Below is the complete transcript from our Web chat with R. Lee Ermey, which took place live from Kuwait on July 6, 2003.
History Channel: Welcome to our MAIL CALL live chat, maggots. History Channel: R. Lee Ermey is standing by, live from Kuwait, to answer your questions.
History Channel: and get ready for some high-octane chat R. Lee Ermey-style. |
| R. Lee Ermey: Welcome to the chat. This is R. Lee Ermey coming to you live from Kuwait. It's a bit hot here, but I'm in a nice air-conditioned office! I hope everyone enjoyed the show, and let's get it on here! |
Kimber: Lee, have you been to Camp Udairi or something like that in your gulf MAIL CALL?
R. Lee Ermey: No, we've been to many camps but not that one yet. I'm staying in the Middle East for an additional week. We're hitting all of the outposts and small camps, all the way down to Baghdad. So if we're lucky, we'll get to that one. |
Stan: How far is a 'klick' in terms of distance?
R. Lee Ermey: A klick is a kilometer. |
Fly Navy: How do the logistics compare to the Desert Storm war and WW2?
R. Lee Ermey: You know, over the years, our guys have worked out logistics to a fine science. Everything is so smooth. We had a problem with mail just a few months ago. We did a show on how the mail is distributed to the troops in the field, and the major in charge of the facility told me that the troops were being so well supported that the CARE packages overwhelmed the facilities to the extent that the troops weren't getting their mail. But that's a good thing, isn't it? |
Pilot 150c: What type of aircraft does the Marine Unit you're with operate?
R. Lee Ermey: We have helicopters here. We have CH-53s, and the CH-46, which is referred to fondly by the troops as "the frog." And we also have Cobras. |
Lou: What does 'Semper Fi' mean?
R. Lee Ermey: Semper Fi means "always faithful." It's Latin. Semper Fidelis is what it is, actually. We just shortened it up. I answered that on a MAIL CALL episode. So Lou, you should have watched that episode. Drop and give me 25! |
Michael: I was wondering what the difference is between the M16A1 and the M16A2? Which one was used in the Gulf?
R. Lee Ermey: The M16A2 is the one we're using here right now, and they're just minor modifications on all of them. |
Tngtd: How long has Sarge been in country?
R. Lee Ermey: This is my second trip here. I was here for two weeks, and now I've been back for one week. We came over on the 1st. I'm sending my MAIL CALL crew home tomorrow, and I'm staying here. I'm getting on one of the colonel's helicopters, and we're going to stop at every outpost between here and Baghdad to have a little quality time with the troops. |
Laura: After being retired post-combat injury, are you really that gung-ho?
R. Lee Ermey: Well, you know, I always tell people I never really got retired. Someone in the Marines told me I was retired, and they gave me a retirement party. But I'm as active as I ever was. I tell people I have 42 years in the Marine Corps. |
Desert Warrior: Is there special training for desert warfare?
R. Lee Ermey: Desert Warrior, you know, these Marines train constantly. They're prepared for any kind of warfare. We can drop these troops into the jungles of the Philippines, and they're just as educated and effective. |
Spartan: What is a RPG?
R. Lee Ermey: It's a Rocket Propelled Grenade, and it's shoulder fired. There are all kinds of different RPGs. The Soviets built one, and that's what they're using to come after our troops. |
USMCAD: How was Air Delivery used in this war?
R. Lee Ermey: You know, we've supplied our troops mostly with air delivery as far as ammunition and all kinds of logistics--everything from beans to bullets. It's the quickest way to get beans and bullets to the troops out in the field. |
Rich Hudnut: What type of sunscreen do the troops use?
R. Lee Ermey: Most of them use nothing. After they've been out in the desert for the first 30-45 minutes perspiring, they've got enough dust on them. It's a natural sunscreen! And the sun isn't really that bad over here. It seems like it's always overcast. It's clear, but it's overcast. Most of the time you can't see the sun. |
Ex-Army: How are the vehicles holding up there, like the M1A?
R. Lee Ermey: The vehicles are doing OK. The sand has been blowing around so much over the past few thousand years that it's a fine powder. The first day the "Mail Call" crew and I were in the field, at Camp Coyote and Camp Iwo Jima, we did the biological warfare gear drill and our cameras actually froze up. The automatic focus wouldn't function properly. So we were shut down. Our camera people had to go back in their cars and get the grit out of their cameras. I'm hearing now from the troops that some of the helicopters have gone through several thousand engines because they suck in that fine sand that gums everything up. So the sand is a major factor for damaging our equipment over here. We've been way out in the dunes, and the wind seems like it never stops blowing. It's 20, 30 miles per hour. The sand gets in your eyes, nose, hair, ears, etc. The troops have been out in it so much that they act like it's not there. The camera crew and I felt we were being tortured! We tried to breathe through our noses so we wouldn't swallow the grit, but then your nose gets so blocked up that you have to give up and breathe through your mouth. |
Mitch: Where and how are artillery shells made, and by who?
