Where was G.I. Jane filmed?

The master chief walks towards the troops who are in uniform and standing at attention. He walks through the line of soldiers, inspecting each soldier.

He addresses the troops, saying, “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”

He comes face to face with O’Neil and then notices a nearby soldier snickering. He walks to the soldier and gets right in his face while sharing this speech.

“The ebb and flow of the Atlantic tides, the drift of the continents, the very position of the sun along its ecliptic. These are just a few of the things I control in my world. Is that clear?”

A drive of just over 30 minutes from the heart of Jacksonville, you can reach the site of one of the best scenes in G.I. Jane by taking Adams Street to Ocean Street, following the exit for FL-115S I-295. Continue on I-295, taking exit 41 for Heckscher Drive. Just up the road, you will find your destination.

As this G.I. Jane production scene opens, we see O’Neil and her fellow trainees undergoing the rigors of the course. The work is grueling, taking both a physical and emotional toll on each of them. The trainees run into the water and then assemble on shore to begin an intense series of pushups. The commanding officer notices O’Neil pulling her hair out of her face, and the two engage in this discussion.

Commanding officer: Quit playing with your hair, O’Neil, and drop down! You can’t do these right, O’Neil; do them on your knees.

O’Neil: I like these just fine, Sir!

To get to this former G.I. Jane film set, you can take bus lines 246, CE142, or J. You could also drive yourself, hire a taxi, or use a rideshare app.

After a particularly challenging set of exercises, the commanding officer sees the state of O’Neil’s feet and insists she go to see the medic. When she arrives there, she is greeted by this lecture: Medic: I resent the OB-GYN I have to keep on staff just so someone can keep track of your personal pap smears. But most of all, what I resent, is your perfume however subtle it may be; competing with the aroma of my fine $3.59 cigar which I will put out this instant if the phallic nature of it happens to offend your gddmned fragile sensibilities. Does it?

O’Neil: No, sir.

Medic: No, sir, what?

O’Neil: The shape doesn’t bother me, Sir. Just the gddmned sweet stench.

Medic: One standard.

O’Neil: Just treat me the same. No better, no worse.

Medic: You’re going to get everything you want, O’Neil. Let’s just see if want what you’re gonna get.

O’Neil: Booyah, Sir.

O’Neil goes into a barbershop, looking for someone to cut her hair. Finding no one there, she takes off her fatigues, grabs some clippers, and shears her own head bald.

Hunting Island State Park is easily accessed by following Hunting Island Drive until you reach North Beach Road. Make a left here, and you will find this public recreational area a short distance away on the right-hand side.

O’Neil calls her boyfriend in D.C., checking in with him during her training. The two share this conversation.

Royce: Ya, listen, Jordan. People in Washington are scope locked on what’s happening down there. I mean, do you know how they’re talking about you?

O’Neil: I saw a newspaper.

Royce: That’s the public side. Privately, it’s all being documented, and I mean everything right down to your breakfast and bra size.

O’Neil: Why are you telling me this?

Royce: Big cymbals make big targets, Jordan. There’s a lot of people who don’t wanna see you finish.

O’Neil: How about you, Royce? Do you want to see me finish?

Royce: Look, I’m just trying to warn you, alright? Get you thinking about where this might be headed in case…

O’Neil: Well, let me just warn you…I’m gonna go through with this. And the more everybody f*cks with me, the more I want to gut it out. So, don’t you expect me back any time soon!

You can get to Shepperton Studios by taking bus line 458. The bus stop lets you off within walking distance of this well-known production set. You can also call a taxi, use a rideshare app, or rent a car to drive yourself.

In this G.I. Jane scene, the men are kept behind a wooden barricade while O’Neil is in a separate barracks. She is awakened by water being thrown in her face and dragged out into the open where she is interrogated by an officer. The master chief takes over the interrogation, binding her hands behind her back while she sits on a chair. The other officer, upset by the treatment of O’Neil, indicates he is not okay with the level of abuse being used against O’Neil, and he is told to leave by the master chief.

Alone with his prisoner, the master chief picks O’Neil up and throws her out the door. The master chief plunges O’Neil’s head into a barrel of water multiple times, trying to force her to give him some information he desires. She refuses. The men object to her treatment, and the master chief informs them that if they give him the information he seeks, he will stop. O’Neil tells them not to.

The master chief continues to beat O’Neil mercilessly. He pushes her over a table and acts as though he is going to sexually assault her. O’Neil finds back, striking some blows against the master chief. The men turn their backs to the master chief in disgust. He reasons with them that he is doing this for their own good, and it is better for O’Neil to quit now before she causes them harm on the battlefield. This conversation takes place between the master chief and O’Neil.

Master Chief: Guys, I’m saving her life…and yours. Her presence makes us all vulnerable. And I don’t want you learning that inconvenient fact under fire.

O’Neil: Master chief?

Master Chief: Lieutenant, seek life elsewhere!

The men cheer raucously for O’Neil. She has won their respect, and though he will not admit it, the master chief now has great respect for her as well.

Just eight miles away from the town of Starke, travel east on W Call Street, making the turn onto N Walnut Street. Make a left-hand turn onto N St Clair Street then a right onto FL-16E. Continue on this route, making a right-hand turn onto Tallahassee Street. You will find this G.I. Jane film set just up the road on the right.

In one of the best action scenes in G.I. Jane, O’Neil, and the other trainees are in the Libyan desert under the command of the master chief. They have been called in to assist the Army Rangers with seizing some plutonium that has been illegally dropped there. O’Neil is able to use her skills as a topographical analyst to begin to formulate the best strategy for getting to the plutonium.

O’Neil: What you got, Cortez?

Cortez: Nothing.

Wick: O’Neil, it’s Wick. You read my mind? What do you think?

O’Neil: I don’t see any other way. There was some foliage back to the south. There was some good cover. But that’s high ground. I think he’d just be trapped. Oh, I don’t know, Wick. Sh*t.

Wick: Well, I see the chief, and he’s got a boatload of trouble coming our way.

The Eastern Sierra Transit Authority offers bus service several times a day from nearby Mammoth Lakes to Lone Pines. This particular G.I. Jane filming location covers a lot of ground, most of which is seen in the film during the footage depicting the Libyan desert. Wear appropriate footwear and be prepared to get in a workout when visiting here.