In Full Metal Jacket boot camp...?

Question

what is the guy in the back wearing the big metal helmet and what does he do. When the drill instructor says "Hit it sweetheart" and tells him to turn off the lights

Answer 1

He is the fire watch. It's a guard position to make sure everyone behaves and no one is smoking.

Answer 2

R.Lee ERMEY  was discharged because of several injuries. He was then made an honorary Gunny.....

Answer 3

I know that when I went to boot camp thirty years after the when the movie is set, it was pretty d**n close to that. The only thing wrong with the movie was that it was filmed at MCRD San Diego, not Parris Island, but only a Marine would know the difference. I never saw a drill instructor hit anyone. not saying it didn't happen, heard of a couple of incidents that I cannot confirm, but I never witnessed it. Otherwise, pretty realistic.

Answer 4

Yes, he was the fire watch. Full Metal Jacket was a realistic look at Marine recruit training. The movie deteriorated after that got to 'Nam.

Yep, no matter what some say, the part of the movie about boot camp was very realistic. That's from personal experience. Sure, you can't depict it exactly. That was the only realistic part of the movie.

Yeah, I was definitely in boot camp and in Vietnam. The Vietnam part of the movie was pure BS.

R. Lee Earney is a fake. He made a lot of money but, he is a fake. He was never a Gunny in the Marines. That's what he claims to be. He did serve as a supply clerk at Da Nang. He was a Staff Sergeant when he got out of the Corps and was never a Gunny.

The one thing which was defintely right out of boot camp was the phrase, "This is my rifle , this is my gun; this is for fighting, this is for fun."  I heard this exact phrase long before the movie. I was slapped, punched and kicked in boot camp. And I was a very good recruit. I don't even say this was bad except in the cases where they told you to do one thing and then kicked you for it when you were executing it.

Yes, the boot camp part of the movie was right on.

Fire watch was posted every night. No one ever said fire watch was to look for misconduct, there was no misconduct while asleep that I saw. It was to make sure everyone was safe while sleeping.

Answer 5

Good answers, except for the one that says it's a good look at boot camp.

R. Lee was arguing with the director, what's his name, the whole time that most of those things don't happen. You could argue it does but it really isn't the way it is portrayed. The rumors/reputation of boot camp is there for a reason and real stories exist that support it but it wasn't a bunch of 1 liners and beatings for me. There was a lot of learning and "corrections"

Answer 6

Serious Joe is right.