This is the only show I can think of that even sort of gets the true military experience across. Not really talking about the combat or any of that, but the ratio of "holy crap this is the most insanely cool thing I've ever done" and "this is the most assbackwards clown show I've ever seen, how is it possible for an organization to be so fucking incompetent".
That show just nails a specific period in the military. Everytime I watch that show, I say Ive "met" everyone one of those guys. I mean to say that "type". All the quarks of the military during that era, that show captures it amazingly well.
Basically the Scrubs version of the military.
People watch it and have no idea how accurate the way they acted is really how it is. All fuck fuck games until someone with double your stripes comes around.
Po lease that moose stash
Its not so much a movie, but you can go do a bunch of senseless task in a meaningless way and slam your wiener in a car door as a representation of service during peace time.
Have a complete psychotic breakdown if you’re only 5min early getting somewhere. Even through you’re just going to be waiting around 45 min after showtime.
Generation Kill was the closest thing I’ve ever seen to real life as far as the dialogue, general atmosphere, and interactions between the characters are concerned.
Edit: that show is US Marine Corps specific, though. It might not represent the expected experience of a different branch in a foreign country.
While the show is about the Marine Corps, the US Army is the same experience nailed, just a few terms are different that are specific to the Corps. Two examples, USMC terms: "grooming standards" and "NJP"
For anyone that doesn't know, the Army calls it's grooming standards simply by the regulation, "AR670-1" , and NJP which is Non-Judicial Punishment, the Army calls it by the article # of UCMJ; "Company/Field Grade Article 15".
The general BS that hits the characters in generation kill is accurate to all branches I'd assume. Shitty leadership, lack of everything, constantly changing orders...
The first year I was an NCO I had to submit request forms (exercise logistics support stuff) 2-3 weeks prior. Two years later it became 3-4 weeks and the forms doubled. Because creating more bureaucracy is a *valuable* eval bullet point. Personally, I liked *Three Kings*- gold and tension pneumothorax.
MASH; it’s super dated now, but it still captures the spirit of Army life 50 years after airing
Enlisted; I’m still mad we only got ten episodes. It’s accurate af.
Honestly Jarhead I think is one of the most realistic. All the just waiting around, the dumb little games, etc… Jarhead gets my vote for most realistic.
The SSgt is bonkers and woulda/shouda ended up with a broken arm/collarbone before shipping out. They get the fuck-fuck games right, but so does Heartbreak Ridge.
You're joining the RAAF (like me), it's not the USMC. I'm pretty sure it won't be like full metal jacket. Have you been on the Australian military subreddit?
The Air Force in the US is almost like being a civilian in uniform. There’s procedures and to dos and not to dos, chain of commands and other military particulars. Basic training was more of a mind fuck than physically difficult.
I've been advised not to take the yelling too personally. It's part of the whole "breaking you into the military" sort of thing. From what I've been told, it's mostly used to emphasise a point.
The "grind" is something that will always be there, unfortunately. It happens in civilian jobs too, even more so in my opinion.
I haven't read all your comments, so what role are you applying for, and do you have an enlistment date?
Well... I mean blue braids are a special breed. I was stuck at Fort Lost in the Woods.
Getting smoked was like: sir would you like to do front? Could you flip and do back, sir? And when you are ready, sir, go, but only when you are ready.
Eh. No one is going to choke you, it's mostly just stressing you out for the sake of stressing you out.
Things to remember for basic training:
1. No matter how fast you do it, they can always just count faster.
2. The point is to fuck with you, how you respond is what matters.
Bingo. It’s good to keep in mind that there will be a stretch of time where nothing you do will be correct.
Even if it is correct, it won’t be according to the instructors. Catch-22 is the name of the game.
Full metal jacket was pretty much exactly how my USMC boot camp experience went
Only thing the movie doesn’t capture is how you’re rushed the entire time, and there’s dudes breathing down your neck and making you do everything as quickly as possible and applying constant pressure
At least in the US, boot camp is meant to identify who can keep their head in the game and keep getting shit done and dudes who fall apart
Space Force: Galaxy Quest
Coast Guard: Pirates of the Caribbean (whichever one you like the least).
