R. Lee Ermey

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

“I don't have to be concerned about everybody else's character.”

“The bad news motivated the drill instructors that much more.”

“I got to write most of everything I said.”

“America's trying to do the best for its veterans.”

“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.”

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

“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!”

“For me, it's an honor for the military to ask me to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or GITMO. I'm happy to go.”

“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 my firm conviction that when Uncle Sam calls, by God we go, and we do the best that we can.”

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

“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 spend a lot of time with my characters.”

“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.”

“Communications are better now than in my Vietnam days.”

“Without discipline, there is no Marine Corps.”

“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.”