Drill Instructor - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Drill instructors have a reputation as unforgiving taskmasters, and they are often portrayed as such in popular culture. Among the definitive fictional portrayals are:

• U.S. Air Force:
  • Myron McCormick as Master Sergeant Orville King in 1958's No Time for Sergeants and the 1955 Broadway production of the same title, both times opposite a young Andy Griffith.

• U.S. Army:
  • R. Lee Ermey as an unnamed Sergeant First Class in a Coors Beer commercial advertisement, opposite archival footage of John Wayne
  • John Finn as Sergeant Major Mulcahy in 1989's Glory
  • Gregory Hines as Sergeant First Class Cass in the 1994 film, Renaissance Man
  • Warren Oates as Sergeant First Class Hulka in 1981's Stripes
  • Christopher Walken as Sergeant First Class Toomey in the 1988 film, Biloxi Blues
  • Hal Williams as Sergeant First Class L. C. (later, "Ted") Ross in both the 1980 film, Private Benjamin, and 1981-1983 television series of the same name

• U.S. Marine Corps:
  • Clint Eastwood as Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway in the film Heartbreak Ridge. His character was the Recon Platoon Sergeant, which is not a Drill Instructor position, but the character was portrayed like a Drill Instructor.
  • R. Lee Ermey (who served as a U.S. Marine drill instructor in 1965-1967) as:
    • Staff Sergeant Loyce in the 1978 film The Boys in Company C
    • Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket
    • Sergeant Major Bougus in the 1995 pilot episode of Space: Above and Beyond
    • Master Sergeant Hiles (deceased) in the 1996 film, The Frighteners
    • Sergeant Major Sauer in a second series episode of JAG
  • Scott MacDonald as Drill Instructor Fitch in the 2005 film Jarhead
  • Darren McGavin as Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Drake opposite Jan-Michael Vincent in the 1970 television film Tribes
  • Frank Sutton as Gunnery Sergeant Vincent Carter in the 1964-1969 television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
  • Jon St. John as Senior Drill Instructor Dwight T. Barnes in the 1999 video game Half-Life: Opposing Force
  • Jack Webb as Technical Sergeant Jim Moore in the 1957 film The D.I.

• U.S. Navy:
  • Louis Gossett, Jr. as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman (Gunny Foley's trainees were U.S. Navy aviation officer candidates)
  • Robert De Niro as Chief Petty Officer Billy Sunday in the 2000 film Men of Honor.
  • Don Rickles as Chief Petty Officer Otto (or "Seymour") Sharkey in the 1976-78 television series C.P.O. Sharkey.
  • Viggo Mortensen as Command Master Chief John Urgayle in the 1997 film G.I. Jane.

Real-life Drill Instructors from law enforcement agencies around the globe are becoming increasingly popular in documentaries such as:

• The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/Fox Network reality television program, The Academy
• The Western Australia Police / ABC Australia program, Police Training Academy (PTA)
• The NSW Police Force Cordell Jigsaw television program, Recruits.