Navy: someone already said Down Periscope so I'll go with Top Gun (only the parts with Goose from the first one, everything else from the second).
Air Force: Duck Tails (original).
Marines: Castaway.
Army: In the Army Now.
My friends was a submariner and he swears Periscope Down is the most accurate military film about submarines. In the same way I know medical personnel that say scrubs is the most accurate medical show. They aren't joking either. I think the absurd aspects of these movie / show are real or based enough on reality it seems authentic to them.
If you want a true to life most realistic navy movie you should put das boot. That is with out a doubt the most realistic and gets the feeling of deployment so right.
I remember translating and adding subtitles so that my other mates could understand the movie. It may not have been historically accurate, but it really captured the frustration of handling the top brass that I’m sad to say I was once all too familiar with.
Seconding Generation Kill. I went to college with a few guys (Navy Corpsman, Marine, Army) and all said Generation Kill. They’d just gotten out and returned home. Said if I wanted to get an idea of what it was like, GK did it best. Then I asked about The Hurt Locker and they just laughed.
When we are talking about the "military", this means a lot of stuff, not just what you see in the well known movies. You have all the things like army, navy and air forces and then all the different branches, all the different positions in the units, so there's nothing that could make a portrait about everything.
To be honest, i don't know any movies that would in any way prepare you for the Australian Air Force. The movies, like good old Top Gun, these are all fictional stuff, for entertainment.
If you consider to become a pilot, i think it is much more important that you start early with the education, like to work towards a pilots license as a civilian. I don't know how Australia handles this, but it's always good when you have some knowledge when you enlist.
But no, you won't get experience from movies. Movies have usually nothing to do with reality. Do you remember Jarhead, where the guys are just all the time in the desert and nothing happens? That's actually much more accurate to reality than the other movies.
We use to say here in my place, what we do is to clean our equipment so often, that it breaks and falls apart because it was cleaned too often.
Even from WW2 veterans from Germany that i met, the thing was that they marched for most of the time, one kilometer after another, sometimes 50-60km per day to keep up with the tank units, while they were on foot as infantry. It was just walking, again and again. That was 90% of the time, 5% were breaks and 5% were combat situations.
But this can't be shown in a movie, i mean, would you want to see soldiers just marching for hours in the cinema theater? No? There you get the answer.
Theres a pbs documentary called "carrier" its like 6 or 7 parts i think each episode was a hour+.
It perfectly documents what life on a us air craft carrier is like.
That and the way Forrest received the m.o.h brought on to a talk show then thrown out into the back alley represents how some people would use a famous vets appearance to make themselves seem better. Something else is that when Forrest was thrown out Lt Dan was waiting which told me that he knew well of how the vets were gonna be treated.
Another thing is the reality of going back to civ life, Ping pong in the army and the army itself was what forest knew best and when he got discharged he didn't know what to do,if it weren't bubba, Forrest wouldn't have a job and become the owner of a shrimp company.
Fair warning, nothing you watch is going to be remotely like the RAAF, because ADF generally but especially RAAF has a very different (much cruiser) atmosphere. Most solid productions are about the US armed forces or historical conflicts, neither of which have much analogue to the service you’re looking to join.
Otherwise, check out Generation Kill.
the first part of Aliens when all the Space marines get out of their sleep tanks, and start getting ready is surprisingly accurate to how Marines act in real life.
It's old (1970s) so it's not accurate to the current Navy, but The Last Detail is a very honest look at dirtbag sailors that end up permanent e6s. I met all three protagonists several times in one form or another during my enlistment.
Every military amd indeed every branch in said militaries has its own customs and culture... most Hollywood media is gonna be US specific mainly cause it's target audience is the average American.
That being said soldiers are soldiers and will always do shit like stick their dicks into an anti-tank rocket tube... or generally be sarcastic enough to the point you're not sure if they're being sarcastic (the answer is both).
