R. Lee Ermey

There was a huge, tremendous amount of disabled veterans and the Veteran’s Administration just wasn’t geared up for it. I know for a fact that it’s getting better and better.

It’s been a pretty fun ride, to tell you the truth.

There have been a lot of changes in recruit training in the past twenty years.

Kubrick ate it up. He loved it. He just let me go crazy.

Kubrick’s films have life – they just never die.

When you try to find funding for a VVA function, it doesn’t seem like it’s any trouble at all. People come out of the woodwork with their money to help out because we went over and fought a war.

Drill instructors worked seven days a week, fifteen to seventeen hours a day in many cases, with no time off in between platoons.

I was stationed at a marine recruit depot in San Diego from 1965 to 1967.

We had times in ’66 and ’67 when we would pick up a platoon of privates out of the receiving barracks the week before we even graduated the platoon that we were on!

I honestly do feel that I am a role model for young people.

The drill instructor must have total and complete control. Mindless obedience is what he’s after.

I got space from Travis Air Force Base, went back to the Philippine Islands and made it a point to meet the only American casting director in the Philippines. I was off and running.

There’s a lot of whiners in every crowd.

Everybody respects the Vietnam Veterans of America.

I disagree with a lot of those changes, however at the end of the day – I go down to recruit graduation at least once or twice a year.

The biggest problem was the politicians knew nothing about fighting a war.

It’s my firm conviction that when Uncle Sam calls, by God we go, and we do the best that we can.

I got to write most of everything I said.

Even though I disagree with many of the changes, when I see the privates graduate at the end of the day, when they walk off that drill field at the end of the ceremony, they are still fine privates; outstanding, well motivated privates.

I don’t have any respect at all for the scum-bags who went to Canada to avoid the draft or to avoid doing their fair share.

I’ve never had to spend any time in the VA hospital, so I really can’t speak for those guys.

The bad news motivated the drill instructors that much more.

Without discipline, there is no Marine Corp.

I firmly believe that you live and learn, and if you don’t learn from past mistakes, then you need to be drug out and shot.

Back in the old Corp, we weren’t training those privates to infiltrate into the peacetime Marine Corp. We were training those privates to go to Vietnam.

Back in those days intimidation was the greatest tool the drill instructor had. Without that tool, he would not have had control.

That’s all I cared about too, was getting it right.

America’s trying to do the best for its veterans.

I go the VA Hospital when I have a problem and the doctor jumps on me.

The best part about the movie, and everybody seems to rave about it, is the boot camp part.

You’d be surprised how many kids and young people come to the website and send me email that they are actually going into the Marine Corp because of something that I said or did.