Free Republic

The actor who played the drill sergeant in “Full Metal Jacket” is coming to Washington, D.C., next week to lobby Congress to pass a long-stalled bill. R. Lee Ermey is the national spokesman for a growing grassroots effort behind legislation sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) that would rename the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. Ermey, who was in the Marine Corps for 11 years, has been in over 100 movies, including “Apocalypse Now,” “Dead Man Walking” and “Leaving Las Vegas,” according to imdb.com. Over the past...

Troops challenging the legitimacy of President Barack Obama as commander-in-chief -- including at least one who is fighting deployment -- should take heed: Gunnery Sgt. Hartman wants to know your "major malfunction." R. Lee Ermey, the Marine-turned-actor whose role as drill instructor Gunny Hartman in the late Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" has all but placed the Vietnam veteran in the pantheon of Marine heroes alongside "Chesty" Puller, Smedley Butler and Dan Daly, isn't buying anyone's political objector status. "I haven't heard about those guys," Ermey told Military.com during an Aug. 21 interview. "If I do run across them though,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2009 – Retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey -- a Vietnam veteran, film actor and TV host -- shared observations about modern military technology and his visits with American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable today. “They’re just as ready to eat their own guts out today as they ever were back in my time,” he said. “The only difference is we’ve got better equipment, better gear, better toys, and I spend as much time as I can with them.” Ermey said he’s surprised by the enduring popularity of his 1987...

History comes to life as R. Lee “Gunny” Ermey leads viewers on a fascinating ride through the engineering and development of weapons in the new one-hour series, LOCK N’ LOAD with R. Lee Ermey , premiering Friday, July 31 at 9pm ET on HISTORY. Get hands-on with some of the world’s fiercest firearms, including machine guns, tanks, pistols and rockets, as Gunnery Sergeant, drill instructor, Vietnam veteran, actor and former MAIL CALL host R. Lee Ermey demonstrates the weapons that made battlefield history. For example, Ermey unleashes a torrent of ammo using a Dillon Aero Minigun, which shoots three thousand...

It’s dark. The show is about to start. The lights have just gone down in the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center theater at the G.I. Film Festival — and then the stage brightens up again, only to mysteriously fade back into darkness. Uncertainty settles over the audience. What’s going on here? “Alright people, let’s get with the program!” A voice booms out from the darkness, deep and sandpaper-scraggly, firm and fierce, it’s the sound of Authority — not so much the voice of God as of his enforcer. And lo and behold, the screen flickers and the movie begins, exactly...

Holdenville, OK (AP) - A U-S Marine graduates from Holdenville High School, but isn't able to walk across the stage with his fellow graduates. During last night's ceremony, Michael Lueking stood in the stands in his dress blues uniform. School officials had told Lueking he wouldn't be able to participate in the ceremony if he refused to wear the school's standard royal blue cap and gown. Lueking finished high school a semester early so he could fulfill his longtime dream of joining the Marines. He graduated from the 13-week Marine boot camp on May 5th, in time to be home...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (July, 21, 2005) -- “Don’t you dare touch that remote control, ‘cause you’re watching ‘Mail Call,’” barked Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey, actor and former Marine. The History Channel’s No. 1-rated show visited Camp Pendleton early this week to shoot for an upcoming episode featuring the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and the MK-19 grenade launcher. The production crew first made its way to the School of Infantry’s green belt instructor course to drop in on training. They videotaped students sparring and grappling while instructors supervised. Then, the crew turned its cameras on advanced...

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2005 – A man who probably is best known as the Marine drill instructor from the movie "Full Metal Jacket" and as host of the History Channel's "Mail Call" program visited recovering troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here May 12. Marine Sgt. James King tells R. Lee Ermey, best known as the Marine drill instructor in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" that he plans to enter the Marine Corps Marathon and the New York Marathon after he recovers from the amputation of his left leg. Ermey met recovering war wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical...

Master Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey paid a tribute to the Vets today on FOX news, amid all the "Semper Fi's" and tributes, he said (from memory, not transcript):"Yassir Arafat died today, it's the first thing the French have done right in a while."SEMPER FI, GUNNY!

Mail Call Live from the Gulf Sunday, July 6 @ 10pm ET/PT Host R. Lee Ermey answers viewer questions about Operation Iraqi Freedom and fighting desert warfare in a 1-hour live broadcast. Onboard the USS Nimitz, he finds out why the men and women on aircraft carrier flight decks wear different bright-colored jerseys; meets with an Air Force EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) unit that deals with unexploded bombs on the battlefield; and at Talil air base in Iraq, finds out what it takes to rescue downed pilots with the Air Force Reserve 39th Rescue Squadron. TV PG

Film’s Most Intimidating Drill Instructor Visits Nimitz Story Number: NNS030603-22 Release Date: 6/4/2003 1:49:00 AM By Operations Specialist 3rd Class Carla Morton, USS Nimitz Public Affairs ABOARD USS NIMITZ, At Sea (NNS) -- R. Lee Ermey, best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film "Full Metal Jacket," was aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) to meet with Sailors and to film segments for his television show, “Mail Call.” “It feels good to be aboard Nimitz,” said Ermey. “I have been bugging The History Channel for this opportunity, and I finally got the approval. It is really...

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...

Check out R. Lee Ermey's website! For those of you who haven't discovered it yet, R. Lee Ermey's website is chock full of products, sound clips and other "motivational" material. Warning: You really need high-speed internet access and a good sound system to enjoy it fully. P.S. Don't skip the intro!

In fact, since the events of September 11, much of Hollywood appears to be moving back to the Republican glory days of John Wayne.R Lee Ermey, who made his name as the fearsome drill sargent in the film Full Metal Jacket, told the Telegraph that Barbara Striesand's views were far from representative of Hollywood as a whole.'Once again, Barbara Striesand has opened her alligator-sized mouth before her humming bird size brain has a chance to catch up,' said Ermey.'Of course, she has the right to her opinion, what what she does is use her bully pulpit, helped by her fame,...