Ermey visits troops at Camp Victory - 'Mail Call' star hopes to film for his show

Antelope Valley Press ^ | May 27, 2003. | DENNIS ANDERSON

[BenLurkin]

CAMP VICTORY, Kuwait - Retired Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey of "Full Metal Jacket" fame and host of The History Channel's "Mail Call," traveled to Kuwait over the Memorial Day holiday weekend to visit with Antelope Valley troops assigned to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The TV and film star and former real-life Marine Corps drill instructor made his way toward Camp Victory near the Iraqi border with Kuwait for a Memorial Day visit.

"These National Guard troops are my neighbors and a lot of them used to be Marines, and once a Marine, always a Marine," Ermey said during an earlier visit with troops from the 1498th Transportation Co.

Ermey, who lives in Palmdale, traveled to visit with the transporter troops from the "Big Awesome Truck Company" in April when they were training at Camp Roberts near the central California Coast.

"The Gunny is my kind of soldier," said 1st Sgt. James Earl Norris, the top kick sergeant of the National Guard company that drew troops together from across California.

Norris and the company commander, Capt. Matthew R. Hook, bonded with Ermey in soldierly fashion during the earlier visit, and Ermey signed hundreds of autographs, many of them on soldiers' helmet covers.

Now, the soldiers have sand-colored equipment to sign.

About a third of the soldiers in the unit make their homes in the Antelope Valley and the high desert regions of California. Another large segment comes from San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

"These are good soldiers, and they are fighting terrorism, and going to Iraq to end tyranny and make the world a little more safe and a little more decent, and there's nothing wrong with that," Ermey said during his earlier visit.

Before the group departed for Kuwait, Ermey asked them if they were "ready to fight? Ready to win!"

"Hooah!" the group answered in unison during a special formation at Camp Roberts.

For his visit to Kuwait, Ermey wanted to film a special segment of his TV show involving troops engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He asked specifically to come to Camp Victory because that was the camp base for the troops from California and the National Guard.

Ermey arrived in Kuwait on Sunday, according to Lt. Col. Steve Forster, who holds the position of "mayor," the top administrator's position at Camp Victory.

He said his troops were thrilled at the prospect of meeting Ermey, who became famous as the hard-charging, hard-nosed, obscenity-flinging drill instructor in the classic Vietnam War film "Full Metal Jacket" directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Forster said troops at Victory were getting a Memorial Day weekend holiday bonus.

"Over at Camp Doha, they get a day off," Forster said of the rear-area base on the coast. "Doha gets a day off, but we get the Gunny!"

Sgt. Jeremy Wulf shouted, "The Gunny rocks!" and danced a victory jig when he heard of Ermey's pending visit to Camp Victory.

Spc. Lacey McCormick vowed to be "the first one in line at the mess hall" when Ermey arrived, and Staff Sgt. Bob Rothamer repeated Ermey's D.I. speech from "Full Metal Jacket" word for word until everyone in the camp headquarters tent was rolling on the floor in laughter.

[BenLurkin]

"GUNNY VISIT - Retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey of TV's "Mail Call" meets with Army Spc. Steve Perez at Camp Roberts before Perez's deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Ermey traveled to Kuwait to renew ties with Antelope Valley soldiers deployed to the Middle East.
DENNIS ANDERSON/Valley Press files

I saw Ermy recently at the Lancaster Gun Show at the Fairgrounds. He was just looking at the exhibits like everyone else. I passed within a few feet but decided not to bother him. He was already talking to one person he knew and another guy who was introducing himself.

[cavtrooper21]

GSgt Ermy doin' it right!
USMC meets US Army (NG) ping!

[VOA]

Staff Sgt. Bob Rothamer repeated Ermey's D.I. speech from "Full Metal Jacket" word
for word until everyone in the camp headquarters tent was rolling on the floor in laughter.


Memorable quotes (ADULT VERBAL CONTENT WARNING)from "Full Metal Jacket" on
the Internet Movie Database site are at this URL:
http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0093058

I'm afraid the "Tomorrow is the birthday of Jesus..." speech ain't there.
That one was a real beaut.

As far as I'm concerned, just about everything wrong with lots of confused
teenagers could be fixed with a dose of Sgt. Hartman.
OK, maybe he shouldn't drive someone crazy with the "Pvt. Pyle" treatment...

[PokeyJoe]

Pssst....

don't tell anyone.

Retired Marine R. Lee Ermey holds the title of "Gunny" and "Gunnery Sgt" by honor, but not by promotion.

He was forced to retire as a SSgt. after being injured in Vietnam.

He does still have a good mean cattle call though. (Maring Lingo for a singing march - hay day lay-eh day ho, left right ho, hay-e day lay day-ho - *gruff* your other left you num nut fudge packer, get in step - hay day lay-eh day ho . . . )

Ahhhh.... funny how you can look back at it fondly after twenty years.

Semper Fi Gunny.