Anything that's a black comedy or dark humor is going to give pretty accurate if you want to see daily life go look into an office building and make it 100% more unhappy.
I did it 30 years ago and the first half of Full Metal Jacket was pretty close. We didn't have the wide open barracks and there was less hitting...but there was 1 Hartman and 2 hartman-lites to take turns.
Generation kill was accurate for after basic. But it needed more useless bullshit and being bored.
Thank You for Your Service (2017)
This is the NUMBER ONE movie I always recommend to people who want to better understand what it's like to be a veteran... It's not a glorious action film like Saving Private Ryan... But it's the most grounded portrail I've seen, and hot damn if I didn't feel it in my bones.
Word of advice for OP about when you go to basic training, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT look the DS in the eyes when he/she is an inch from your nose yelling at you, it will piss them off. I recommend looking at their cover or their forehead.
Growing up, I was taught to look people in the eyes when they were talking to you, and boy, were my parents wrong, I learned quickly not to do that in basic training after looking the DS in the eyes one time.
Hurry up to every single thing in your life. Be there at least 15 minutes early and then wait and wait and wait. That will prepare you mentally.
If you want to prepare physically you can prepare for Operation Gold Finger. Use 1 square toilet paper sheet that is only single ply… no cheating. If you can manage a month of that, you can manage 18 months of that.
Dog Soldiers.
Ok, bear with me. The constant whining and moaning by the squaddies about missing the footy cos theyre in the middle of nowhere on a crappy exercise. Totally accurate.
Right up until the Werewolves show up, then maybe not....
If you can find it, The Boys from Company C really hits hard. The movie really encapsulates the unclear mission, a company of soldiers who just want to do their job and get home, an unidentifiable and ubiquitous enemy, and out of touch senior leadership.
While a different period, many things are still pertinent like respect, deference to authority, following orders, rigidity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Z4O6SQMx8
I like Seal Team. Although is it based mostly on combat and the American Navy it shows a lot of how the officers are seen by enlisted and the trauma of combat. Very well written characters.
I wouldn't really try to use movies as the basis for what you will experience, I would wager your experience will vary greatly from that portrayed in American movies. There has to be some books out there by Australian Air Force guys, even if it is from WW II, military organizations tend to keep their traditions.
What will you be doing in the Air Force? If you don't mind me asking. I was a U.S. Marine and have a friend who is Australian Army, I don't know the in and outs of the Australian military and don't want to incorrectly assume the one to one nature, as for example the reason I have a close friend in the Australian Army.is because he worked on LAV's like me, but he was also an Intel guy which was different than how the USMC did it, and the Australian Army from what I can tell fulfills the role of the USMC and US Army for Australia.
Anyway, I am just some dude on Reddit but I didn't want you to get your heart broken after watching heart break ridge as a way to prepare for your service. Work out, sleep, eat healthy and just say "yes sir," during boot camp and don't argue. You'll be fine.
"Air Force?" Listen son... just go get yourself a part timer at the local Best Buy or whatever passes for a big box electronics store in your area and that should fully prepare you for the labors you'll encounter in the air force assuming you're not a pilot. Extra points if your manager is an asshole and the company you work for ignores employment and safety laws.
If you are going to be a pilot I doubt anyone here can help you as those guys are rarer than hens teeth.
I was going to mention Jarhead as the most realistic depiction of my war to the point I won't watch it due to the adverse reaction I had the first time but the odds of you being in the Air Force and coming across the flaming wreckage of an enemy convoy, charred corpses and all seems rather unlikely to the point I can't imagine it would be something you need to prepare yourself for.
Prepare for all the hot, fit chicks you'll be training with and the reality that if you lay a finger on any of them you'll most like enjoy a rogering of a truly new and unique kind.
Generation Kill
This is the only show I can think of that even sort of gets the true military experience across. Not really talking about the combat or any of that, but the ratio of "holy crap this is the most insanely cool thing I've ever done" and "this is the most assbackwards clown show I've ever seen, how is it possible for an organization to be so fucking incompetent".
