SFC Gahagan C-1-1 Ft. Knox
No they're not
@Joseph Melcher
Uh... no, it’s not. I had a friend come back from boot camp recently and he had three DIs cussing him out half the time and PTing the class the other half of the time. The idea of those damned liberals making DIs soft is just a grade-A level of right-wing bullshit.
They only stop when they believe someone of higher rank is watching.
Umm, where did you get that piece of information? In the 60s there was very little if anything that a DI could do that would get them NJP'd (charged with a crime) because the need for more troops in Vietnam was so high. The DI's made it their mission to break recruits down so that they could be rebuilt into combat effective Marines and this included physical punishment that would without question get a DI busted down if they were caught doing this now. I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001 and went to MCRD San Diego for boot camp. The platoon I was assigned to had 4 DI. One was the heavy hat, he didn't get involved directly in the daily training, that was left to the 3 junior DI's. They were responsible for waking us up in the most unpleasant way possible and they spent the entire day making you hate every single one of them in the worst way possible because if they made every recruit hate them to death it would cause the recruits to work together and it builds a bond between them forcing them to work together to stay out of trouble with the DI's. In 2001 DI's weren't "allowed" to physically assault recruits, but it didn't stop them from doing it. None of us wanted to snitch on the DI's because most of the recruits that joined already knew that Marine Corps boot camp would be about as fun as a late night with a sandpaper dildo so it was expected. Each platoon had a Guide and squad leaders and the DI's would get them to administer some corrective training after the lights went out. I got slapped in the face during hygiene, DI's would beat the shit out of us during MCMAP, I got kicked right in the ass during runs for slowing down, mail call was like playing a game of Russian roulette. You could get destroyed because sadistic family members would send the recruits pogey bait (snacks and stuff we couldn't have). None of my DI's followed the rules about the mistreatment of recruits and I thanked my DI's for doing that at graduation because it made me a better person. I would've felt cheated if the DI's hadn't treated us like that...
Mr. Ermy spoke about his days as a DI during the Vietnam War era. The scene where he slaps Pvt. Pyle on the left and the right he spoke about as a method to ensure a soldier was trained as effectively as possible in the very short amount of time that they had. They were sending these men off to fight in a war right out of basic, and the amount of time they had to train them was very limited, so more extreme measures were often taken. They weren't out to abuse these men, but they were not there to be their friends. Their entire job was to try and train them as best they could so they would survive and be effective soldiers.
I suggest the Movie Lone Surviver. It is about operation Red Wings when 4 seals where attacked in Afghanistan
I was in bootcamp San Diego 1989. This guy was a real drill instructor .you know him as an actor . His name is R.Lee. Ermey. He served in
How we take it?. Its all strong mentally, you want to be a US MARINE. PERIOD. THE BEST ON EARTH.
I think you have to understand that a lot of these guys didn't know this was going to happen at this time. It's a movie, but a lot of these Marines were drafted to go to Vietnam. I doubt they truly understood what was about to happen when they got to boot camp.
I personally witnessed 2 recruits get thrown to the ground, one kicked in the ass pretty hard and 1 guy on the range that got a Rifle butt to his helmet. That was in 86
R. Lee Ermy, who was the DI in the film, was actually a DI. And after this film he got his own show on the History Channel called Mail Call. Might be a good thing to do a reaction to?
In case anyone is still wondering:
DI's (Drill Instructors) and all military personnel are not allowed to harm another person, unless its training. The military gets mad even for the minor ones. If its an accident, they shove it off, but if its on purpose, your sent to a school room where you discuss about it. Repeat offenders are threatened with Court martial or demoted.
R.I.P. R Lee Ermy. I went to basic in 89 and we had a thing called "wall to wall counseling " it's where the Drill Sgt. (Army) wound bounce you off every wall in the office as a "re training or counseling" method. As a soldier I would take it because I wanted to be there. I wanted to be a soldier. 30 years later I still wear a uniform.
I went through Parris Island in 1969. Yes, there were 3 Drill Instructors per Platoon, one senior DI and two green belt DIs. After regular hours 2 DIs' would go home leaving one DI with the recruits as the "Duty DI" through the night.
They were not allowed to touch us back in 1969 either. BUT THEY DID! It was unofficially accepted as part of the training regime. Every member of my 80 man platoon got hit at least once, some more than others. The Marine Corps felt that if they could make a recruit "break" under stress and pressure in a safe, controlled environment, then that recruit would probably break under the stress of combat getting himself killed and probably other Marines as well. The task was to make us strong mentally and physically.
