The story opens in the drunk tank of a small town jail. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway is sharing stories about his combat service with the other prisoners. At one point, he's interrupted by another prisoner who mocks Highway's military rank. Highway immediately beats the man, easily disarming him after he pulls a knife on the sergeant. The next day in court, Highway is given one last chance by the judge after being charged with public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. That doesn't sit well with the cop whose squad car Highway urinated on. He insults Highway, telling him his heroics are old news and that he doesn't give any serviceman discounts. Highway counters with an insult of his own and leaves. Highway returns to his base where he works in supply. He roughly turns down a bribe from another officer who offers him a supply of Cuban cigars. Highway reports to his commanding officer, who tells him he's being transferred to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where he'll be training unmotivated marines. Highway takes the bus to Camp Lejeune, meeting a young man, Stitch Jones, a budding rock guitarist who had just been kicked out of the club he was performing in for starting a fight with a group of locals. Jones is an instant irritation to Highway with constant chatter while Highway tries to get some sleep. When the bus stops at a roadside diner, Jones waits until Highway goes into the men's room and steals his bus ticket. The bus leaves before Highway can catch up with it and Jones. Highway arrives at Camp Lejeune and reports to his commanding officer. Before meeting with the man, Highway catches up with and old friend, Sgt Major Choozoo. Highway's & Choozoo's new CO, Major Malcolm Powers, used to work in Supply and was a big football hero at Annapolis. He is even stricter than Highway and immediately assumes that Highway, who has a history of conflict with superiors, will be trouble. Highway's past also includes an incident where he struck an officer who was classmate of Powers at Annapolis Academy. Powers assigns Highway to the battalion's "recon" (reconnaissance) platoon, one where the men are unmotivated, slightly out of physical shape, and have already gone through several sergeants who failed to get them up to the battalion's expectations. Making matters worse, Highway is saddled with Lieutenant Ring, a milquetoast officer who lacks the necessary stern nature of a platoon leader. Highway leaves the meeting and meets the recon platoon, finding them just as lazy as Powers said they would be. At first, the men are scornful of Highway and pay him little attention. Highway destroys their boom box and suggests they have one last night of freedom before he begins his regimen of training the next day. Just then, Stitch Jones walks into the rec room and is instantly recognized by Highway. Highway drags Jones by the ear to his bunk to pay him for the bus ticket he stole. When Jones' claims he's unable to pay back some money he also stole from Highway, Highway rips out Jones' earring, telling the men to be ready by six AM for training. After Highway leaves, the men conspire to have their biggest unit member, Swede Johanson, currently serving time in the brig, to take care of Highway when he's released. Highway goes to the local bar and apartment house, meeting Little Mary Jackson, the wife of one of Highway's old combat buddies who was killed in Vietnam. She rents him a room and tells him that his former wife, Aggie, is working at a local bar popular with younger Marines. Highway goes there and finds Aggie, who is also seeing the bar's owner, Roy Jennings, a hulking man who hates Marines. While Highway tries to patch things up with Aggie, Stitch Jones performs live. He's heckled by a small group of Marines at one of the tables. Jones fires back easily at his hecklers. A fight nearly breaks out and despite Jones' own defusing of the other Marines, Jennings moves in, shoving the Marines around even after they've calmed down. Highway steps in threateningly, but Jones and Aggie talk the two men out of fighting each other. Jennings throws Highway and Jones out of the bar. The next morning, Highway wakes the recon platoon at five AM instead of six. When they complain, he tells them they need to adapt to any situation. He lines them up for physical training (PT) and orders them to take off their mismatched t-shirts, saying they'll all wear the same or none at all. The platoon begrudgingly complies and Highway orders them to run for the day. The next day, he orders the t-shirts off again, even though they were wearing the same ones. (HIGHWAY: "Same as me?") While doing PT, Highway surprises them by shooting at them with an AK-47 assault rifle and live ammunition, announcing that it's the "preferred" weapon of their enemy & makes a "distinctive sound" when fired. When not training his Marines, Highway studies up on women's magazines, trying to understand how they think. He also keeps an eye on Aggie, who gets escorted home every night from the bar by Roy. One morning, the platoon refuses to muster, several of them mouthing off and Jones introducing Highway to Swede Johanson. Swede tries to hit Highway, who dodges and blocks the bigger man's blow, forcing him to his knees. Highway hits Swede once on the jaw, knocking him to the deck. The rest of the platoon, their plan foiled, runs out for muster. Swede regains his composure & tells Highway he'll wait for the MPs outside. Highway, knowing that his comrades were using Swede, tells him to join his platoon for PT, willing to forget the incident if Swede shapes up. Other little hints begin to form about Highway caring for his men. When Profile