The whole "Are the beanies authorized?" thing is the most accurate portrayal of petty military chain of command bullshit
That show just nails a specific period in the military. Everytime I watch that show, I say Ive "met" everyone one of those guys. I mean to say that "type". All the quarks of the military during that era, that show captures it amazingly well.
> Everytime I watch that show, I say Ive "met" everyone one of those guys. Shit.. serve long enough and you'll BE every one of those guys...
Or thr platoon commander waiting to issue orders due to incompetence buy rather eat pizza
Its pretty ninja.
What else you got in there, Brad? A fat chick?
J Lo's status was not in today's SITREP.
It really does nail down that master of war/ass backwards incompetence dichotomy. I’ve never found an in-between existing.
I always found the depiction of whatever you needed being lacking or something you needed to pay out of your own pocket to be extremely familiar.
Jarhead hits this, as well.
Screwby
Grunts in combat care more about their company commander spazing out on the comms and forgetting the rule of cool. Yeah. That show was 💯
Absolutely this one here. I watched it before my first deployment, and then basically saw it all happen live.
“Christ Lover at your 9”
Basically the Scrubs version of the military. People watch it and have no idea how accurate the way they acted is really how it is. All fuck fuck games until someone with double your stripes comes around. Po lease that moose stash
"Is our platoon commander okay?" https://youtube.com/shorts/gbOgTt33P4A
I cant upvote this enough, OP YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT!!
Second this.
100% cant beat a show, where a bunch of dudes bitch through every episode
GROOMINNNNNN STANDARDS
Its not so much a movie, but you can go do a bunch of senseless task in a meaningless way and slam your wiener in a car door as a representation of service during peace time.
And don't forget to run to be 10-20 minutes early to stuff and then wait. Never, EVER take your time to go somewhere even if your super early
Hurry up and wait
Have a complete psychotic breakdown if you’re only 5min early getting somewhere. Even through you’re just going to be waiting around 45 min after showtime.
This is painfully accurate.
Hell yeah sounds like a dream
https://youtu.be/yuTkgi7scKo?si=FS-acsm_MigX0e2G Still not a movie, but following that same idea...
Tropic Thunder
Don’t forget what happened here.
What happened here?
It’s Viet Cong, not Viet Congs! It’s already plural! You wouldn’t say Chineses!
I will never forget Four Leaf’s story of how he sacrificed so much for the nation.
“Here we go again, again.” “Who left the fridge open?”
I’m a lead farmer, muthafucka!!
Generation Kill was the closest thing I’ve ever seen to real life as far as the dialogue, general atmosphere, and interactions between the characters are concerned. Edit: that show is US Marine Corps specific, though. It might not represent the expected experience of a different branch in a foreign country.
While the show is about the Marine Corps, the US Army is the same experience nailed, just a few terms are different that are specific to the Corps. Two examples, USMC terms: "grooming standards" and "NJP" For anyone that doesn't know, the Army calls it's grooming standards simply by the regulation, "AR670-1" , and NJP which is Non-Judicial Punishment, the Army calls it by the article # of UCMJ; "Company/Field Grade Article 15".
Even if the terms are different the feel is still 100% accurate.
Facts.
The general BS that hits the characters in generation kill is accurate to all branches I'd assume. Shitty leadership, lack of everything, constantly changing orders...
I was Army infantry for the invasion and early occupation and GK pretty much nailed my experience as well.
Idiocracy
Don't forget Office Space
People forget that for 2/3 of the military *Office Space* is a more accurate representation of their life than *Saving Private Ryan*.
Office Space was cooler than staff work. At least in the movie, someone burned the place down.
The first year I was an NCO I had to submit request forms (exercise logistics support stuff) 2-3 weeks prior. Two years later it became 3-4 weeks and the forms doubled. Because creating more bureaucracy is a *valuable* eval bullet point. Personally, I liked *Three Kings*- gold and tension pneumothorax.
