Random Veterans Share What Infuriates Them Most About Military Movies (29 items)

• (#1) The Total Misuse Of ‘Over And Out’

  From Redditor /u/ExpatlivinginEurope:

  If for any reason you hear anyone talking on the radio and saying "over and out," it's either "over," which means the conversation is ongoing awaiting a response; or "out," which means the sender has ended the conversation.

  Every time I see a halfway decent movie, its ruined when they can't even follow proper military radio procedures. Simple but stupid mistake.

  From Redditor /u/flyingbatbeaver:

  [S]aying "over and out" you're telling someone to respond, but the conversation is over. They contradict each other.
• (#2) Everything About 'The Hurt Locker’

  From Redditor /u/Outlaw0311:

  The entire movie that is The Hurt Locker. I don't have enough time in my day to explain that giant pile of steaming horsesh*t.

  Language. NCOs aren't called "Sir." A female officer isn't called "Sir."... The list goes on and on.

  Saluting without a cover on, indoors.

  Uniforms. Jesus f*ck, look at Google for 10 minutes...

  The Michael Bay Fireball Explosion when a hand grenade detonates - it doesn't look like that.

  From Redditor /u/Full_metal_pants077:

  Everything between the credits of The Hurt Locker.
• (#3) Ignoring That The Middle East Actually Has Paved Roads

  From Redditor /u/gugudan:

  [M]ovies dealing with current conflicts. Hollywood, there are, in fact, paved roads in the Middle East. There are also trees, urban areas, and... water. It also gets surprisingly cold in Iraq.

  Here is a small album of pictures I took in Iraq.
• (#4) Combat Noise That Is Far Too Quiet

  From Redditor /u/PleaseDoNotDoubleDip:

  Firearms are loud. Very, very loud. Like "damaging your hearing, make deaf" loud. You cannot talk normally during or immediately after shooting.

  In Iraq my most vivid memory of my first firefight was how loud it was. It was really painful, actually. M4s, M249s, and a M240B shooting lots of rounds all around me. I literally thought my ears were bleeding and was effectively deaf afterward.
• (#5) The Chopper Chats (Talking On A Helicopter Without A Headset Is Pointless)

  From Redditor /u/Mong419:

  The casual conversations on helicopters. Whole mission briefings on the helicopter right before they land. Any talking on a helicopter without a headset.

  Helicopters are loud.

  I crew UH-60s for the Army, and I have to wear two sets of hearing protection at all times while the aircraft is operating. On the occasions where I need to talk to a passenger or someone not on a headset, I have to literally scream right into their ear from point blank range, and they still barely hear me.

  So the calm and quiet conversations I see in movies all the time really ruin my immersion.
• (#6) Making Military Personnel Hotshots Instead Of Average People

  From Redditor /u/john_gee:

  I hate that the military is kind of a catch-all backstory for any character that is supposed to be a badass. Like, some guy spends a few years in the military and then gets out and goes back to his hometown. And he has all the training he needs to single-handedly take on his town's army of drug dealers / corrupt cops / whatever.

  I'm sure there are some special forces types that might fit that profile, but most of us get out of the military and we're really good at, like, PowerPoint and sh*t. The vast majority of the military is made up of just regular... people who went to boot camp. They might be able to knock out a few more push-ups than the average civilian, but most of us spend an average day in the military looking at screens or driving trucks or filling out paperwork, like everyone else.
• (#7) When Actors Playing Young Military Personnel Are Way Too Old

  From a Redditor:

  Lower enlisted are predominantly YOUNG-as-f*ck looking.

  I just want to see one movie that has soldiers [ages] 18 to 21 [who] actually look like what they are representing.
• (#8) Snipers Who Point Their Barrels Out Windows

  From Redditor /u/ThaGerm1158:

  Snipers don't stick the barrel... out the damn window. Hollywood does it so they can see and film them in a dramatic fashion.

  Exactly the opposite thing you want in actual combat.
• (#9) Enemies Portrayed As ‘Evil, Faceless Morons’ Rather Than Human Beings

  From Redditor /u/Hillbilly_Heaven:

  [M]ilitary movies tend to either portray soldiers as perfect heroes who never do wrong, or... broken savages. We all tried to do right but sometimes we do wrong. It's never black and white.

