Just saw the movie and wanted to ask some Marines what their opinion was.

The movie set during the first Gulf War shows Marines in training and then sent off to war in the M.E. The Marines wait for combat that never comes and are portrayed as dumb, unsofisticated soldiers who are only interested in sex and getting wasted. They are portrayed as lacking professionalism and moral fibre. To me this tarnishes the image of the ‘Marine warrior’.

What was your take on the movie? If you havn’t seen it go see it !!

I haven’t seen the movie, but I did read the book several years ago.

I usually recommend the book to my fellow officers.  It might not be a completely accurate depiction of life in the Marines, but it does accurately depict the viewpoint of many young enlisted Marines.  While most of us came out of boot camp ready to snap necks and jump at any order given, that often fades once you get into the daily grind of training (or worse, not training).  As a Lance Corporal, you can’t see much of the “big picture”, so often what is done for the sake of the overall good is seen as the command f-ing with them.

Swofford’s experience is not typical, but Marines are human (don’t tell anyone) and we have some of the same problems the rest of society has.  99% of the Marines I’ve served with are extreme professionals when it comes to their job.  However, we have our share of drunks, spouse abusers, sex offenders, and the financially-impaired.  There is a saying that goes, “trust me with your life, but not your money or your wife.” We ask a lot of these young men and women.  It’s hard to demand unrelenting violence and intensity at work and then come home and be perfect ladies and gentlemen.  It’s hard, but not unattainable.

Things have gotten quite a bit better since Swofford’s time and the Commandants we have had since then have made great strides in ensuring the professionalism and integrity that is instilled in boot camp is maintained and encouraged.  This is a direct function of the leadership at the company level and below. 

So, in a nutshell, I think the movie is not entirely accurate, but is a unique view into the not-so-uncommon mind of a disgruntled young Marine.

well explained, sir !!

Swoffords biggest problem was that he was not a very good Marine in the first place and had a habit of lying. I know a few of the Marines that served with him and at least one that was in his platoon, none of them have anything good to say about him.

The book has a niche in that it was written by a disgruntled Marine.  It wasn’t written by his Staff Sergeant, who as depicted in the book and movie had made a career out of the Marine Corps and is presumably still serving as a Sergeant Major or something by now.
It was obvious to me that the tales told in the book weren’t his story per se, but The Marine Corps Story.  I personally liked it a lot, and thought it accurately depicted many aspects of being an Enlisted Marine.  It’s not like that all the time, but Hollywood has artistic license to tell the story how he sees fit.
I’ll give you an example.. The movie comes out and a week later all hands get an e-mail from the SgtMaj saying we will not tolerate copycat branding like in the movie.  Two weeks later, it’s on the blotter: 3 marines charged with using a coat hanger to brand USMC into their skin.
There is a divide between the civilian world and the “redecorate in gray-matter” world of the Marine Corps.  For this reason, I’m sure the movie was shocking.
-Taiyas

I just saw the movie yesterday. As a grunt, the whole movie is a bit hard to swallow. I think that it is rather interesting that pretty much every messed up deployment story I have ever heard is in that movie. I think that if you try to pack a 7 month deployment into 2 hours, you will probably end up with “Jarhead.” Are all units like that? Of course not. Does some of that stuff happen when a bunch of 18-20 year old get bored? Of course. Thats just what kids do. Go to any college campus and I guarantee that you will see similar things. My opinion of the movie is that it is still just a movie, and not a very acurate portrayl.