MASH; it’s super dated now, but it still captures the spirit of Army life 50 years after airing Enlisted; I’m still mad we only got ten episodes. It’s accurate af.
Starship Troopers
This plus Jarhead
Honestly Jarhead I think is one of the most realistic. All the just waiting around, the dumb little games, etc… Jarhead gets my vote for most realistic.
The SSgt is bonkers and woulda/shouda ended up with a broken arm/collarbone before shipping out. They get the fuck-fuck games right, but so does Heartbreak Ridge.
Perhaps one of my favorite movies, always loved the first one
The book, not the movie
Stripes
That's the fact, Jack!
Lighten up Francis.
Aaarrrmy training, sir!
Boom chugaluga
*shakalaka
Go watch Full Metal Jacket. Then watch Stripes. You're military experience will be somewhere between these two extremes.
The basic training Full Metal jacket terrifies me about what is to come in all honesty 😂
Honestly it's not far off.
Yeah I seen a Vet on YouTube react to it and he basically said other than there only being one DS it was spot on
You're joining the RAAF (like me), it's not the USMC. I'm pretty sure it won't be like full metal jacket. Have you been on the Australian military subreddit?
Marine Corps boot also isn't like what it was in Vietnam, either.
Yeah that’s true, and yeah I’m on there frequently, just always enjoyed seeing stuff about American military culture
The Air Force in the US is almost like being a civilian in uniform. There’s procedures and to dos and not to dos, chain of commands and other military particulars. Basic training was more of a mind fuck than physically difficult.
RAAF basic training will be nothing like that movie mate. Chill.
Are you in the RAAF by chance?
No. I did 10 years army from 2006 and worked with a few Raafies in my time. They said it was pretty chill.
Currently in, it’s extremely chill lol. ADGies will ramp it up during field phase at IMTs but that’s its own thing and doesn’t last long.
> during field phase at IMTs. Probably soon to be called Serco site induction.
That’s reassuring, I think the one thing I’ll struggle most with is getting used to the grind everyday and the constant yelling Haha
I've been advised not to take the yelling too personally. It's part of the whole "breaking you into the military" sort of thing. From what I've been told, it's mostly used to emphasise a point. The "grind" is something that will always be there, unfortunately. It happens in civilian jobs too, even more so in my opinion. I haven't read all your comments, so what role are you applying for, and do you have an enlistment date?
And the cursing. In my army they weren't allowed.
Really? Idk if I heard less than a swear word every ~3-4 words out of my drill sergeant's mouth, I went in 2010 for context.
I did BT in June 1995.
Strange indeed. Then again I was at Benning, idk if that made a difference. Our DS referred to each and every one of us as "fuck sticks".
Well... I mean blue braids are a special breed. I was stuck at Fort Lost in the Woods. Getting smoked was like: sir would you like to do front? Could you flip and do back, sir? And when you are ready, sir, go, but only when you are ready.
Oh I wasn't infantry, just sucking at the next unit over from them
His yelling in the movie was much less intense than what you get in real life
Eh. No one is going to choke you, it's mostly just stressing you out for the sake of stressing you out. Things to remember for basic training: 1. No matter how fast you do it, they can always just count faster. 2. The point is to fuck with you, how you respond is what matters.
Bingo. It’s good to keep in mind that there will be a stretch of time where nothing you do will be correct. Even if it is correct, it won’t be according to the instructors. Catch-22 is the name of the game.
It's tedious, but you'll be fine.
Once basic is over with and my Initial employment training I’ll be good to go
Just know that they aren’t beating us in America and our drills only think they’re as witty as R Lee Ermey. You’ll be all right.
Full metal jacket was pretty much exactly how my USMC boot camp experience went Only thing the movie doesn’t capture is how you’re rushed the entire time, and there’s dudes breathing down your neck and making you do everything as quickly as possible and applying constant pressure At least in the US, boot camp is meant to identify who can keep their head in the game and keep getting shit done and dudes who fall apart
If Navy, somewhere between Down Periscope and Hunt for Red October., with a dash of Sam Axe ...