  Also, the enemy is not some evil faceless army of morons as many... films portray, and we are not invincible. So many... movies just make the enemy out to be completely incompetent..., which just isn't the case. Sometimes, we f*ck up just as bad as they do. Also, the enemy isn't just an enemy; they are humans too. They are also fighting for what they believe to be right and can show just as much bravery/barbarity as we do. They are not faceless villians.
• (#10) Soldiers Who Walk Around With Their Finger On A Trigger

  From Redditor /u/Hillbilly_Heaven:

  I never had my finger on the trigger unless I intended to fire, so when I see soldiers in movies just casually walking with their fingers on the trigger, [it] just makes me wince. 

   
• (#11) Top Commanders Who Are ‘Dimwitted Egomaniacs’

  From Redditor /u/shugerbooger:

  Generals and colonels (and admirals and captains) are often depicted as hard-charging, dimwitted egomaniacs who have little depth of personality and are out of touch with what's really going on in their commands. In reality, senior officers are usually well-educated and well-spoken. Those I have worked with have been very intelligent and perceptive, and they usually have a talent for eliciting valuable input from those around them.

  The military's promotion systems aren't as broken as an outsider might be led to believe by Hollywood. For the most part, the armed services are promoting the best qualified officers.
• (#12) The Idea That Everyone In The Military Is From A Small Town

  From Redditor /u/PunchBeard:

  I've said this before and I'll say it again: not everyone in the Army comes from a small town no one's ever heard of. Yeah, there's definitely a lot of dudes like that, but there's also plenty of people from New York, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Chicago.

  I mean, not all of us are pickup-driving, tobacco-chewing rednecks engaged to our high school sweetheart. Hell, my company had guys from at least four or five different countries.
• (#13) When Submarines Use Active Sonar, Which Gives Away Their Location

  From a former Redditor:

  Ex-submariner here. Annoys me [to] no end when they use active sonar.

  Submarines are a stealth platform; last thing you want to do is transmit something that will give away your position.

  In case you're wondering, Das Boot is the best submarine film, and I've seen almost all of them. 
• (#14) The Accents And The Lingo

  From Redditor /u/gugudan:

  [T]he talking. Apparently everyone in the military has a pretty sh*tty fake-sounding Southern accent and doesn't know the difference between the letter "O" and the number "0."

  Along with the talking comes the lingo. A member of the Marine Corps is not a soldier. A member of the Navy is not an airman. A member of the Army is not a sailor. A member of the Air Force is not a Marine.

  Here, I'll make it simple:

  Army = Soldier

  Marines = Marine

  Navy = Sailor

  Air Force = Airman
• (#15) The Lack Of Discussion About Mission Logistics - Things Don’t Just Get Blown Up

  From Redditor /u/coprolite_hobbyist:

  You almost never hear about logistics when any kind of mission is being planned. "Okay, you guys go here and kill those guys and then blow that sh*t up" and that's it." There are literally hundreds of details that need to be worked out for any mission. I realize it would be boring to go through all of that, but it should at least be referenced.

  "My logisticians are a humorless lot... they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay." - Alexander the Great

  Goddamn right.
• (#16) Scenes That Suggest, 'If You Can Stand Behind It, It Will Block Bullets'

  From Redditor /u/jrhooo:

  Everything is NOT cover.

  Trash cans, garbage dumpsters, kitchen tables, the couch, car doors, etc.

  Movies seem to think if you can stand behind it, it will block bullets.

  F*CK NO, bro.

  A little bit of stamped sheet metal ain't saving you.
• (#17) Nearly 'Anything Involving Fixed-Wing Aircraft'

  From Redditor /u/just_dave:

  Pretty much anything involving fixed-wing aircraft: how they fly, capabilities, tactics, [tools] used against them, etc. Absolutely f*cking absurd.

  Case in point: Behind Enemy Lines. That scene when Owen Wilson is flying a hornet and gets [fired] at by a [surface-to-air projectile]... [T]he thing is f*cking chasing him around for five minutes doing loops and flying through tunnels and sh*t. Not a f*cking chance. Those missiles are going supersonic, and while they can pull more G's than a fighter jet, at that speed it looks like more of a gradual curve. If it misses the first time, it's gone...
• (#18) Scenes Around Atomic Reactors Where No One Gets Radiation Sickness

  From Redditor /u/sixft7in:

  Former Navy nuclear reactor operator here. One doesn't have a fight scene next to/atop a reactor and expect to avoid [perishing] by radiation sickness...

