Angry motorpool sergeant at beginning of movie

M*A*S*H was an overt anti-war movie in 1970 and subversively anti-establishment. The growing anti-military sentiment, indiscipline, and subtle insubordinate acts arising out of the Vietnam War could all be seen in this Korean War comedy.

The first example was that of the angry motorpool sergeant at the beginning of the movie, displaying extraordinary outrageous military discourtesy and insubordination to a commissioned officer, Captain Hawkeye Pierce. There was nothing that Pierce did to provoke the sergeant. The sergeant later gets into a physical altercation with two military police and it's assumed they must have overpowered and arrested him.

The insubordination of the motorpool sergeant was reflective of the growing anger and rising insubordination among the ranks of the U.S. Army in Vietnam as increasing disenchantment with the endless war infected American society as a whole. In other words, the angry motorpool sergeant was a larger metaphor for what was going on.

On an individual basis, the motorpool sergeant was guilty of gross insubordination and could have been severely reprimanded, even broken in rank. In some foreign armies, the officer could have pulled out a pistol and shot the sergeant on the spot, literally, no kidding. I don't believe in commissioned officers bullying enlisted people by flashing around their rank insignia, and I don't recall ever seeing something like that in the Army. But if I was Hawkeye Pierce, I would have immediately locked that sergeant's heels at attention and read him the riot act in front of everyone passing by. And then I would have reported his behavior to the commanding officer of the man's company. Toleratting a man's bad mood is one thing. Putting up with gross military insult and insubordination is another.