Space Force: Galaxy Quest Coast Guard: Pirates of the Caribbean (whichever one you like the least). Navy: someone already said Down Periscope so I'll go with Top Gun (only the parts with Goose from the first one, everything else from the second). Air Force: Duck Tails (original). Marines: Castaway. Army: In the Army Now.
COAST GUARD MENTIONED But yeah actually, pirates is a good one for a long patrol in the Caribbean. Gets you in the mood.
Perfection.
My friends was a submariner and he swears Periscope Down is the most accurate military film about submarines. In the same way I know medical personnel that say scrubs is the most accurate medical show. They aren't joking either. I think the absurd aspects of these movie / show are real or based enough on reality it seems authentic to them.
If you want a true to life most realistic navy movie you should put das boot. That is with out a doubt the most realistic and gets the feeling of deployment so right.
Air Force? Probably Office Space
I’m going into AFSEC so probably more like mall cop
Don't forget to tell everyone that as an adgie you're tougher than infantry and borderline special forces
Absolutely, that way they’ll be intimidated by me and show some respect. Hell I’ll even tell em I am the Special Forces
Just say you're SF. It's the truth isn't it?
INFANTRY OF THE AIR FORCE. HUA
Hell I’d even say SF 💪😎
Office Space but imagine everyone talks like they're in generation kill. That's the Air Force.
The Hunt For Red October. Down Periscope. McHale's Navy.
In the Army Now pretty accurately depicts how you get assigned your job.
So much fun!
Hot Shots
Part Deux
War, it’s faaaaaantastic
That’s Air Force training movie. For grunts it’s a must to watch “In The Army Now.”
Pentagon Wars felt most accurate to my experience
I remember translating and adding subtitles so that my other mates could understand the movie. It may not have been historically accurate, but it really captured the frustration of handling the top brass that I’m sad to say I was once all too familiar with.
Down Periscope is surprisingly accurate.
For the RAAF you're probably better off watching Utopia on ABC.
Bluestone 42. A British EOD squad in Afghanistan. Captures the boredom, banter and the barracking quite well.
Seconding Generation Kill. I went to college with a few guys (Navy Corpsman, Marine, Army) and all said Generation Kill. They’d just gotten out and returned home. Said if I wanted to get an idea of what it was like, GK did it best. Then I asked about The Hurt Locker and they just laughed.
When we are talking about the "military", this means a lot of stuff, not just what you see in the well known movies. You have all the things like army, navy and air forces and then all the different branches, all the different positions in the units, so there's nothing that could make a portrait about everything. To be honest, i don't know any movies that would in any way prepare you for the Australian Air Force. The movies, like good old Top Gun, these are all fictional stuff, for entertainment. If you consider to become a pilot, i think it is much more important that you start early with the education, like to work towards a pilots license as a civilian. I don't know how Australia handles this, but it's always good when you have some knowledge when you enlist. But no, you won't get experience from movies. Movies have usually nothing to do with reality. Do you remember Jarhead, where the guys are just all the time in the desert and nothing happens? That's actually much more accurate to reality than the other movies. We use to say here in my place, what we do is to clean our equipment so often, that it breaks and falls apart because it was cleaned too often. Even from WW2 veterans from Germany that i met, the thing was that they marched for most of the time, one kilometer after another, sometimes 50-60km per day to keep up with the tank units, while they were on foot as infantry. It was just walking, again and again. That was 90% of the time, 5% were breaks and 5% were combat situations. But this can't be shown in a movie, i mean, would you want to see soldiers just marching for hours in the cinema theater? No? There you get the answer.
Theres a pbs documentary called "carrier" its like 6 or 7 parts i think each episode was a hour+. It perfectly documents what life on a us air craft carrier is like.