Full Metal Jacket is an exaggeration of 1960s attitudes as seen from the 1980s. Even in the 80s, touching recruits wasn't seen as allowable.
edit this saying "like this post so Arthur can see this" that way it gets his attention.
"...an exaggeration of 1960s attitudes..."
Not true. I have had many Vietnam Vets tell me basic training was EXACTLY like that. Korea and WWII were often worse. Although, by the 80's things had changed a bit.
R. Lee Ermy was a DI during Vietnam and said it was totally true. The USMC greatly shortened Basic training and sent 95% of draftees direct to the Nam meat grinder. Ermy said he and his fellow DIs resorted to slapping, punching and kicking in desperation to get recruits to learn the hard way and hopefully prevent them from becoming KIAs.
No exaggeration. This happened all the time till the mid 70's early 80's. You need to talk to Marines that were there. My uncle was.
I hit boots on the ground parris island 2008. USMC. We had 4 D.I.'s. One ssgt and three sgts. All of my D.I.'s were African American. The whole race thing didnt even exist as far as we were concerned. We had such a camaraderie and brotherhood.
They told us the same thing about the rules. "Not allowed to strike, not allowed to haze, etc.."
But, PLENTY of shit happened. No one is going to snitch or cry about it. I got my head split open by a D.I. and spent a day in the med bay. Got my head stitched. That was the end of that. No snitching. Our scribe was stealing peanut butter packets from the chow hall. They were found during an inspection but none of us would snitch. So the whole platoon went through hell. I have so, so many stories. I hated it.. but also Loved every second of it.
During basic at Parris Island the DI's would sometimes use their hard covers to hit you right on the bridge of your nose. Happened to me once and a few others. It sucked lol, but that way they could say it was accident if you complained lol. That's one thing you didn't do was file a complaint they would make your life a living hell. Gotta love basic!
I was at Ft. Jackson, SC in August 1965 and went through basic there and SSG Nixon, a WWII veteran, was our platoon DI. About 3/4ths of our company had graduated college in June - our S-2 deferments ended with our graduation and it was enlist or be drafted. All the college people had enlisted. Nixon was tough but fair and told us that he had limited time to teach us to survive if we were to be sent to The Nam. We paid attention. No one was slapped or punched and it was a major life experience. Years later I can still recite my service number by rote, and enjoy some of the characters, such as SGT Pomales of 'your Baiyonet Commeeteeee.' I became a lawyer and another guy from my training company became a lawyer and the Chief State's Attorney for Connecticut. We both served in Germany with Military Intelligence. I had some other life changes later.
Thank you Artur. From the Love(Liebe) brothers!
Fun Kansas Fact: Eastern Kansas has a lot of hilly regions, however mid to Western Kansas is always a favorite for Tornado Storm Chasers as the flat Terrain allows for safe viewing from a very far distance.
R. Lee Ermy, was actually a Drill instructor for the USMC during Vietnam 1960's-70's, he even said in an interview it was very sressful, just a meat grinder pushing replacements trough as quickly as possible
The idea behind 'boot camp' is to put stress on the trainees & have them function under that stress. Currently, the reasons that trainees are authorized to have 'hands laid on them' involve their safety (to keep them from harming themselves or others, administering first aid, etc.) Giving trainees brain damage by striking them can be considered 'damaging government property'.
On a side note, most American veterans consider the first half of this movie to be comedic.
This movie was made in the 1980's, but it was set in the 1960's during Vietnam.
Joker and his crew defend their base in that one scene which takes place during the Tet Offensive of 1968. That means that Joker's training probably happened in 1967 or early 1968. 👍🖖✌
I absolutely loved this DI I wish more were like him
I was an army vet and stationed in Germany and I left one month before the wall came down. You had tor be hard or both off. Succeed or get out.Disabled vet now. Desert storm
I have a confession, Artur. I joined the USMC the very next day after watching FMJ all the way through for the first time. It was early 1991 and Desert Storm just kicked off. I thought, life sucks...embrace it!
The story of the movie is actually in the 60s, in the Vietnam war.
This movie was made in the 80's but time period was in Vietnam era DI's were different but I joined in 1989 DI's still said a lot of the same stuff in bootcamp as this movie.
I remember something sort of like this, I loved it while a lot of guys cried an was homesick. My best times foreal
Hi - I saw an interview about this film behind the scenes, and they do in some scenes show two other DI's just standing in the background, but they stay silent so it is easy to catch every word the characters are saying, otherwise there would be a lot of screaming.