Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
Ermey did not just portray a Drill Instructor. He was a Drill Instructor. He was medicaled out as an S/Sgt and was “promoted” honorarily to Gy/Sgt.
What is fascinating about his acting in Full Metal Jacket is that he never steps out of character, he is always the Drill Instructor.