accidentally discharges his rifle at the target range and almost hits Major Powers, Highway stays with him while Powers makes him run circles around his marching platoon back to the barracks. Profile soon collapses from exhaustion. Highway says something quietly to his man and Profile suddenly gives a loud war cry and takes up his run again. When Powers asks Highway what he said to Profile, Highway growls "I told him 'Don't give the prick the satisfaction, Sir.' " Major Powers arranges a combat exercise involving his own pet project, 1st Platoon, and wants Recon to act as a target to sharpen his unit's skills. Highway goes off book and executes a mock ambush. Powers is ready to arrest him for insubordination, but Lt. Ring, feeling guilty about putting Highway in that position in the first place, takes responsibility for it, saying he'd given Highway permission to freelance the platoon. Before Highway leaves Powers' office, he asserts that if recon went into combat improperly trained, at least half of them would die. Powers threatens to discharge Highway if he screws up again, saying it's in Highway's nature to do so. As Highway leaves, he meets Ring outside who apologizes for the incident. Highway acknowledges Ring's position and his willingness to accept responsibility for the incident. A slightly depressed Highway is met later at Little Mary's place by Choozoo. He laments about how restrictive and incompetent Powers is being and that he'd never lead his men into combat if they're not properly trained. Choozoo tells Highway about a conversation he'd had with Powers recently where Powers told him that marines like them are "0-1-1"; no wins in combat, 1 tie (Korea) and one loss (Vietnam)". The thought seems to depress Highway even more. Just then, Little Mary walks in and informs them that they have to report back for unit deployment. At the base, Highway's platoon is frantic, trying to ready their gear and get out to the parade ground for muster. Jones stammers about the missing Aponte (whose prior absence his mates had been covering up), whom he fears will be charged AWOL. At the muster site, Highway asks Powers to issue Ring a set of night-vision goggles. Powers, already going through his strict routine of supplying the battalion with ammo and other equipment, tells Highway he'll have to fill out a request form for the item. Highway is taken aback and tells the battalion chief so when he reports. Just then the announcement comes through that the deployment was a readiness exercise and the base is standing down. Powers is disappointed. Highway finds Jones in the rec room and demands to know where he can find Aponte. After a harsh retort from Jones, Jones takes him to Aponte's house off the base. Aponte tells Highway that what his salary from the Corps isn't enough to support his wife and kids so he took a part-time job. Highway is exasperated but shows he genuinely understands when he agrees to cover for Aponte and gives him a small amount of money to help out. As they leave, Highway tells Jones never to pull another stunt like that again and drives off, leaving Jones to walk back to the base. Highway goes to visit Aggie and tries to talk to her, asking her what he could have done to fix their marriage. She said he was Marine through and through and had a hard time changing. She even accused him of trying to get back in with her by changing up his tactics, throwing him out of her house. A pissed-off Highway gets drunk and ends up in jail, joined by Jones, who got arrested when he protested a fixed band contest at a local bar. Aggie and Choozoo come to bail Highway out, and Aggie reads him the riot act about how hard it was for her to be married to him while he was fighting in Vietnam and not knowing if he would come home alive when so many others didn't. All of her anger came out, and she hits Highway, but she apologizes and breaks down crying in his arms. He holds on to her and comforts her. Back in the bar, Choozoo tells Jones about the history of the place and the Marines who are honored there, mostly in the photographs covering the walls. He also tells Jones about his and Highway's combat experiences in both Korea and Vietnam. One of their guys, Sonny Jackson (Little Mary's husband), was killed at Khe Sanh in 1968. Their combat in Korea was particularly rough, with their entire platoon being wiped out except for Choozoo, Jackson and Highway. Highway himself took out two enemy emplacements, despite extreme exhaustion. Much to Jones' astonishment, Highway won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts. Little Mary offers to make them something to eat and Jones sees that Mary is holding a stack of Highway's t-shirts. When he asks her about them, she tells him she puts out his clothes for him in the morning before he leaves for the base. Jones smiles widely, knowing he's got an upper hand. The next morning when Highway meets his platoon, they're all wearing the same shirt he is, suggesting Jones only had to place a quick phone call to Mary. Highway smiles slightly, impressed with their ability to adapt. Highway leads his now well-motivated Marines into a competition against 1st Platoon, parachuting to a designated target, the Marine Bear Pit, to earn a 72-hour liberty. He even gets Swede, who is afraid of heights, to skydive by admitting he was afraid of heights, too. Recon and 1st Platoon get there at the same time, and despite Powers' insistence Choozoo make 1st Platoon the winner, Choozoo goes to a tiebreaker called a "Matchup". Both units get in the Bear Pit and fight each other hand-to-hand to claim victory. The battle eventually comes down to Jones and two of 1st Platoon's men. They seemingly get Jones under control and haul him out of the Bear Pit until Jones viciously grabs their crotches hard and pulls them out instead. Powers claims that 1st Platoon won only because Jones cheated. Highway says Jones improvised, adapted and overcame. When Powers orders Choozoo to declare 1st Platoon the victor, Choozoo decides to let Highway and Powers battle. Despite his bragging that he'll defeat Highway, Powers is defeated by Highway and hauled out, clinching recon's victory. Powers sends Sgt. Webster, 1st Platoon's sergeant, known for kissing up to Powers, to get statements from Recon that Highway used live ammunition on the training exercises, even bribing them with weekend liberty. Recon refuses to inform on Highway, having found new respect for their their own commander. Aggie finds Highway at a Commanding Officer's party and they enjoy a nice dance. Highway admits to reading the magazines and is trying to understand how women think, hoping he could reconcile with Aggie. However, Aggie tells him Roy asked her to marry him. Before Highway finds out her answer, his unit is immediately activated for mobilization for the 1983 invasion of Grenada. On the hangar bay of the USS Belleau Wood, Ring briefs the men of their mission: to helicast on the western side of the island of Grenada and recon in advance of the battalion landing team. Their ultimate goal is to rescue American students of St Georges Medical University who are being held hostage. Despite their nervousness about seeing real combat, Recon boards a UH-1 Huey and drops into the water and swims ashore. While advancing inland they make hostile contact with forward patrols and machine gun fighting positions of enemy soldiers and come under heavy fire. While his men keep the attention of the enemy focused on them, Highway moves in behind and kills the soldiers who try to retreat into the jungle. He looks one of them over, finding a fine cigar and announces they're a small Cuban recon team. He gruffly tells his men to spread out and keep a close watch for more of the enemy. Highway's unit moves in on a lightly-guarded bridge. They come under fire again and Highway orders them to improvise: Jones hot wires a bulldozer to provide cover so they can advance on and destroy an enemy machine gun nest. They take out the nest on the far side of the bridge and take down the Cuban flag flying above it. One of their number asks for forgiveness from a soldier he killed, his first such kill in combat. The recon unit moves towards the university as ordered and secure the area, rescuing the captured students. In a humorous incident, the jumpy Fragetti is surprised by a skeleton in a medical lab and shoots the place up. Highway finds him and tells him he's improved his rifle skills. After linking up with Powers, Highway, Ring, and the platoon are then ordered on another recon mission: investigate a hill where air support spotted an enemy arsenal. They are also given strict orders by Powers not to take the hill until he and 1st Platoon arrive. En route, they're caught under fire, Ring and the platoon make the mistake of trapping themselves in a structure rather than staying out of sight. A blast from a HRAKM armored tank knocks out their radio and kills Profile. Ring is beside himself for leading the men into a trap and getting Profile killed, but Highway gets him to refocus. Ring finds a telephone they could use to order an air strike by calling Camp Lejeune long-distance, but Jones has to go on the roof to find where the line is cut, successfully reconnecting the line and letting Ring use one of Jones' credit cards to pay for the call to Camp Lejeune. Ring gives their coordinates successfully but the line suddenly goes dead. Saying they'll have to improvise, Highway goes out to light a smoke marker to tell their position, and comes under fire, seemingly taking a grenade hit. The men look to Ring to lead, which he does by leading them out to get the unconscious Highway. The air strike comes through, the enemy is routed and Highway is actually uninjured and ready to resume command. Buoyed by their success, the men look to Ring for their next order. Ring rouses them, shouting that they'll take the hill. They make their way to the rebel position, destroy it, and capture the men inside while Highway enjoys the cigar he'd taken earlier, proud to see his men become real Marines. When Powers arrives and finds out, he bawls both Highway and Ring out and threatens Highway with a court-martial, even ready to assault Highway himself, but Highway remains defiant, pointedly telling Powers that he bores him. Their commanding officer, Colonel Meyers, arrives with Choozoo, and Powers reports that Ring and Highway disobeyed direct orders. Meyers asks where Powers came from and Powers said he came from Supply and was good at it. Meyers then tells Powers to stick with Supply since Highway and Ring, despite disobeying orders, took the initiative & came out the victors, completing a difficult mission under harsh circumstances. Proud of how his unit did with the mission, he gruffly tells Highway and Choozoo to leave the area and see to the cleanup operation. As they walk away, Highway tells Choozoo that they're not "0-1-1" anymore since they've chalked up a victory in combat. Highway and his men return to the U.S. and are met by a warm reception. Aggie is there to welcome him back, too. To Highway's mock dismay, Stitch informs him that he is going to give up his music and make a career for himself in the Marines, while Highway takes his mandatory retirement. All of the Marines are celebrating with friends and family as Highway and Aggie walk off into the distance of airplane hangars.
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