I found Firebase Gloria to be a highly educational film. Yes, it's a somewhat patriotic view of the Vietnam war and the Tet offensive, though it has some clear criticisms of the American involvement in the war. I'm actually shocked that so many people see this as "gung-ho American". There is extensive criticism of the US involvement in the war, portrayals of barbarism by American's, and examples of ineptitude on the part of the military. But, that's been done. What this film did for me was teach me a lot of details about warfare that I never knew:
1. The M16 rifle is a miraculous weapon. It never needs reloading. You never once see a clip changed in this film. You will see continuous automatic fire for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the AK-15 has this same beneficial characteristic.
2. If you have to fall back or move forward in a battle situation, the proper technique is to do so slowly while standing splay legged perpendicular to the line of fire and shooting. All of that silly running and crawling you see on other shows must be nonsense. Clearly, it is your duty to make yourself the best possible target when moving during battle.
3. When VC troops are shot with that miraculous M16, they fly straight up into the air with a dramatic spreading of the arms and legs. Now, I would have thought that the momentum might knock them back or that the bullet wouldn't really move them that much, but that's clearly my mistake. If it's your last moment on earth, you might as well over-act.
4. Battles have clear "phases" that everyone agrees too. You do the mortars for a while, and then you do the mad rush by thousands of Filipinos. Do not mix the two. The idea of a coordinated attack using multiple munitions must be against the rules or something.
5. It's okay to shoot your buddy in the head when they are wounded with plenty of witnesses around, provided they ask you to do so. Don't worry; the nice doctor won't turn you in for murder. Be sure you do so with a revolver, even though you're not likely to have one around in Vietnam.
6. There is actually an actor named "Wings Hauser". Next thing someone's going to tell me there's a military reporter at CNN named "Wolf Blitzer".
Several people talk about how realistic this film is. I have no doubt that many elements do ring true. But, when I see a soldier in a defensive position stand up in a foxhole making as large a target as possible, I have to wonder what they were thinking.
1. The M16 rifle is a miraculous weapon. It never needs reloading. You never once see a clip changed in this film. You will see continuous automatic fire for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the AK-15 has this same beneficial characteristic.
2. If you have to fall back or move forward in a battle situation, the proper technique is to do so slowly while standing splay legged perpendicular to the line of fire and shooting. All of that silly running and crawling you see on other shows must be nonsense. Clearly, it is your duty to make yourself the best possible target when moving during battle.
3. When VC troops are shot with that miraculous M16, they fly straight up into the air with a dramatic spreading of the arms and legs. Now, I would have thought that the momentum might knock them back or that the bullet wouldn't really move them that much, but that's clearly my mistake. If it's your last moment on earth, you might as well over-act.
4. Battles have clear "phases" that everyone agrees too. You do the mortars for a while, and then you do the mad rush by thousands of Filipinos. Do not mix the two. The idea of a coordinated attack using multiple munitions must be against the rules or something.
5. It's okay to shoot your buddy in the head when they are wounded with plenty of witnesses around, provided they ask you to do so. Don't worry; the nice doctor won't turn you in for murder. Be sure you do so with a revolver, even though you're not likely to have one around in Vietnam.
6. There is actually an actor named "Wings Hauser". Next thing someone's going to tell me there's a military reporter at CNN named "Wolf Blitzer".
Several people talk about how realistic this film is. I have no doubt that many elements do ring true. But, when I see a soldier in a defensive position stand up in a foxhole making as large a target as possible, I have to wonder what they were thinking.