R. Lee Ermey: There are arsenals in the US that make all the shells. There are many different places that manufacture artillery shells. |
Adrian Cantu: How does a 50-caliber sniper work?
R. Lee Ermey: It's got a humungous scope on it. You can hit a 12-inch bullseye at several miles. It's an awesome piece of sniper machinery. It's great for disabling small vehicles, and shooting at aircraft. However, in Vietnam, they did use them to snipe human targets as well. As a matter of fact, Adrian, we actually have a MAIL CALL episode coming up in which we did two sequences of scout sniper school. People in the Army and Navy aren't considered snipers until they've passed the Marine sniper school in California. It's the cream of the crop sniper school. |
Mark: God dangit. Why aren't these soldiers wearing green, like in the old days, instead of these weird tanish colors?
R. Lee Ermey: Because they're out here in the damn desert! Mark, drop and give me 25 for asking a ridiculous question. The troops try to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon, so they won't be seen moving through the desert. |
Corran: Which is more important, the DFC, the DSC, the Silver Star, or the Navy Cross?
R. Lee Ermey: The Navy Cross. And I don't have one. And I don't want one! You have to get hurt. |
MAB: What's the difference between the Navy Seals and the Army Rangers?
R. Lee Ermey: It's kind of a tossup. They often work together, but that's up to the command as to who they decide is going to do what. They can all do one another's jobs, pretty much. So it's basically up to the command. |
Michael: How does the Army assign certain numbers to hills (for example, Hill 198)?
R. Lee Ermey: The height of the hill is how they decide it. Like Hill 327 is 327 feet high. |
June Cleaver: R. Lee, what is the significance of "Uh Rah" to the Corps?
R. Lee Ermey: (laughing) You gotta drop that sucker down for pushups, too. As far as meaning, nobody even seems to know how to spell it, but for meaning, it's a motivating war cry that we use. |
Brown: How do the troops in Iraq keep up their morale?
R. Lee Ermey: You know, that is a million dollar question. They have people in charge of that. Like, when I was a drill sergeant, one of my many jobs was to motivate the troops and keep their morale up. There are very few perks in that situation. If you see the grunts out in the field, they look like they've been sprayed down with water and rolled in the dirt. They're filthy; their living conditions are appalling. Their motivation is that one day they'll get to go home. And they're winning the war. Of course, every time we lose a troop, that's a big de-motivator. But they keep motivated by explaining to them just how important the job they're doing over here is, and how much they rely on one another to get out of a scrape. There are a million ways to motivate people. Money is the main one in the business world, and survival is the main one in combat. By the way, motivation, regardless of what we've heard on the Communist News Network, is very good considering the conditions these young people are working under here. |
Andrew: How are boys keeping cool in the desert heat? Any special gear? God bless all our troops!
R. Lee Ermey: They're not keeping cool in the desert heat. They're fortified. They're motivated. They put one foot in front of the other. They remain hydrated. They have individual water supplies to carry on their back, and they constantly sip water out of this camel pack. But as far as shade, there's no such thing in the desert. We all know how difficult it is to walk in sand, and these kids have big heavy boots on. But they don't have personal air conditioning systems, so to speak. As to how they keep cool in the desert, the answer has to be that they don't. They live with it. |
Mooter: What's the difference between all the different types of rations? (E.g. A, D, C rations)
R. Lee Ermey: The A and C rations went out years ago after my war, the Vietnam War.
Now we have MREs, which are in plastic containers instead of tin cans. In Vietnam, we used to discard our tin cans, and the Viet Cong would come along and make booby traps out of them. It's very difficult to make booby traps out of the MRE plastic containers! The troops are given as many MREs as they want. If they're hungry, they eat, plain and simple. I had MREs yesterday, and I had several. They're not that bad to eat. |
Pepsi Bank: Does the military use paintball for training?
R. Lee Ermey: No. They have laser systems that they use now, but I don't believe the paintball system was ever used in the military. It may have been tested, but not used for training. But we do have lasers, a little piece of equipment that goes on the end of a soldier's rifle, and when it hits a piece of their gear, they're dead. It's all laser tag nowadays. |
NavLt: How quick can one of the Marines put on a gas mask?
R. Lee Ermey: Very quick! Trust me! They can bring it out of that pouch and have it on their face and sealed in about four seconds. |
Paul from Lubbock, TX: What do the troops in Iraq do for fun?
R. Lee Ermey: (laughing) Kill the enemy! For fun? There IS no fun. They work all day long and all night long. There is a little rest occasionally, but when they get so frazzled they can't go on, their officers realize they need some time to relax and move them out for a few days. But as far as fun, that's a hell of a question. I don't think they have any fun. They clean their rifles. Maybe that's fun. But there is no fun in a combat zone. |
Chatty: How does the new Land Warrior work?
