# Was "THE GREEN BERETS"A Govt.-Sponsored propaganda film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2004, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165 "2004-08-10T07:33:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165/21 "2004-08-11T16:38:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Alright, substitute _Three Kings_ for _Full Metal Jacket_. > > It’s a better movie, anyway. Except Three Kings isn’t about Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165/22 "2004-08-11T17:42:29Z")
Robin Moore’s book, The Green Berets, (best regarded as a novel) was published in 1965 and there’s enough common material between the two to recognise it as the inspiration for the film. FMJ was mostly filmed in England; the Hue sequences were done at the disused Becton gas works in east London and the Parris Island sequences were filmed at the old air force base at Bassingbourne, by then the Queen’s Division depot. Soldiers passing through training at the time were offered _per diem_ and a haircut to act as extras. The weapons were supplied by Bob Hills of Hills Small Arms; he appears briefly in the turret of a tank. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165/23 "2004-08-11T22:08:40Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Yes, jump school. Pushing 18 year-old kids out of perfectly good airplanes. The rest of the training took place at Ft. Bragg, of course. > > :smack: Ahh. OK. At first the statement looked like bullcrap to me. But then I recalled jump school. Though not “Green Beret” training, it is definitely a prerequisite. So it counts. 😃 I think that back in the 60s all the training was done exclusively at Camp MacKall (Hell on freaking Earth!!!\*) near Ft. Bragg. The medical portion for the SF Medics might have been in Texas at that time, though. Now, some phases are at Bragg (I call them the “happy phases”), and others are at MacKall. \*\* Imagine Hell frozen over – You’d have Camp MacKall in the winter!!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165/24 "2004-08-11T22:30:37Z")
> [@Mk VII](#): > > Robin Moore’s book, The Green Berets, (best regarded as a novel) was published in 1965 and there’s enough common material between the two to recognise it as the inspiration for the film. > FMJ was mostly filmed in England; the Hue sequences were done at the disused Becton gas works in east London and the Parris Island sequences were filmed at the old air force base at Bassingbourne, by then the Queen’s Division depot. Soldiers passing through training at the time were offered _per diem_ and a haircut to act as extras. The weapons were supplied by Bob Hills of Hills Small Arms; he appears briefly in the turret of a tank. To continue this, I’d like to mention that FMJ was based on the book _The Short Timers_ by Gustav Hasford. It’s an excellent book and much darker than the film. The book’s title was later changed to FMJ to go along with the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-green-berets-a-govt-sponsored-propaganda-film/259165.md?page=1)