R Lee Ermey Dead At 74

[Sal]

RIP

Wasn't the Full Metal Jacket opening scene unscripted or something?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

RIP

Wasn't the Full Metal Jacket opening scene unscripted or something?

He adlibbed. Anybody who has been through boot camp could probably reel off a long sequence like that, but he got behind it and PUSHED.

[Brian37]

His real career in the military made his military roles in movies very believable.

[Rev. Rye]

Unless you've been through boot camp you may not realize that it's one long test. If you can't fold your underwear according to the specs why would they give you a tank? How you handle stress is a big part of it. That's where the DI comes in. Ermey exaggerated the role but not by a huge amount.

Ermey was one in real life. Apparently, the drill sergeant in the original novel The Short-Timers was even more sadistic than in the film, and Ermey convinced Kubrick to tone it down. Apparently, in real life, if he acted like he did in the novel, he’d completely lose respect from his recruits. This is one of those cases (like Karl Malden’s priest in On The Waterfront) where it might seem like a big exaggeration, but, in reality, it’s not.

[Brian37]

Unless you've been through boot camp you may not realize that it's one long test. If you can't fold your underwear according to the specs why would they give you a tank? How you handle stress is  a big part of it. That's where the DI comes in. Ermey exaggerated the role but not by a huge amount.

Ermey was one in real life. Apparently, the drill sergeant in the original novel The Short-Timers was even more sadistic than in the film, and Ermey convinced Kubrick to tone it down. Apparently, in real life, if he acted like he did in the novel, he’d completely lose respect from his recruits. This is one of those cases (like Karl Malden’s priest in On The Waterfront) where it might seem like a big exaggeration, but, in reality, it’s not.

I washed out of Air Force basic training. For me, it wasn't any of the physical stuff, I got through that fine. But, unfortunately by the time I went it at 19, I had lived my youth having been beaten up and bullied and was very insecure at the time I went in. I can say that with that history, I was doomed to fail from the start. I wish my recruiter had told me that it was all just a mental test. I hated being yelled at from 5:30am to 10pm at night. I didn't understand back then that it was just a test. Back then I punished myself and blamed myself for everything and was very insecure back then.

But, I do look back at that period in my life and know that those drill instructors simply are testing you to insure if you go out on the battlefield, you don't just need the physical capability, but the mental capability too. 

Point is in real life, we need guys like him. I wish humans never felt the need to fight each other in war, but the unfortunate reality is that we will always be tribal to some degree. I may not have served myself, but I do understand the necessity for our military and their instructors.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Brian, they can't tell you it's a test. Recruits are informed that the sky will fall on them if they don't shine their shoes properly. If they knew it was a test they slack off.

On the fun side, one of the guy in my company at boot camp had been in the Air Force and the Army. This was his THIRD boot camp. 100% agreement that he was insane.

[Angrboda]

He was a lot of fun to watch. Sad news.