Quotes By R. Lee Ermey

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

In order to be a good actor, I'm a firm believer that you need to bring something to the table.

The bad news motivated the drill instructors that much more.

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.

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

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

Communications are better now than in my Vietnam days.

I try to get over to Iraq and Afghanistan as much as I can.

I spend a lot of time with my characters.

There's a lot of whiners in every crowd.

Playing the good guy is tough because you know as well as I do, in real life, you have to watch your P's and Q's and conduct yourself in a respectable manner if you expect to have friends.

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.

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

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.

I play well with everybody.

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.

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

I got to write most of everything I said.

Everybody respects the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Every character I've ever played, I always try to take him right to the edge and not allow him to fall over, but directors have a tendency to pull me back a little bit.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

I'm never, like I say, I'm never happy, I'm never satisfied, it's never good enough.

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

Kubrick's films have life - they just never die.

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