[Drew68]

Spc. Lacey McCormick vowed to be "the first one in line at the mess hall" when Ermey arrived, and Staff Sgt. Bob Rothamer repeated Ermey's D.I. speech from "Full Metal Jacket" word for word until everyone in the camp headquarters tent was rolling on the floor in laughter.

ERMEY BUMP! HOOAH!!!

"Are you quitting on me?! Well, are you?! Then quit, you slimy fucking walrus-looking piece of shit! Get the fuck off of my obstacle! Get the fuck down off of my obstacle! Now! Move it! I'm going to rip your balls off, so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world! I will motivate you, Private Pyle, if it short-dicks every cannibal on the Congo!"

I'm laughing just thinking about Ermey's sadistic Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. That Ermey did not win an Oscar for this role was a sad day for Hollywood.

Thanks for posting this.

[jlogajan]

He's certainly made a lifelong acting career out of that one character.

[Drew68]

He's certainly made a lifelong acting career out of that one character.

That's because he was so good at it. Now whenever his face appears in another movie, viewers go, "Look! It's that dude from that 'Nam movie!"

It is hard for actors to shake that kind of role. They become typcast with it.

I saw Ermey in a small role in "Leaving Las Vegas." Didn't realize it was him at first as he had a full beard. Once he started speaking, however, it was clear.

I'm still waiting for "Siege of Firebase Gloria" to come to DVD. It was a very under-appreciated Vietnam film that flew in under the radar screens in the late 1980s. It has some great action sequences.

[red-dawg]

"Why haven't you found Baghdad Bob Private Joker??!!!"

[opbuzz]

I told someone that I heard everything he said in the movie while in USMC OCS in '72,

They commented it must have been terrible.

I said, "It wasn't in 45 minutes, but distributed over 12 weeks."

[Drew68]

Retired Marine R. Lee Ermey holds the title of "Gunny" and "Gunnery Sgt" by honor, but not by promotion.

From R. Lee Ermey's own website

HONORARY STRIPES - Marine Sgt. Maj. Bruce Mackamul, left, pins
honorary Gunnery Sgt. stripes on actor R. Lee Ermey, of Palmdale, along with
Maj. Gen. Jan C. Huly on Friday at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San
Diego. Ermey, a 10-year Marine, was a staff sergeant when he was forced to
retire from the Marine Corps after being injured in Vietnam. Ermey is best
known for his role of a drill instructor in "Full Metal Jacket."

Just wanted a reason to bump his site (and this thread)!

BTW, I love your "Islam" logo!!!

[Taxman]

LOL!

I heard everything he said when I was in AOCS at Pensacola, FL in the summer of 1964 (Class 20-64, for those who are interested).

I have since referred to the experience as "Parris Island South" because the program was run my Marine Officers and Sergeants, and was patterned after PI. Not as rough, physically (1/2 day Military Drills and/or Phys Ed, 1/2 day Pre-Flight Academics), but mentally, the experience was, shall we say, "A Defining Moment in a young man's life?"

It was pre-PC, so the language they used was colorful and profane. "You Maggots" and "Smart-assed College Boys" are two of the more family FRiendly comments I can repeat.

And the dire warning (to force us to pay attention to the little details) that "If you leave your locker unlocked, you'll land with you wheels up, maggot (or some other term of Gunnery Sergeant endearment)." [No, I never did either!]

I have a very high regard for the Marines who took charge of roughly 100 smart-assed college boys, worked with them day and night for 16 weeks and turned roughly 70 (the attrition rate was 30% or so in Pre-Flight) of them into Navy and Marine Officers or NAVCADS/MARCADS (Navy and Marine Aviation Cadets who got their commission after they finished Flight Training). And then, after maybe a week off, went back and did it again (a new class of SACKs) with gusto, professionalism and, only as a Marine can do it, Espirit de Corps.

The older I get, the more I admire the job they did. They were underpaid, over-worked and very much under appreciated. I'll never forget them and always admire and respect them for the job they did back in the summer of '64.

I really enjoy Mail Call. I hope the Gunny has a long and very successful run with it.

[Dianna]

I really enjoy Mail Call. I hope the Gunny has a long and very successful run with it.

Mail Call has become my 10YO's favorite show.

[Gunslingr3]

gunny ping

[Always A Marine]

PokeyJoe, your Islam logo is an absolute masterpiece. I see that it has a copyright, so where can we find it?

[Ajnin]

As far as I'm concerned, just about everything wrong with lots of confused teenagers could be fixed with a dose of Sgt. Hartman.

Yep, having discipline crammed up your ass can work wonders..LOL

[CARepubGal]

Gunny Hartman Ping!

[Ajnin]

He was also in "The Boys of Co. C", "Siege at Fire Base Gloria", "Purple Hearts", "Hexed", "Saving Silverman", "On Deadly Ground", and I believe there are a couple more that perhaps some other Freeper can help me with.

[Taxman]

Gotta be a recruiting poster for the USMC!

[LiteKeeper]

Retired Army officer "HOOAH" Gunny!

[McGavin999]

He's also graced the pages of the FreeRepublic HTML Bootcamp. He's one of our very favorites around here.