  From Redditor /u/sicvita07:

  Current Navy nuclear operator... literally anything to do with nuclear power or naval combat. Regardless of what's going on... we're still just taking logs.
• (#19) When A Subordinate Talks Back To A High-Ranking Officer

  From Redditor /u/barajaj:

  Hate it when a subordinate, usually enlisted, talks back to a high-ranking officer and makes him/her do something out of the ordinary because it will save the mission.

  That sh*t rarely happens. We usually just shut the f*ck up and follow instructions. Sure, if something is dangerous we speak up, but always respectfully.
• (#20) When Combat Occurs At Really Close Distances

  From Redditor /u/EclecticDreck:

  [C]ombat generally takes place at much greater distances than depicted: 150 meters (492 feet) is... considered close range. Snipers are generally intended to engage at much [farther] ranges, to the tune of 600-plus meters (1,969 feet).

  Similarly, firepower is almost always underplayed. Calling artillery on a threat 50 meters (164 feet) away is monstrously dangerous to yourself. The lethal radius of a grenade is larger than your average American living room, and the wounding radius is the better part of a regulation basketball court. Artillery barrages can, in the space of seconds, [slay] or [harm] every single person unfortunate enough to be standing up within a square kilometer. Aircraft generally engage other aircraft beyond visual range with missiles.

  The modern battlefield is far more lethal than most media supposes, which necessarily forces combat to take place at much greater distances - and with much more distance between each individual soldier - than movies and games suggest.
• (#21) Grenades That Light Up And Generate Fireballs 

  From Redditor /u/blanchattacks:

  Grenades. They don't light up or create a big ball of fire.

  There is just dust and sharp chunks of metal everywhere, instantly.
• (#22) When People Are On Patrol, They Walk Too Closely Together

  From Redditor /u/Steam-Crow:

  Every movie when they are patrolling or walking somewhere, they are way too close to each other, and having a goddamn [loud] conversation.

  Shut the f*ck up and spread out.
• (#23) When People Aim With One Eye Only

  From Redditor /u/Bergioyn:

  In the movies everybody aims with one eye closed

  One of the first things taught about shooting... is how to do it with both eyes open, because your view of the situation in front of (and around) you is rather sh*tty if you're only looking down the sights.
• (#24) Endless Supplies Of Ammo

  From a former Redditor:

  Bullets. Omfg. [Arms] in movies seem to have endless rounds in their magazines. For the US military, the standard... is the M4 carbine and the M16A2. Each standard magazine holds 30 rounds, and you are given seven of them, so you only have 210 rounds on your kit.

  You can pack more if you get a bandolier or something, but standard is 7 mags.
• (#25) The Berets

  From Redditor /u/metzer_frix:

  F*cking berets.

  Please, just hire someone to do a half-decent beret for the uniform. You look like you have a... sock puppet on your head.
• (#26) Implying That Combat Is Constant; Most Military Time Is Boring

  From a former Redditor:

  Movies and the media make it seem like deployed soldiers are constantly in combat. Not true. Even at the most dangerous outposts, you're shooting or getting [fired] at usually less than 5% of the time, and firefights usually last several minutes at most (just like fist fights)...

  The other 95% of the time, you're baking in the sun and doing mundane, repetitive tasks such as cleaning weapons, filling sandbags, doing vehicle maintenance, cleaning something, playing cards, etc.

  From Redditor /u/ EclecticDreck:

  A nonviolent thing they get wrong is the boredom. Most of the time you're sitting around being uncomfortable and doing something mind-numbing, and worse still, often you simply cannot relax.
• (#27) Whistling Bombs

  From Redditor /u/atomicsnarl:

  Whistling bombs. ANYTHING falling that whistles. Including spies falling from the bridge.
• (#28) Computers That Are Far Too Fancy

  From Redditor /u/tekkou:

  The "high-tech" computers and displays that are everywhere.

  A few places I've been in maybe come close to that with having a large wall of screens, but yeah, we've got crappy computers.
• (#29) Running For Help Instead Of Using A Radio

  From Redditor /u/atomicsnarl:

  Why bother using the radio to warn anybody when you can run 2 miles under fire to tell them yourself?

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