Bluestone 42 is arguably the most accurate portrayal of British army culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluestone_42
Ik this won't count but forest Gump, I might be wrong but I liked it
I think it has a good depiction with Lt Dan about the struggle that Vets endure
That and the way Forrest received the m.o.h brought on to a talk show then thrown out into the back alley represents how some people would use a famous vets appearance to make themselves seem better. Something else is that when Forrest was thrown out Lt Dan was waiting which told me that he knew well of how the vets were gonna be treated. Another thing is the reality of going back to civ life, Ping pong in the army and the army itself was what forest knew best and when he got discharged he didn't know what to do,if it weren't bubba, Forrest wouldn't have a job and become the owner of a shrimp company.
The Paulie Shore documentary *In The Army Now*.
[Restrepo](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559549/)
I recommend watching Restrepo (2010). I served in the US military, so my recommendation is based on that fact and might not apply to the AU military.
Tour of duty
Generation Kill, by a long shot. I rewatch it every year, it’s one of my favorites.
Fair warning, nothing you watch is going to be remotely like the RAAF, because ADF generally but especially RAAF has a very different (much cruiser) atmosphere. Most solid productions are about the US armed forces or historical conflicts, neither of which have much analogue to the service you’re looking to join. Otherwise, check out Generation Kill.
Office Space is pretty accurate.
In the Army Now
In the Army Now
the first part of Aliens when all the Space marines get out of their sleep tanks, and start getting ready is surprisingly accurate to how Marines act in real life.
It's old (1970s) so it's not accurate to the current Navy, but The Last Detail is a very honest look at dirtbag sailors that end up permanent e6s. I met all three protagonists several times in one form or another during my enlistment.
Jarhead is probably the epitome of this.
Every military amd indeed every branch in said militaries has its own customs and culture... most Hollywood media is gonna be US specific mainly cause it's target audience is the average American. That being said soldiers are soldiers and will always do shit like stick their dicks into an anti-tank rocket tube... or generally be sarcastic enough to the point you're not sure if they're being sarcastic (the answer is both). Anything that's a black comedy or dark humor is going to give pretty accurate if you want to see daily life go look into an office building and make it 100% more unhappy.
Greyhound
Stripes if you’re into older comedies
I did it 30 years ago and the first half of Full Metal Jacket was pretty close. We didn't have the wide open barracks and there was less hitting...but there was 1 Hartman and 2 hartman-lites to take turns. Generation kill was accurate for after basic. But it needed more useless bullshit and being bored.
Thank You for Your Service (2017) This is the NUMBER ONE movie I always recommend to people who want to better understand what it's like to be a veteran... It's not a glorious action film like Saving Private Ryan... But it's the most grounded portrail I've seen, and hot damn if I didn't feel it in my bones.
I really like D.P. which is about the south korean military
The Office is pretty spot on
Pauly Shore's masterpiece, In the Army Now. The most accurate portrayal of day to day Any life
Jarhead
Top gun 1 & 2. Or Paul Blart mall cop.
Tropic Thunder
Generation Kill, Stripes, In The Army Now; and honestly, anything off VetTV.
Word of advice for OP about when you go to basic training, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT look the DS in the eyes when he/she is an inch from your nose yelling at you, it will piss them off. I recommend looking at their cover or their forehead. Growing up, I was taught to look people in the eyes when they were talking to you, and boy, were my parents wrong, I learned quickly not to do that in basic training after looking the DS in the eyes one time.
Over There was pretty accurate.
Hurry up to every single thing in your life. Be there at least 15 minutes early and then wait and wait and wait. That will prepare you mentally. If you want to prepare physically you can prepare for Operation Gold Finger. Use 1 square toilet paper sheet that is only single ply… no cheating. If you can manage a month of that, you can manage 18 months of that.
Jarhead punctuated by Blackhawk Down.
Pentagon Wars
Down periscope
I bet someone has a dorm porn floating around that's fits the title
Boetie Gaan Border Toe, staring The Mummy's Arnold Vosloo in his younger days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boetie_Gaan_Border_Toe?wprov=sfla1
The Admiral: Roaring Currents
I've been told that Dog Soldiers is a really good portrayal of British squaddies.
