Trivia: While R. Lee Ermey has received high praise for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, Ermey himself stated that Hartman is an inept drill instructor because Hartman not only physically abuses the recruits, which is never allowed, but also because any drill instructor would have noticed that Pyle was having a mental breakdown.
Continuity mistake: After Cowboy and company hook up with Mother, there are seven soldiers. When Cowboy gets shot, there are seven against the wall, not including Cowboy.
Suggested correction: Funny thing is, there are 8 whilst there should be 9. When they go to get Mother, Cowboy points out 5 to come with him, and then Joker and Rafterman volunteer to come along. That's 8. Including Mother that would be 9. But there are only 8 in later shots. I can count 8 at the 2:30 timestamp. What is even funnier is that at 2:02 there are only 6 running, not 8. And lastly, when they hook up with Mother, they are 6 in total against the wall (2:24). Maybe someone could confirm this for me so it can be edited.
Actually, he tells four to come with him: No-Doze, Scutter, Donlon, and Rock. Joker and Rafterman join, so that should be seven going to mother, but only six are shown. There was an entry for that here, but it is under corrections, saying that the viewer is one of the seven, which is totally incorrect.
Suggested correction: They sure did punch you. Back in '69, I got punched just like that, and I wasn't the only one to get hit.
That does not address the point - Lee Ermey himself regards Hartman as an inept drill instructor. If he did assault cadets, it was strictly against the rules, and how could he not see that Pyle was having a breakdown?