# I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648 "2012-02-03T14:11:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/41 "2012-02-03T21:00:28Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > You folks have not seen a drill sargeant until you’ve seen MY drill sargeant. > > Admittedly, she was not a Marine DI, she was U.S. Army. But the first time we met her Drill Sargeant Ogg(her real name!) scared the crap out of us! And you should be scared anytime a **god(ess)** is your DI 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/42 "2012-02-03T21:22:59Z")
God, I love Gunny. And to think he played House’s father, too. Which would explain why House is so messed up. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/43 "2012-02-03T21:31:38Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Do any of you people know who Charles Whitman was? A Marine. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/44 "2012-02-03T22:25:24Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’ve read that Don Adams was a DI in real life, too. It’s hard to imagine, but I’ll try…Damn! He’s scary! Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/45 "2012-02-03T22:44:25Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’ve read that Don Adams was a DI in real life, too. That’s supposedly how he gained that clipped speech pattern of his that he used as Maxwell Smart. “You missed by THAT much, Private!” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/46 "2012-02-04T00:12:46Z")
Yeah, I love Gunny. But I chose to not accept Uncle Sam’s invitation in 1972, because he wasn’t getting insistent, with suggestions of jail time and all. I mean, it was a shooting war. Thanks, but no thanks. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsyNXWo0-uA) ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/47 "2012-02-04T00:20:01Z")
The first time I watched this as a kid, it occurred to me that there was a Marine dill sergeant living two houses down from me. His name was Hart (really), and he was one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met. He was quiet, soft-spoken, and always laughing. Granted, even in civvies, he was always 100% squared away. He was short, compact, and thin as a rail. His pants were always pressed, and his shirt was always tucked in, neat as a hospital sheet. He was my first guitar teacher. He was infinitely patient, never once yelled (in my presence) or lost his temper in the tiniest way. As I was watching _FMJ_, I shuddered to imagine what his former recruits thought about him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/48 "2012-02-04T00:25:55Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And to think he played House’s father, too. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/49 "2012-02-04T00:34:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Say what? The Janitor’s father on Scrubs too. Apparently he is who they think of when they want to show a father as the cause for insane men. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/50 "2012-02-04T00:43:08Z")
Private Pyle, you are definitely born again hard! ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/51 "2012-02-04T00:48:07Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Is it worth a spin-off thread to investigate other DI’s that might compare with R. Lee? > > Can there be a more convincing one? [Gunny Hightower (Eastwood)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091187/) is the only one I can think of offhand who even comes close. Frank Sutton from _Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C._ certainly had a good bark. He could border on scary even in a sit-com setting. Now, imagine him in a drama with more salty dialog. I think he would be terrifying. Darren McGavin & Earl Holliman made an impression on me when I was 13, as the D.I.s in _Tribes_. It doesn’t really hold up to modern viewing (replace Gomer Pyle with a hippie & call it a drama), but it was good for its time. Lou Gossett, Jr. in _An Officer & A Gentleman_. I never imagined anyone would top Lou. His voice cut like a knife. I had four years of military service behind me & I still felt my balls crawling up into my body when Lou first showed up. And then came R. Lee. **No one** compares. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/52 "2012-02-04T00:59:21Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > Lou Gossett, Jr. in _An Officer & A Gentleman_. I never imagined anyone would top Lou. His voice cut like a knife. I had four years of military service behind me & I still felt my balls crawling up into my body when Lou first showed up. > > And then came R. Lee. > > **No one** compares. Guess who coached Gossett. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/53 "2012-02-04T01:04:58Z")
