Top 25 R. Lee Ermey Quotes

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

The drill instructor must have total and complete control. Mindless obedience is what he’s after.

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

Kubrick‘s films have life – they just never die.

For me, it’s an honor for the military to ask me to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or GITMO. I’m happy to go.

I honestly do feel that I am a role model for young people.

There’s a lot of whiners in every crowd.

I always love to come to Austin.

There was a huge, tremendous amount of disabled veterans and the Veteran’s Administration just wasn’t geared up for it. I know for a fact that it’s getting better and better.

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

It’s my firm conviction that when Uncle Sam calls, by God we go, and we do the best that we can.

I spend a lot of time with my characters.

I hate to hear ‘Less is more.’ It’s a crock of crap.

Every character I’ve ever played, I always try to take him right to the edge and not allow him to fall over, but directors have a tendency to pull me back a little bit.

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

Even though I disagree with many of the changes, when I see the privates graduate at the end of the day, when they walk off that drill field at the end of the ceremony, they are still fine privates; outstanding, well motivated privates.

The bad news motivated the drill instructors that much more.

It’s been a pretty fun ride, to tell you the truth.

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

Kubrick ate it up. He loved it. He just let me go crazy.

I disagree with a lot of those changes, however at the end of the day – I go down to recruit graduation at least once or twice a year.

Back in the old Corp, we weren’t training those privates to infiltrate into the peacetime Marine Corp. We were training those privates to go to Vietnam.

Playing the good guy is tough because you know as well as I do, in real life, you have to watch your P’s and Q’s and conduct yourself in a respectable manner if you expect to have friends.

I play well with everybody.

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