# Are there people who consider Col. Jessup as the good guy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 23, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293 "2025-01-23T16:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/21 "2025-01-25T16:14:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > In the movie they made it out to be like wearing white rather than camo made them targets for Cuban snipers. By 1992 no one was worried about Cuban snipers. The biggest worry was defectors trying to make it through the two 30 year old minefields. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/22 "2025-01-25T16:36:07Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > In the movie they made it out to be like wearing white rather than camo made them targets for Cuban snipers. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/n4yegxtUcqY/maxresdefault.jpg "The best of MAD MEN đŸ“ș Roger Don & Betty: Dinner pt. 1 | HD with subtitles") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4yegxtUcqY&t=120s) > _Roger Sterling: I’ll get hers [cigarette], you get your own. ‘Three on a match’._ > _Betty Draper: I never understood that. Is that like ‘three on a horse’?_ > _Roger Sterling: Trench war, first war. They used to say, ‘First man lights up, they notice you. Second man, Jerry takes aim, third one, Wiedersehen.’_ > _Don Draper: But the professional wisdom says that one of our guys came up with that as a way to sell matches._ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/23 "2025-01-25T21:19:29Z")
Correction to my previous post: it’s not the opening scene that has the Silent Drill Platoon. The opening scene is of Gitmo and the attack on PFC Santiago. The Silent Drill Platoon is the next scene, which leads to showing Demi Moore as Galloway. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/24 "2025-01-25T21:25:22Z")
Back to the OP, ISTM there are always bullyboy sorts, both in and out of the military, who see bluster, bravado, and indifference to random violence as The Ideal Manly Way. To those losers, Jessup was certainly a winner. The overlap between that idea and current events hardly needs pointing out. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/25 "2025-01-25T22:25:30Z")
**Bullitt** It was the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Association of Former Fish Drill Team members. The Fish Drill Team is composed of only freshman cadets in the corps. They used former members sophs, jrs and srs, for the movie. FWIIW I was right guide on the drill team class of 80.(school year 76-77) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/26 "2025-01-25T22:29:29Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > that was performed by some college drill team and not the actual Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. Still, they did a decent job with it. They make that clear in the credits. So no misrepresentations. And it wasn’t just “some college drill team.” Harrumph! > [@rsat3acr](#): > > **Bullitt** It was the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Association of Former Fish Drill Team members. The Fish Drill Team is composed of only freshman cadets in the corps. They used former members sophs, jrs and srs, for the movie. FWIIW I was right guide on the drill team class of 80.(school year 76-77) –_Widow of a former Aggie Corps & Band member, and stepmother of three Aggies_ ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/27 "2025-01-26T04:49:00Z")
Before going overboard with the idea that the movie is unrealistic and doesn’t represent military experience it’s worth bearing in mind that the movie was based quite closely on an actual incident. Go look at the [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Few_Good_Men) page under the heading “Inspiration“. Much detail criticised by people posting in this thread allegedly actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/28 "2025-01-26T07:30:11Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Much detail criticised by people posting in this thread allegedly actually happened. Well, except for the death, coverup, or Marines being thrown under the bus by and famous confessional speech delivered courtesy of Col. Jessup. According to the [_The Virginian-Pilot_ story](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp941117/11170021.htm) cited by the Wikipedia article, the actual ‘Code Red’ order was implied and not directly given by the real life base commander: > _In the play and film, the base commander confesses on the witness stand to having ordered the Code Red. In real life, base commander Col. Samuel Adams ``never confessed. He said it must have been a mistake. He said he didn’t realize Code Reds were still going on,' ’ Marcari said._ > > _``But they were. They were very prevalent._ > > _``We were trying to show there was an implied order. That Marines are so gung-ho they must follow any order, even if it’s an implied order.‘’_ So, while the story may been an inspiration for this _film à clef_ none of the salient conspiratorial elements of the play and film that drove all of the drama were present in real life. In reality, the base commander did not give any explicit order, there was no conspiracy to cover up the crime, and the Marines involved admitted to their actions with the three who went to trial were convicted of lessor sentences and went on to receive honorable discharges after subsequent service. The question of the o.p. as to whether there are viewers of the film who consider Col. Jessup’s actions and speechifying to be righteous, there certainly are but they are missing the essential part of the story in the film, to wit that Jessup threw his own men under the proverbial bus to protect himself and then justified his actions as necessary in the context of a completely specious threat environment where the most threatening thing Cuban government has done with regard to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is regularly lodging diplomatic protests. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/29 "2025-01-26T07:43:42Z")
Thank you for the clarification, @ **rsat3acr** and @ **ThelmaLou**. It has been many years since I’d last seen it and was going by memory. And certainly no disrespect was intended. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/30 "2025-01-26T15:06:30Z")
None taken. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/31 "2025-01-26T15:28:59Z")
There’s probably a strong correlation between viewing Jessup as a heroic figure and applauding or excusing real-life hazing that involves substantial physical and psychological harm. Long ago I started a thread here about hazing, and was amazed at the number of posters who felt it was a good thing for building “team morale” and cohesion. As the [casualties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hazing_deaths_in_the_United_States) keep [piling up](https://www.hanknuwer.com/military-deaths-by-hazing/), I wonder if views have substantially changed. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293/32 "2025-01-26T17:59:51Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Before going overboard with the idea that the movie is unrealistic and doesn’t represent military experience it’s worth bearing in mind that the movie was based quite closely on an actual incident. Go look at the [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Few_Good_Men) page under the heading “Inspiration“. Much detail criticised by people posting in this thread allegedly actually happened. I don’t get your point. I don’t see any criticism of the crime or the few points where the reality intersects. No one said there could never be an assault, a code red or Marines that engage in bad behavior. The criticism is in portraying Gitmo as a frontline tip of the spear base with a well known rockstar commander. Except for a time in the 1960s it’s a sleepy low key posting for Marines and Navy with really good scuba diving. It’s not a hardship post. Families live there. There is a grade school and high school. They aren’t worried about 4,000 Cubans that are 300 yards away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-who-consider-col-jessup-as-the-good-guy/1013293.md?page=1)