Another supposed former DI(although I’m not sure from wnich service): Bob “happy little trees” Ross. And to the guy who called me “Sir”. Cram It!!! I WORK for a living, Goddammnit!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/54 "2012-02-04T01:05:08Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > Frank Sutton from _Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C._ certainly had a good bark. He could border on scary even in a sit-com setting. Now, imagine him in a drama with more salty dialog. I think he would be terrifying. > > Darren McGavin & Earl Holliman made an impression on me when I was 13, as the D.I.s in _Tribes_. It doesn’t really hold up to modern viewing (replace Gomer Pyle with a hippie & call it a drama), but it was good for its time. > > Lou Gossett, Jr. in _An Officer & A Gentleman_. I never imagined anyone would top Lou. His voice cut like a knife. I had four years of military service behind me & I still felt my balls crawling up into my body when Lou first showed up. > > And then came R. Lee. > > **No one** compares. Jack Webb played a Marine Corp drill instructor in “The D.I\>”, a film he made to help the USMC wash away the guilt after a drill instructor killed six recruits in training. Of course why the Army. Air Force, navy and Coast Guard could turn out people without the brutality the Corps had was not answered. > **[The D.I.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_D.I._(film))** > > The D.I. is a 1957 American military drama film starring and directed by Jack Webb. The film was produced by Webb's production company Mark VII Limited and distributed by Warner Bros. > Webb's co-star was his future wife Jackie Loughery, a former Miss USA. > The film was the first screenplay written by James Lee Barrett and was based on his teleplay The Murder of a Sand Flea. Barrett had been on Parris Island as a Marine recruit in 1950. > Technical sergeant Jim Moore, a highly-decorated and strict ... I was under the impression that Don Adams short clipped speaking style as Maxwell Smart, secret agent 86 was his mimicking of 1930s actor William Powell. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/55 "2012-02-04T01:06:48Z")
My own question from a while back: [Full Metal Jacket: Was the drill instructor a bad guy?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=583526) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/56 "2012-02-04T01:27:40Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Jack Webb played a Marine Corp drill instructor in “The D.I\>”, a film he made to help the USMC wash away the guilt after a drill instructor killed six recruits in training. You are the grass and I am the mower. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/57 "2012-02-04T01:36:20Z")
He’s shooting an [M2.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkuzbNs52_E&feature=related) Greatest machine gun ever, though I have seen people who argued that. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/58 "2012-02-04T01:47:23Z")
[Sgt Hartman calls some stores](http://www.snarkrocket.com/blog-archives/2006/03/full_metal_jacket_prank_calls.html) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/59 "2012-02-04T10:37:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > Another supposed former DI(although I’m not sure from wnich service): Bob “happy little trees” Ross. > **[Bob Ross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ross)** > > Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter and art instructor who created and hosted The Joy of Painting, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, CBC in Canada, and similar channels in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere. > Ross was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, to Jack and Ollie Ross, a carpenter and a waitress respectively, and raised in Orlando, Florida. As an adolescent, Ross cared for injured animals,... Air Force. > [@](#): > > originally posted by Wikipedia > > Raised in Orlando, Florida,[3] Ross enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18[2] and was living in Florida early in his military career when the Air Force transferred him to Eielson AFB (in Alaska), where he first saw the snow and mountains that later became recurring themes in his artwork; he developed his quick-painting technique in order to be able to create art for sale in brief daily work breaks.[4] Having held military positions that required him to be, in his own words, “mean” and “tough,” “the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work,” Ross decided that if he ever moved on from the military, “it wasn’t going to be that way any more,” “vowing never to scream again”.[4] Ross discovered after beginning his sideline in painting that he was soon able to earn more from selling his work than from his Air Force position. After leaving the Air Force, he studied with Bill Alexander before becoming famous worldwide with his own television program, The Joy of Painting.[1] ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648/60 "2012-02-04T15:40:01Z")
Wouldn’t it have been great if R. Lee had been cast in the _Star Trek_ episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion” instead of that dame who was supposed to teach Kirk? Imagine _R. Lee_ telling Kirk “I am your drill thrall. I will train you well.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-gunnery-sergeant-hartman-your-senior-drill-instructor/611648.md?page=4)