Jarhead: slang. A U.S. Marine.

From the moment I saw the trailer for the movie “Jarhead,” I knew it was a movie that I had to see. So on a Tuesday, my wife I and made a date to go out to see it. We called the babysitter, figured out logistics and made plans to go out that Thursday night.

The day of the month didn’t even strike me until that morning: Nov. 10. What is the significance of that date, you might ask. The Jarheads reading this know. Nov. 10 is the Marine Corps birthday. What a fitting day to see the movie “Jarhead.”

I didn’t know what to expect from the movie, perhaps an action flick like “Black Hawk Down.” What I got was something far deeper.

“Jarhead” captures the essence of the Corps more so than anything I have seen before. As I watched the movie, I could see myself and thousands of Marines I’ve known on the screen before me doing and saying things I’ve done and seen done throughout my 11 years in the Corps.

This is something that could only be captured by someone who has “been there and done that.”

The movie is about the monotony of waiting for a war to start, and then when it does start, seeing limited action. This is the story for many who took part in the first Gulf War: sitting and waiting.

And I can tell you from personal experience, there is nothing more dangerous than bored Marines. The movie will back me up on this.

I related to the movie from the very beginning. In one of the opening scenes, the main character, Anthony Swofford — also the author of the book — played by Jake Gyllenhaal, recites Marine jargon he learns while in boot camp.

The jargon brought a smile to my face with memories of boot camp, with terms like moon bean, ink stick, dick skinners, cum guzzlers, soup coolers and the like.

While every scene rings true to the Corps, two scenes truly capture the essence.

The first scene is in a movie theater as the Marine unit waits for word on their deployment to the Gulf. The Marines are watching “Apocalypse Now” and cheering with every bomb that is dropped and enemy that gets killed.

As the call comes over the loudspeaker for the Marines to report for combat duty, the theater erupts with cheers. This scene demonstrates the ready-and-willing-to-fight mentality of the Marine.

In the second scene, it is the night that the war ends. In the middle of the desert, a gargantuan bonfire is built, and Marines are running around, getting drunk. More than a few Marines are naked and running around with their rifle in their hand.

This scene shows the I-don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass-what-you-think mentality of the Marine.

This scene in particular brings back a memory of when I was in Okinawa, Japan, just after a typhoon. A grass drainage ditch that ran down the middle of the common area between four open squad bay barracks had a couple of inches of water in it.

So there was half of my platoon standing outside, buck naked except for combat boots, in the pouring rain of the receding typhoon, using the ditch as a slip-and-slide. It was hilarious.

If you’ve ever served in the Corps, this is the type of memory that “Jarhead” brings back.

The cast of “Jarhead” is superb in their portrayal of Marines. Particularly noteworthy are relative newcomer Gyllenhall and Jamie Foxx, who plays Staff Sgt. Sykes. Sykes is the embodiment of almost every Marine staff noncommissioned officer (staff NCO or SNCO; includes staff sergeant and gunnery sergeant) that I know, and Foxx plays him to a tee.

Whether you’ve served in the Marines, know a Marine, or have no clue, “Jarheads” is an outstanding movie that will leave you deep in thought long after the theater lights come on.

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