The main character in my current vampire novel is off to military school, with a visit to Basic Training camp as well. It’s rather far afield from my experience, so I’d like to spend this weekend watching movies about basic training, military school, etc.
I’ve already queued the classics: Full Metal Jacket, Biloxi Blues, Stripes, Taps and Toy Soldiers – any others I shouldn’t miss?
Sands of Iwo Jima
The first episode of Band of Brothers
But really, it does not get better than Full Metal Jacket.
The Lords of Discipline is a good movie.
Should you not miss it? It’s not like the ones you mentioned, so it mightn’t be what you’re looking for.
An Officer and a Gentleman springs to mind.
Long time lurker, first time poster - thankfully in a subject I can help with, however unoriginal…
As a former attendee of both, I will second Airman Doors’ Lords of Discipline recommendation. The book, if I remember correctly, goes into a bit more of the 1st-year details which would pertain to one just out of basic.
Once you’re done with the serious movies, I’d put on Stripes. I know it isn’t realistic, but the first half of the movie is one of the funniest movies ever made.
The DI, starring Jack Webb
… Which reminds me of Tribes.
No Time For Sergeants which starred Andy Griffith and Nick Adams.
It’s not really a basic training or military school movie, but since its about guys entering the Air Force, it should fit in there somewhere.
I’ve always wondered why they skipped boot camp in that movie.
I checked the IMDB synopsis of this movie and it sounds like a good one, especially since my character is the 1st vampire to ever attend this particular school. 
Thanks to all for the recommendations!
GI Jane, about a woman going through training to become the first female SEAL.
Is s/he going to military school or boot camp? By military school, I assume you don’t mean West Point or Annapolis, but one of those high school (or even junior college) preparatory types. They’re all very different things, tho. Military school has similarities to boot camp, but it’s still quite different.
But it sounds (again, ASS-U-ME-ing here) like you’re trying to nail down the atmosphere of the place. I know one of the Chucky movies takes place in a military school. The first five minutes of Jarhead takes place in their boot camp. The Omen sequel features another military school.
Cadet Kelly with Hillary Duff and Gary Cole
Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn
neither of these are serious movies.
Basically, yes. I’m trying to nail down the general structure of the environment, especially how much free time the cadets are allowed. It’s a fantasy novel, so of course I can do anything I want 
but the framework I’m working with involves six weeks of armed forces-style Basic Training, followed by 2-4 years of prep school (which is subject to change, I’m generally making this story up as I go along…)
My recommendation to the OP: Go buy a copy of Cadet Kelly. Then burn it. In a fire. Man, I hate that movie. They do a military style ribbon drill. With the ribbon baton things they used to sell on TV. And that was one of the best parts of the movie.:smack:
Another sorta-basic training movie: StarShip Troopers. Not for any specific detail, but much of the general atmosphere and mood was spot on for Basic (our instructors at Lackland AFB could be every bit as theatrical as Fleet Sergeant Zim, albeit relatively few of our instructors ever stabbed or broke a trainee’s arm. And while we didn’t have camcorders to record messages home with, there were many dormitory shenanigans of varying degrees when the instructor was away.
Well, there were in those OTHER flights. In our dorm, of course, we were always dead serious, shit-hot, piss-perfect, never up after taps, and our instructor never used profanity.
To my knowledge no one goes through a Basic Training/Boot Camp only to go into prep school right after that. But the national military academies (West Point, Annapolis) do have a ‘summer session’ (shitty no-fun period) before regular classes start in the fall, and I believe many preparatory/reform military schools have something similar. In the end it doesn’t make much difference, as it gets us back to what you already said, I’m just splitting hairs.
Hmmmm, what were some of the many fine aphorisms they let us be privileged enough to hear?
“Dog won’t hunt”
“Fuck, you’re all ate up”
“More fucked up than a soup sandwich”
“You better UNFUCK yourself right now”
“You fucking FUCK”
The book Lords of Discipline is better than the movie. The book Starship Troopers is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the movie. Both are well worth a read.
The Boys in Company C. Not a great film really, it’s loaded with cliches a plenty. But one of those is definitely the hard-assed basic training sequence.
From Air Force Basic Military Training:
“What the PISS, Trainee?!”
“Nice one, Clown/Crazy/Dumb One/Smart One!”
“Pushing Texas”
“Pushing Texas Till It Moves”
“Pushing Texas Straight To Hell”
“Making the dayroom walls sweat”
And then of course, the long list of nicknames for Trainees, ranging from the neutral/positive “Clown” and “Crazy” to negative ones like “Dirtbag” and “Turd”
Our instructors weren’t allowed to swear, but they could come up with all sorts of creative things to say without swearing. Sometimes they’d just pull out big words and complex grammar, which had to be really rough on the guys who got slotted into Security Forces based on evidently failing the ASVAB test.
Really, the atmosphere in Basic can vary drastically based on things like what branch of the military you’re in. Air Force Basic is very little like Marine Boot, and Navy Boot sounds like an entirely different kind of summer camp altogether.