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

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

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

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.

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

We had times in '66 and '67 when we would pick up a platoon of privates out of the receiving barracks the week before we even graduated the platoon that we were on!