R. Lee Ermey: Now, we covered that very thoroughly in an episode of "Mail Call."
Drop and give me 25! I could talk about the Land Warrior all day, but that's the problem, it would take all day. Basically, in a nutshell, one of the advantages is a computer that you wear. There's a video eyepiece that goes over the left eye. It straps on the helmet over the eye. Say we're having operations at night; the platoon commander can push a button to summon his troops. Number one, he can push a button and see where each of his troops is. And if he wants to call the troops to his side, he can push another button and ask the troops to come to him. Once they face his direction, a little light goes on and they can walk right to him. Another great thing is you can hold your rifle over a berm and kill the enemy without even exposing yourself. It also has all the maps for the area you're in. You can plot a course for your troops, and it brings up the map in your eyepiece. It has so many advantages. When we did the show, it was explained to us that if it gets wet, the computer was actually put into a large tub of water and left there for 24 hours with the batteries and everything. After 24 hours of being submerged, it was still functional. It has a lot more advantages, but if I went into all of them, it would take up the whole hour. Watch the show, dammit! |
Jennifer McElveen: How many planes and hummers did they use in the war?
R. Lee Ermey: A whole bunch. Many! |
Deb: What do our guys need us to send from home?
R. Lee Ermey: You know, the guys are pretty well taken care of. I'm sure there are a few things from home they'd like, but I think the most important thing is probably pictures of their loved ones. Everything else is taken care of pretty well. These troops are taken care of. They don't have luxury items like fans or miniature air conditioners, but we're in a combat zone here. You have to understand that everything a soldier has, he has to put in a pack and carry on his back. So they don't want anything that's going to fill up that pack. He's got lots of ammo in his pack, so he doesn't need hand grenades from Mom and Dad. Maybe some beer, though. |
Deb: What is a typical meal in Kuwait on base?
R. Lee Ermey: In Kuwait, it's a whole different ball game. They have mess halls on the bases in Kuwait. They have very good meals--eggs, hamburgers and gravy, hot dogs. I don't think they're allowed to have pork products in the country since it's a Muslim country, so there's mostly beef. They have milk and chocolate milk. I looked in the fridge the other day, and there were about 20 different drinks they could have with their meals. They even have ice cream! And the mess halls are air-conditioned. We covered that this morning about how much better the troops in Kuwait have it. Once you cross over into Iraq, it's a different story--MREs, and you have to drink water. That's about it. |
South Town: What exactly is in a GI's pack that makes it so heavy?
R. Lee Ermey: Every damn thing he owns! These kids go out into the field sometimes for 8-10 days, so the pack is full of MREs, bottled water, and anything you might need as far as clothing goes. Socks and clean underwear are important. The troops will wear the same uniform for weeks on end. They shake it out at night to get the dirt and sand out, and then put it back on in the morning. Then there are ammunition and hand grenades. Every operation is different, so you don't take the same things every time. So the pack is customized according to what the operation is. |
Bill S. 1956: R. Lee, did you enjoy the USS Nimitz?
R. Lee Ermey: The Nimitz was fantastic! The entire "Mail Call" crew and I loved it. The soldiers loved us; they laughed at my corny jokes. I had a chat with the men and had chow with the chiefs at the chief's mess and the petty officer's mess. Then, for three more meals, I was on the mess deck with the troops, and I gave a speech at every meal. Those guys are fantastic. The ship is clean. They work on it day and night. It's not an easy job. Sailors don't sit around carving whale tusks like in the old days! They work from early morning until late at night. There are 5,100 troops on board the Nimitz, and they all have a job. There is zero unemployment on that ship. |
Mouse: Was that young lady the only girl on base?
R. Lee Ermey: No, we have a lot of young ladies on base. You'd be surprised. They are the minority, but they're here doing whatever needs to be done. The young lady on the show with me was a re-fueller. She refuels helicopters, and that's a pretty tough job. She's pretty tough. I wouldn't want her to get mad at me. The women work right alongside the men, and there are lots of them. There were several young ladies in the audience, too. |
R. Lee Ermey: It's been great chatting with you. Thanks for the interest you show. I hope you enjoyed the special; we put a lot of work into it. It takes a tremendous amount of work to do something like this, so my hat goes off to the entire "Mail Call" crew. My job in front of the camera is the easiest one on the entire set. Thanks everyone for looking in.
And by the way, I said that Lee Ermey is the host of "Mail Call," but the troops are the real stars. Without them, there wouldn't be a "Mail Call." Keep watching. This is the start of a new season. We're working hard, and we're working fast, and we have great shows coming up. We were in our infancy for the first 13 episodes, then teenage for the next 13, but we're almost in college now! Thanks for having me. Gunny says, "Semper Fi!" |
History Channel: Thanks for chatting with us, soldiers. Why not go to http://www.historychannel.com/mailcall and ask R. Lee Ermey a question about military technology? Who knows - yours might get answered on air!
And remember to tune-in to the new season of "Mail Call," every Sunday at 10pm/9c only on The History Channel. Semper Fi!
A Production of LiveWorld. Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved. |
