Posted on Mar 28, 2014
Most memorable military "movie discrepancies"?
219K
1.52K
536
51
51
0
Ah yes, we've all seen them; "so, there you were" in a theater or a room full of service members or veterans, one minute everything's ok, then all of a sudden there it is... the over-the-top military movie discrepancy! So, what was that moment that stands out most in your mind? What are those associated memories or stories that come to mind? Did the base theater erupt into 'chaos' over an unkempt/incorrect uniform, improper language/jargon/ customs, or was there something that was just plain 'unsat' from a military point-of-view. lol Well, there's a ton of them out there, and I'm pretty sure that something should immediately come to mind, so what are we waiting for? Quick, pull up a keyboard, and let's get this thing started; thanks for all that you do, and... see you all in the discussion threads!
Military service
Uniforms
Customs and Courtesies
Movies
Motivation
Edited 11 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 190
6
6
0
Not a movie, but still a B-grade "performance." Several unearned PX ribbons, like Good Conduct and Expeditionary. Purple Hearts also contrived. Ribbons on fatigues. Looks like fake hair and chin also. Wrong uniform. Should've been wearing a pink one.
(6)
(0)
1SG Patrick Sims
I'd like to tell everyone reading this a little story about Mr. Kerry and the Vietnam war. In December 1968 I was in the navy and assigned to River Patrol Section 524/573 in Sadec, Vietnam. On the 13th of December that year two of our patrol boats were in an operation with a Swift boat. Because the Swifts were commanded by an officer, he was in charge. When the firefight got hot the swift boat took off, resulting in the deaths of Petty Officers Jim Lewis and Tom Eldridge. All we ever knew was that the swift boats number was 44. During the 2004 Presidential election I found out Kerry commanded swift boat 44 in December 1968. Being as how there were 153 swift boats in Vietnam, I think it was unlikely there was another #44. Anyone reading this can check on the deaths of Petty Officer Lewis and Eldridge. they were killed on Dec 13th 1968, near Sadec, Vietnam.---I can't remember if I was in River section 524 or 573 at the time. It's been to many years.
(4)
(0)
LTJG Frederick Birchmore
That had to be Kerry, who had command of #44 all of December 68. In 1966 I was in OCS with him, one class behind. He was there Aug-Dec and I was there Sept-Jan. Didn't personally know him but heard of him. He was the one guy who was able to dodge the first three, hell weeks by immediately having "walking pneumonia" and sitting it out in the base hospital while everybody else endured the initiation - sleep deprivation, starvation, exhaustion etc. Missing an evolution would normally mean a startover, but he had some outside political pull. Maybe missing out on that phase is why he never became a man.
(3)
(0)
6
6
0
EVE of Destruction (1991)
There are several, but this one takes the cake...
When they have to get across the country quickly and hop on the SR-71 Blackbird. There are 4-5 of them up walking around looking at consoles and monitors, etc. LOL
Only problem with that is that the SR-71 is a 2-seater supersonic air/space craft that requires the pilots to wear pressurization suits and to be tethered with oxygen lines and other cable bundles.
There are several, but this one takes the cake...
When they have to get across the country quickly and hop on the SR-71 Blackbird. There are 4-5 of them up walking around looking at consoles and monitors, etc. LOL
Only problem with that is that the SR-71 is a 2-seater supersonic air/space craft that requires the pilots to wear pressurization suits and to be tethered with oxygen lines and other cable bundles.
(6)
(0)
6
6
0
What about Top Gun - When Maverick and the Soviet pilot are flying canopy to canopy - has anyone wondered where the vertical stabilizers might be? That movie had more holes than a box of Cheerios!
(6)
(0)
PO2 Frances Smart
Yep, being a structural repair specialist on navy aircraft, I had plenty of questions about that, including the obvious dangers of them being that close to one another. But everyone accused me of being nitpicky about it, so I piped down.
