In case you haven’t watched it in a while, the opening scenes of “Lone Survivor” remain some of the best in cinema. And Hollywood had little to do with it. A montage, set to music, shows actual footage of recruits attempting to survive the Navy SEAL’s infamous BUD/s training. It’s simply beautiful in its grit. It stuns with its near impossibility of survival. Finally, it pulls at the heart strings as it culminates with young men accomplishing the most impossible task. In the end, it’s simply three minutes of masterpiece for any military junky. And from the opening scene, it features the legendary instructor Terence Patstone.
Navy SEAL Instructor Patstone
Patstone is to the Navy SEALs what the Gunny R. Lee Ermey is to the Marine Corps. And while Ermey was truly a Marine Drill Instructor, his famous character, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubric’s seminal “Full Metal Jacket,” though based on the real McCoy, is nevertheless just a character.
Instructor Patstone came into our living rooms not by playing a character. Instead, Patstone unveiled the true workings of SEAL training, in the flesh, via the The Discovery Channel’s “Navy Seals: BUDs Class 234.” If you’ve never seen it, the doc provides a fascinating look at some of the most rigorous training the American military has to offer.
But the star of the show is Patstone. Quick and funny, for anyone that served, we all had an instructor somewhere along the way something like Patstone. Only this guy was a badass himself, which fewer could ever equal.
So in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic, we found that someone had put up a compilation video of Patstone’s greatest hits. Whoever put this video together, well, it’s clear not all heroes wear capes.
And speaking of heroes, we threw in the “Lone Survivor” opening again down below. Watch it, and if it doesn’t make you want to see that movie again, then you should move to China already. And while you’re at it, check out the late, great R. Lee Ermey’s review of “Lone Survivor.” You’ll be glad you did.
https://youtu.be/MUCcdQ9X5JQ
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