[oh8eleven]

Lee, in real life is the real deal.
I'm former Marine who went through PI about the same time Ermey was there.
When people ask if boot camp was as bad as he portrayed it, I always answer - No ........ it was a LOT worse.
His style of calling cadence was exactly the same as my DI's (and most others), and can be defined as almost "sing-song" like.
From what I see on TV the last few years, DIs sound like barking dogs with sore throats.

[real saxophonist]

Yeah, it was definitely worse.
When I was in, a lot of the senior officers and enlisted were Vietnam veterans.
We had a couple of DIs who could do the 'sing-song' cadence, and a couple who, as you say, sounded like 'barking dogs with sore throats'.

[HenpeckedCon]

“I'm former Marine who went through PI about the same time Ermey was there”.

Bless you for your service. I believe R. Lee was a DI in Hollywood, not PI. I went to basic in the early 80’s at Fort Leonard Wood. The Drills would absolutely chew your ass if you called them Sir. But, we absolutely had to refer to them as their correct rank. IE, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class etc... It was probably a picnic compared to PI, but I don't recall having a shoulder to cry on. I think I was in one of the last army basic training units that never wore sneakers. We even did PT tests in “Cruit” boots.