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Portrait of R. Lee Ermey

R. Lee Ermey

(1944–2018) Drill Instructor United States

48 quotes in 206 categories

R. Lee Ermey was a drill instructor from the United States, best known for Gunny's Rules.

Quick Facts About R. Lee Ermey

Born: March 24, 1944
Died: April 15, 2018
Nationality: United States
Profession: Drill Instructor
Notable works: Gunny's Rules

About R. Lee Ermey

Ronald Lee Ermey was an American actor and U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Awards & Honors

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Combat Action Ribbon Vietnam Service Medal Gallantry Cross National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Campaign Medal

Quotes by R. Lee Ermey · Page 2

Back in those days intimidation was the greatest tool the drill instructor had. Without that tool, he would not have had control.

Instructors

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Without discipline, there is no Marine Corp.

Discipline

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The best part about the movie, and everybody seems to rave about it, is the boot camp part.

Boot camp

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Playing the good guy is tough because you know as well as I do, in real life, you have to watch your…

Good guy

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Everybody respects the Vietnam Veterans of America.

America

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Drill instructors worked seven days a week, fifteen to seventeen hours a day in many cases, with no time off in between…

Cases

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I try to get over to Iraq and Afghanistan as much as I can.

Afghanistan

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Every character I've ever played, I always try to take him right to the edge and not allow him to fall over,…

Character

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I don't have any respect at all for the scum-bags who went to Canada to avoid the draft or to avoid doing…

Bags

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Communications are better now than in my Vietnam days.

Better now

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I don't have to be concerned about everybody else's character.

Character

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In order to be a good actor, I'm a firm believer that you need to bring something to the table.

Actors

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Kubrick's films have life - they just never die.

Cinema

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The bad news motivated the drill instructors that much more.

Bad news

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I spend a lot of time with my characters.

Character

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I disagree with a lot of those changes, however at the end of the day - I go down to recruit graduation…

Change

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This is for fighting, this is for fun.

Fighting

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I was stationed at a Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego from 1965 to 1967.

Marine

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There's a lot of whiners in every crowd.

Crowds

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The biggest problem was the politicians knew nothing about fighting a war.

About

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That's all I cared about too, was getting it right.

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I was stationed at a marine recruit depot in San Diego from 1965 to 1967.

Marine

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We had times in '66 and '67 when we would pick up a platoon of privates out of the receiving barracks the…

Funny

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