Left of Boom Episode 17: Meet the Man Who Puts Movie Stars Through Boot Camp
16 Feb 2021
Dale Dye has been an adviser on many of the generation s most iconic military films and shows from Platoon to Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. But he didn t grow up in showbiz. He s a retired Marine who decided that the movies he saw weren t doing right by America s service members, and he decided to do something about it. On this episode, host Hope Hodge Seck and Military.com writer Blake Stilwell ask Dale Dye about the worst military movie he s ever seen, his thoughts on Space Force and his advice for other veterans who want to make a career in showbiz.
In fact, Iran even managed to sink an aircraft carrier.
Key point: The war game should have been a wake up call, but it was too embarrassing. Instead, the rules were changed during the game to ensure American victory.
As tensions escalate in the Persian Gulf region, it’s worth recalling a 2002 Pentagon war game in which a U.S. Marine Corps played the part of an enemy commander waging a bloody defensive campaign against a much more powerful U.S. force.
Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper’s own hodgepodge of troops, ships and planes was similar in organization and capability to Iran’s actual forces. Van Riper’s success in blunting a simulated American assault could reveal how Tehran might fight in the real world.
(U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Christian Conrad)
No matter how you feel about Elon Musk, there s no denying he s one of America s most visionary business leaders. He turned the electric car into a product consumers actually wanted to buy and, in the process, turned Tesla into one of the world s most valuable companies.
Musk may not like conventions, but some are universal. One is productivity.
In a 2018 email that leaked to the public, the Tesla CEO outlined six recommendations for his employees to make the best use of their time.
Members of the military will quickly realize their units take few, if any of his recommendations.
US Army/Staff Sgt. Jennifer Bunn
In May 1864, nearly 200,000 Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in a dense wooded area in Virginia known as The Wilderness.
But in the midst of that battle, the two armies paused to watch two of their troops square off in a one-on-one battle.
There s just something about two people in a fistfight that s irresistible to watch. We can t look away.
There s something about the sound of a sliding bar stool, the rising tide of voices shouting, and the sudden rush of action in one spot that is just pure entertainment. But there shouldn t be any reason to stop and watch two soldiers fistfight in the middle of war.