Full Metal Jacket

I attended Marine boot camp about 6 years before Full Metal Jacket came out and was still in the Marine Reserves when I saw the movie. Even though there were some major and minor differences between my boot camp experience and the film, the imagery and vibe were startlingly similar to what I remember. Bear in mind, the film was of the Vietnam-era Marines and I attended, something like a dozen years after that period.

Some of the differences:

--We wore camouflage uniforms.
--I was at MCRD San Diego and the film was set at Paris Island.
--We had 3 drill instructors and I only remember one from the movie--nobody works 24/7, so while possibly good for dramatic purposes, highly unrealistic.
--There were two deaths in our company though not our platoon. Neither were murdered---one was a recruit who has a massive heart attack while on a PT running workout and another recruit drowned in the pool during swim qualifications.

--Shooting instructors kept tight control of ammunition when we were out at the range, so it would be difficult to possess unauthorized ammo. It happened once by accident and became something of an incident. After shooting, we would all go around and collect the brass casings. I came across a live round and put it into my cargo pocket to turn-in later, but then totally forgot about it. A few days later, I rediscovered it and knew that I'd be screwed if I came forward at this late date. So I casually tossed it out the window of the barracks. It was inevitably discovered and there was a major hubbub. Nobody confessed and there wasn't much they could do since the barracks had 6 platoons of 90 men each and they had no idea how long the round had been resting in that location before being found. In retrospect, maybe I should have flushed it down the toilet.