(2)
(0)
PO2 Frances Smart
BTW, on a deployment to Miramar, I saw those aircraft after the movie was made, and NARF was taking them apart piece by piece. Seems they did a significant amount of structural damage to the aircraft with some of the crap they pulled.
(2)
(0)
GySgt Charles O'Connell
Commits a major violation of flight safety, endangering his aircraft and crew, sent to Top Gun. First day at Top Gun, commits a major flight safety rule, gets an ass chewing, and a pretty weak one at that. Later has an air mishap losing resulting in the death of a crew member, "Get him back in the air". There is a crisis in the Gulf, and only three recent graduates from Top Gun can resolve it. What a load of crap.
(1)
(0)
6
6
0
Wave off!!!!
Col (Join to see), in the movie, "The Hunt for Red October, after Jack Ryan is aboard the aircraft carrier, there is a closed-circuit TV in the Combat Information Center that shows the operations on the flight deck. At one point, a gull-gray F-14 Tomcat, in obvious distress, comes in for a landing. The camera cuts away from the TV to Ryan's face, and the cuts back to the TV. All of a sudden, the plane crashing is no longer an F-14, but an old Korean War-era fighter (possibly a McDonnell FH Phantom or a F2H Banshee), colored the dark blue that the Navy stopped using in the 1960s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXgJdrYss1k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXgJdrYss1k
(6)
(0)
LTC Stephen C.
Not an F-4 Phantom SSgt David Worrell, but either an FH Phantom or a F2H Banshee. I'm thinking Banshee is more likely. The photos show a Phantom on the ground and a Banshee in flight.
(1)
(0)
MAJ Terry LaFrance
I always thought that was an F9 Panther but I think LTC Curlee is correct. Interesting point, the pilot survived that crash.
(2)
(0)
6
6
0
6
6
0
John Travolta on "Broken Arrow" had his Majors oak leaves with the stems facing forward on his flight suit instead of outward opposing the shoulders.
"Three Kings" All the actors were wearing OD green Ranks and Nametapes on the Chocolate Chips.
I tech advised on a movie recently and can say other than the patches being made up they will at least have the insignia's on correctly and the uniforms are correct.
"Three Kings" All the actors were wearing OD green Ranks and Nametapes on the Chocolate Chips.
I tech advised on a movie recently and can say other than the patches being made up they will at least have the insignia's on correctly and the uniforms are correct.
(6)
(0)
6
6
0
To begin, my wife can no longer watch any military movies with me - unless we both agree to suspend disbelief and I bite my tongue. She's learning the regulations, however, and we have a good laugh from time to time.
(6)
(0)
6
6
0
I agree with MSG Milhauser. Hurt Locker was the perfect example of how much they glamorized the Army in that movie. I remember while on deployment, my EOD unit was ready throw live IEDs at us because we called them Hurt Locker so much.
(6)
(0)
6
6
0
How about Jag the TV show. Mac and Harm were both O4's but Harm had time in grade so he out ranked her. She picked up O5 before he did but when he picked up O5, he out ranked her again.
(6)
(0)
SPC Daniel Rozzell
Don't forget guys, at series end Harm was promoted to Captain and truly out ranked her.... Just saying... :)
(0)
(0)
6
6
0
The John Wayne movie "In Harms Way". It has a couple of inaccuracies, but the one that is very obvious for military reasons, was when they are on board the ships at see after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was made in 1965, so you know the fire control radar sets that are on the ships were NOT the Mark 37 sets of WWII, they were the Mark 68, which had the AN/SPG-53 radar dish on them. Which was in use at this time. Now I do believe the ships used were of WWII vintage, but with the upgrades to them on the fire control sets, you can tell that it was not 100% a WWII ship.
(6)
(0)
Col (Join to see)
Yep, sure enough, there is... on the version I was looking at it was about a second behind (1:27 to 1:28), but plain-as-day there it was... great catch, this one would have definitely slipped by many viewers, definitely good-eye TSgt Hurley, now that's what I call attention to detail... well done!
(2)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google