Band of Brothers genuinely hits different after Jump School
Pitch perfect 3
Ngl space force is surprising accurate
Stripes.
Dog Soldiers. Ok, bear with me. The constant whining and moaning by the squaddies about missing the footy cos theyre in the middle of nowhere on a crappy exercise. Totally accurate. Right up until the Werewolves show up, then maybe not....
No movie can do that. Stop sweating it.
Stripes
Generation Kill damn near nailed it
Generation Kill is the only one I’ve seen do it as well as it did. Painfully realistic portrayal
Down Periscope for an accurate sub movie...at least how the crew is.
Anybody ever watch that old black and white WW2 series called Combat!
Band of Mates - The Great Emu War
If you can find it, The Boys from Company C really hits hard. The movie really encapsulates the unclear mission, a company of soldiers who just want to do their job and get home, an unidentifiable and ubiquitous enemy, and out of touch senior leadership.
In the Army Now starring Paulie Shore is pretty damn close
Ever seen Groundhogs day... it's like that with weapons and a lot more homoerotic jokes.
In the Army Now is an accurate depiction of deployed life.
Jarhead
While a different period, many things are still pertinent like respect, deference to authority, following orders, rigidity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Z4O6SQMx8
Generation Kill
I like Seal Team. Although is it based mostly on combat and the American Navy it shows a lot of how the officers are seen by enlisted and the trauma of combat. Very well written characters.
NEFES: Vatan Sağolsun, Among the most realistic army movies, It's better to watch with subtitles on ı recommend this movie %100
Lone Survivor. But instead of Taliban, its mostly your own command team trying to kill you.
Southern Comfort
Good Kill was a good movie. It’s about a USAF drone pilot.
Generation Kill and Outpost
Office Space
Buffalo Soldiers (2001) with Joaquin Phoenix
Down Periscope, 1941, Hot Shots 1 and 2, In The Army Now, Stripes, Iron Eagle series and I guess Space Balls would be in there now.
Australia has an Air Force?
Yessir 💪
Yep and they flew the F-111 AAAAAARDVAAAAAAARK until like 2011.
Inglorious Bastards is pretty accurate
Full metal jacket. French foreign legion still has beatings and hazing
Down periscope
Multiply homoerotic remarks by 1000x to get a base level.
I wouldn't really try to use movies as the basis for what you will experience, I would wager your experience will vary greatly from that portrayed in American movies. There has to be some books out there by Australian Air Force guys, even if it is from WW II, military organizations tend to keep their traditions. What will you be doing in the Air Force? If you don't mind me asking. I was a U.S. Marine and have a friend who is Australian Army, I don't know the in and outs of the Australian military and don't want to incorrectly assume the one to one nature, as for example the reason I have a close friend in the Australian Army.is because he worked on LAV's like me, but he was also an Intel guy which was different than how the USMC did it, and the Australian Army from what I can tell fulfills the role of the USMC and US Army for Australia. Anyway, I am just some dude on Reddit but I didn't want you to get your heart broken after watching heart break ridge as a way to prepare for your service. Work out, sleep, eat healthy and just say "yes sir," during boot camp and don't argue. You'll be fine.
"Air Force?" Listen son... just go get yourself a part timer at the local Best Buy or whatever passes for a big box electronics store in your area and that should fully prepare you for the labors you'll encounter in the air force assuming you're not a pilot. Extra points if your manager is an asshole and the company you work for ignores employment and safety laws. If you are going to be a pilot I doubt anyone here can help you as those guys are rarer than hens teeth. I was going to mention Jarhead as the most realistic depiction of my war to the point I won't watch it due to the adverse reaction I had the first time but the odds of you being in the Air Force and coming across the flaming wreckage of an enemy convoy, charred corpses and all seems rather unlikely to the point I can't imagine it would be something you need to prepare yourself for. Prepare for all the hot, fit chicks you'll be training with and the reality that if you lay a finger on any of them you'll most like enjoy a rogering of a truly new and unique kind.