I’m sure the military folks here will be inclined to agree with me on these:[list=1][li]Often, the bad guys (sometimes it’s the “good guys” – anybody else remember “The A-Team”?) will disguise themselves as military members to sneak into a secure installation. Despite their long hair, improper wear of the uniform, and lack of secure area badges, they will be able to bluff their way into any place they desire to go.[/li]
Never happen. When I was in SAC (and a few other places) anyone who even tried to attempt this would very quickly find themselves on the ground looking up at some very alert, very professional, highly trained security personnel, with the “oh, shit!” end of an M-16 or other lethal device aimed right at them. Any attempt to BS their way out would be inneffective. Any attempt to fight their way out would be abruptly interrupted by fast-travelling chunks of metal perforating their body.
[li]Movies often show people who have no business in a cockpit just climbing in, cranking the plane up, and taking off. Stealing a military aircraft isn’t that easy. It takes the coordinated efforts of several people, both inside and outside the aircraft, to prepare an aircraft for flight. Aircraft on alert (ready to go at a moment’s notice) are kept in secure areas (see item 1, above).[/li]
[li]Nobody who notices an intruder in a secure area just attacks the guy without first ensuring everybody and his brother is coming to provide backup. Among these will be some very alert, very professional, highly trained, armed security personnel (see item 1, above).[/li]
[li]You can’t launch (or detonate) nuclear weapons just by pressing a button. To even begin the process of activating a nuclear weapon, you have to enter several codes, correctly, before you can even consider it. These codes change frequently, and aren’t kept where crazy people can find them. The people who guard these codes do not hand them out for the asking, and would probably allow you to shoot them before they allowed you to get them without proper authorization. Very likely, these codes would be kept in a secure area (see item 1, above).[/li]
Nuclear weapons are probably the safest weapons in the world, at least as far as not going off when you don’t want them to. They are designed not to go off unless the proper procedures are followed. You can set fire to them, drop them out of airplanes, or even detonate another nuke nearby, and the worst thing that will happen is that the conventional explosives inside may detonate. Some radioactive material might escape, but you won’t get a nuclear reaction unless you set the thing off correctly.
[li]Does anybody in the movies ever think to aim their weapon? No wonder nobody ever hits anything. Science fiction movies are the worst in this regard. Sci-Fi weapons rarely even seem to be equipped with sighting devices. The Star Trek movies (and TV series) seems to be the most egregious offenders, in this regard.[/list=1]There have been a lot of decent, entertaining movies featuring the military. Some are even accurate. Many are not, some comedically so. I loved the Hot Shots movies – everybody knows they weren’t serious, don’t they?[/li]
~~Baloo
[sup]Pssst! ChiefScott, ExTank and others. Help me out with examples, huh?[/sup]
The hard part was not posting every single freaking thing that ruins a movie for me!