MovieChat Forums > An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Discussion > Question on an early line.

Question on an early line.

posted 8 years ago by daverindone
5 replies | jump to latest

Did Foley say something like " Before we teach you what you need to know before going over to U-Nited Airlines..."

Was that the goal of the candidates? Meaning, did they want to later fly for Pan Am, United, Eastern, etc? I know that wasn't a time we were at war, even though he did say a lot can happen in six years.

[–] ZolotoyRetriever 8 years ago

The line went like this:

I know why most of you are here. I'm not stupid. Before you get to sell what we teach you over at United Airlines, you got to give the Navy six years of your life, sweet pea.

Yes, that's always been a case where military pilots have gotten excellent pilot training courtesy of the military, then, instead of putting in a career with the military, resigned their commission and taken a lucrative job with a major airline. This concept tends to rankle guys like Foley, who is career military - he would tend to view this action as being sort of a dishonorable thing to do.

Was that the goal of the candidates? Well, I don't think all the candidates under Foley's command had this goal in mind, but certainly some of them must've considered it. Foley couldn't help but rub it in to them just what he thought of that act.

[–] daverindone 8 years ago

Thanks, that's a very solid answer as I got the idea that Mayo didn't seem the type to want go off and fly a 747 after six years. I used to dispatch at a civilian air base near Boston and there were a few flight schools in the complex, my logic was that's where you'd learn (at a cost) whereas Naval school was paid for by the government. That would explain Foley distain for those who just went in for a "free" education and get a civilian job at the end. Zach seemed more of a hot shot, so I just thought he was there as a chance to get a military career and possibly become an ace pilot.

[–] ZolotoyRetriever 8 years ago

Yeah, I too got the sense that Zach was probably going to stay in for a full career. I can't help but recall the famous scene where he told Foley, "I got nowhere else to go!" I think that summed it up. Plus I think Foley was ultimately an inspiration to Zach to be serious about a military career.

[–] lcplthomasc 8 years ago

To me, mayo seemed like the exact type that would leave in 6 years. The Navy, what it stood for, what being a naval aviator meant, didn't seem to mean much to him. I may have read him in the ending wrong though.

[–] grendelkhan 8 years ago

Zach was looking for a place to belong, inside. he presented the air of a huckster, looking to scam the military out of training, to get a high-paying flying job; but, what he wanted was to be a part of something. His mother committed suicide, his father was either at sea or whoring. he was a white outsider in Olongapo. He had never belonged to anything or to anyone, in his eyes. That's a big chunk of what he meant when he said he had "nowhere else to go," that he ad "nothing."

Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!