Why Are Military Uniforms Often Wrong In Movies?

If you've ever sat down to watch a military movie with a service member or veteran, you've likely had to listen to all the ways the production got the uniforms wrong. It's a problem that's persisted throughout Hollywood's existence: films with people in military uniforms rarely meet the standards put forth in regulations. For servicemembers and veterans, this is an annoying and avoidable problem, and it's also why a rumor persists that it's illegal for an actor to wear a correct uniform, as they'd be impersonating a servicemember.

It's well known that you can't pretend to be a police officer, so it makes sense that there would be some limitations regarding a servicemember's depiction in a film. The truth is that the rumor is false, as there's no law regulating what an actor can and cannot wear in a film or TV show. After all, the whole purpose of playing such a character is to impersonate them, so if there were some sort of law prohibiting just that, you wouldn't have movies like "Patton," "Saving Private Ryan," or any decent war film.

While that's all well and good, it's true that military uniforms like fatigues are often presented incorrectly in the movies. There are several reasons for this, as a production could choose to purposefully depict uniforms improperly, they can make an honest mistake, or they can get it perfectly right while mucking up something else, like improper salutes or facial hair standards. Whatever the case, there's no denying that Hollywood has had difficulty getting military uniforms right in movies throughout history.

Each branch of the U.S. military has its own rules and regulations regarding the proper wear and appearance of uniforms, grooming, and more. These cover everything from the use of dog tags to offering an explanation for why U.S. service members' American flag patches appear to be backwards (they're not). These regulations only apply to people in the military, not actors pretending to be in the military in a movie. They can wear their uniform properly or improperly, as the regs don't govern their actions.

While there's no law denying an actor's right to sport the uniform in film, there have been clauses in U.S. Code that somewhat regulated their use. Previously, 10 U.S. Code § 772 stated that "If the portrayal does not tend to discredit the armed force," they can wear any U.S. military uniform. While the clause was in effect, that meant a production couldn't put legitimate uniforms on its actors and engage in antics that made the services look bad. A Supreme Court ruling in 1970 changed the clause, stating that the First Amendment guarantees the right to criticize the armed forces.

Despite the abandonment of the clause from U.S. Code, the problem of incorrect uniform depictions continues. The 2019 series "The Code" was so egregious in its uniform violations that it spawned a spoof account on X, formerly known as Twitter, just to make fun of it, and that show is hardly alone. Productions continue to have issues properly depicting uniforms.

Typically, when a movie gets it right, like "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Platoon," it's because they bring in outside help in the form of military advisers like Dale Dye. Without them, it's not unusual for civilians to unintentionally flub the uniforms. You may have heard of the term Stolen Valor, which applies to civilians improperly wearing military uniforms, but it doesn't apply to films. Stolen Valor is precisely what the name implies: it's someone who pretends to serve or to have served in the military when they didn't.

Other examples of Stolen Valor occur when a former servicemember claims to have won awards or been promoted to a rank they haven't. Despite the public awareness of Stolen Valor, it's not a crime to wear a uniform and declare on high that you're the Supreme General Admiral Commander of Earth. It's nonsense, to be sure, but that kind of action is protected speech. When someone guilty of Stolen Valor pretends to be a veteran to receive a benefit like a discount at a restaurant, that's when there's a legal problem.

At that point, Stolen Valor becomes the vehicle upon which that person committed fraud, violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. Actors don't pretend to be servicemembers in the same manner — it's their job, after all, and they perform to the best of their ability whether they've been outfitted with a correct uniform or not. Stolen Valor doesn't apply to them, but if you see someone parading around in a uniform when they've never served, that's someone to keep an eye on.