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7 Things Hollywood Got Wrong About Veterans and the Military

Don t believe everything you see in the movies

Rambo with his Hollywood still-tipped arrow. Tristar Pictures/Ronald Grant Archive/Alamy to , a free e-newsletter published every two weeks. If you have feedback or a story idea then please . Some military movies have the time and the budget necessary to be realistic. They send the actors to boot camp and have experts on hand to ensure accuracy. They can also afford the right equipment, or at least a pretty close copy of it. Saving Private Ryan and the miniseries Band of Brothers are gold standards for accuracy. Here are some of the most common things Hollywood gets wrong about the military or veterans.

1 Focusing too much on combat

Nursing, engineering, vehicle maintenance, military police: Military careers include a huge number of specialties. Few people in the military are on the front lines. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. It’s understandable that movies focus on the most dramatic part of military life, but this can create a skewed idea of what the military is all about and do a disservice to the majority of people who serve. It also covers up how joining the military can be a great long-term career move. We’ve all seen movies in which a veteran uses his combat skills to save the day — Jack Ryan, Dirty Harry and Ethan Hunt of the Mission Impossible movies are all veterans. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood made a movie in which a former wheeled vehicle mechanic saves the day by fixing a car? Mission Impossible Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

2 Vets are either unstable or war machines

There aren't a lot of stable, happy, everyday veterans on TV. Jay Pritchett, played by Ed O’Neill in Modern Family, is one exception. He has flaws, but overall he is successful and well-adjusted. He looks back on his time in the Navy fondly and says he benefited from the discipline instilled in him while serving. Modern Family ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection Unstable vets like the murderous Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, in Taxi Driver, or the heroin-addicted Nick, played by Christopher Walken, in The Deer Hunter, are Hollywood staples. These damaged individuals might make for good action on-screen, but they impact the way Americans view veterans. Stigma around vets and mental illness might make some hiring managers veterans. Then you have John Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone. His military career prepared him to earn money as an underground fighter, fight off a Mexican drug cartel with booby traps, fly a Soviet helicopter and use explosive-tipped arrows, among other exploits. That's not really a skill set most veterans leave the service with.

3 Saluting gone amok

As anyone who has been in the military knows, a salute is a precise movement used in specific circumstances. But it’s common for actors to treat a salute more like a wave or a thumbs-up gesture, something you can do in an infinite number of ways. In movies one common mistake is to put the hand over the eye, like it’s shading the sun. Mars Attacks Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection Another common mistake is saluting under the wrong circumstances, like saluting indoors or while under arms. Salutes in Under Siege and Mars Attacks have attracted disdain. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Movies can’t match the volume of a weapon. During a typical movie, audiences are exposed to peak volumes of about 100 decibels. Given that a firearm often produces more than 150 decibels, there’s simply no way to capture the sound in a movie theater — even if audiences wanted such a lifelike experience.

5 Too many hotheads

It’s a familiar story from all sorts of movies. A rebel bucks the system and ends up the hero. A bunch of military movies has such an arc, from Top Gun to Behind Enemy Lines. The real military is a place for team players who know their roles and execute their duties. That training is why so many veterans go on to be huge assets in their chosen civilian field. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > It’s also a prime example of the Hollywood invention of endless ammo. The soldiers in the film mostly carry M1 Garands, which have eight rounds. But the soldiers somehow never have to reload. Likewise, Vince Vaughn's character, Sgt. Howell, carries an M3 submachine gun that seems to have endless ammo. In real life, the magazines for this weapon carried 30 rounds, or about enough for four seconds of firing.

7 No reservists

Today's military includes more than a million reservists, including in the Selected Reserve. That’s a lot of people making a substantial commitment in terms of monthly and yearly training. Many of them were once on active duty, making the reserves a critical part of the military experience for millions of veterans. But good luck finding a movie or TV show in which a main character is in the reserves. You can to , a free e-newsletter published every two weeks. If you have feedback or a story idea then please . Ben Nussbaum is a writer, editor and publisher based in northern Virginia. He was formerly head of Special Projects at USA Today and has overseen publication of numerous books, from technical manuals to children's stories. MORE FROM AARP Veteran Report AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS