'They understand when something is BS': Masters of the Air military adviser on importance of getting it right
A Vietnam veteran turned Hollywood military adviser who worked on the new Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air has expressed his frustration at inaccurate portrayals of the military in film and TV.
After retiring from active duty in the US Marine Corps in 1984, Captain Dale Dye founded Warriors Inc and soon became Hollywood's go-to military adviser.
He was shocked by the lack of attention to detail in military films, believing Hollywood was dismissing the armed forces community as being unable to understand the intricacies of film-making.
Speaking to BFBS Radio, he said: "They [the audience] understand when something is BS and when something is real.
"If you'll offer them something that's real, something that they can relate to, something that they recognise from their own experience, then you've got a winner.
"Then you can tell whatever story you want to tell. I believe that sincerely."
The man who brought war to Hollywood
The first film Capt Dye worked on was Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War film Platoon, which went on to win four Oscars, including Best Picture.
He was upfront with the film's cast and crew about how his way of doing things might seem a bit strange at first, but he would ensure the actors looked like they had experienced some level of combat.
He said: "I'm prone to grab you by the stacking swivel and put you up against the bulkhead, but if you'll forgive that I can probably give you some insight and some interesting views of war."
His loyalty to those he served alongside compelled him to honour their service creatively by ensuring armed forces personnel are accurately represented on the big screen.
The US Marine Corps veteran saw a need for someone with military skills and experience to bulldoze their way into Hollywood and tell them some hard truths.
He said: "What's required here is somebody who has the skill... and the talent and the willingness [and] tenacity to go up against the Hollywood establishment and to say 'look, you've been making military movies for years'.
"'You've been making money out of them, but there is a better way to tell the truth' and the truth very often is more impactful and more dramatic than what people are dreaming up who've never spent a day in uniform."
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg's dedication to getting things right
Working on Tom Hanks' and Steven Spielberg's latest collaboration, Masters of the Air, was the "absolute best of all worlds" for Capt Dye as his primary concern is shining a "long overdue light on the service and sacrifice of people in uniform".
As an amateur military historian, Hollywood icon Hanks is passionate about getting military details correct in the films and TV shows he's been involved with such as Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and The Pacific.
In addition to this, the father of Steven Spielberg, the director of some of the most popular films of all time such as Schindler's List and Indiana Jones, served in the 490th Bombardment Group during the Second World War.
Capt Dye said: "Other writer/directors wouldn't go to the extent but [Tom and Steven] will.
"This isn't just a way to make more money or to garner more fame, they've got all of that.
"What they really want to do here is pay tribute to a society that fought that war, won it and gave them the opportunity that they enjoy."
What do military advisers do to get things right?
As Capt Dye points out, none of his team were alive during the Second World War so they conducted extensive research about the era and used Donald L Miller's book, which the TV series Masters of the Air is based on, as the foundation for their work.
The veteran and his team took a "crawl, walk, run" approach during their two-week actors' bootcamp for Masters of the Air.
Capt Dye and his team taught actors including Austin Butler, Callum Turner and Barry Keoghan everything from how to perfect the "50-mission crush" in their hat to look as if they could fly a B-17 USAAF heavy bomber and everything in between.
In addition to teaching military mannerisms and how to wear their uniforms, Capt Dye focused on intense physical training to get the actors' attention, saying: "You have to get them focused.
"In southern America, we say you pick up a 2 by 4 and you hit the mule right in the middle of the forehead until he begins to pay attention - and we use physical training like that as most military forces do.
"Caterpillar push-ups and atomic sit-ups... are things that we have invented over the years and they're designed not only to get their attention, which it does very well, but it teaches teamwork."
How important are boot camps for military films?
To ensure the audience never questions the authenticity of a scene, the actors had to develop a strong bond and turn their attention away from their own needs and towards their mission – bringing to life the extraordinary story of 100th Bombardment Group.
Capt Dye said: "It's about understanding that there's something more important at stake here than your comfort.
"It's about the unit and the mission and being able to rely on the man on the left and the man on your right and trust them implicitly.
"Everybody who's been in the forces knows that, that's part and parcel of how you live life, but young actors don't.
"It's the antithesis of how they've grown up."
What does Capt Dye enjoy about taking actors on military boot camps?
Now in his fifth decade of being a military adviser to the film and TV industry, the veteran admits he enjoys torturing people, saying: "I'm probably an old drill instructor at heart and I like to see them sweat.
"I like to see them pay for what they're learning.
"You've got to pay in pain for what's going on and when they do, you see the light go on and that's my Oscar.
"When I see the light go on in these young people's eyes and they begin to get it and they begin to understand the service and sacrifice of the people that they're portraying, to me that's the reason to keep doing it as long as I'm physically able."
How does Capt Dye react to inaccuracies in military TV shows and films he doesn't work on?
Just like the many veterans and serving personnel who watched Netflix's 2024 thriller Fool Me Once and were annoyed by the badly shaped beret worn by an actor playing a military policeman, Capt Dye gets frustrated when he knows how hiring military advisers can ensure mistakes like that aren't made.
The veteran feels "bound and determined" to actively play a part in ensuring the sacrifices made by the military community aren't diminished by inaccuracies on screen.
He said: "We'll be watching something that I haven't worked on and I'll be in the room with a couple of guys drinking a beer and we'll look at that and say 'Oh Jesus, look at that beret, it looks like a pizza plate he's got on his head, you know', and that's exactly right."
The most important thing for Capt Dye is that the audience is immersed in a realistic visual and audio experience to ensure the sacrifice made by service personnel is honoured and remembered, in particular the men from 100th Bombardment Group.
He said: "The amazing thing to me is that they kept doing it.
"They kept facing that every day, saying 'look, I'm probably not going to come back from this one, but I got to do it because it's the right thing to do in a world at war' and I admire that tremendously.
"And I think the youngsters who were portraying the flyers in the 100th Bomb Group portrayed it very well."
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