Eugene, an aspiring writer from Brooklyn, is drafted into the US Army during the final months of World War II. For his basic training, the Army sends him to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where toil, bad food, and antisemitic jibes await. Eugene takes refuge in his sense of humor and in his diary, but they won't protect him in a battle of wills with an unstable drill sergeant.

本片改編自暢銷小說家尼爾森狄麥爾的同名小說，描述軍中一起謀殺案，死者坎貝爾麗絲原來是坎爾將軍的女兒，由於情節離奇，又是在軍事基地中發生，調查員布倫納保羅准尉（約翰屈伏塔飾）被指派調查這件人人避之唯恐不及的謀殺案，並賦予他可逮捕任何軍方人員的特權。同時，另一位資深的軍方調查員莎拉桑希爾以及保羅的好友憲兵司令官肯特上校也加入調查的行列。

將軍的屬下對布倫納施壓，暗示他為了軍中的榮譽，即使隱藏真相也不足惜。在偌大的軍營之中，每個人都可能是兇手，調查的工作十分的錯綜複雜。

保羅調查發現七年前麗絲在西點軍校就學時被多位嫉妒她能力的同學輪暴，但她父親為了仕途、息事寧人，說服女兒保守秘密，免得軍威受損，學校受辱。麗絲身體遭受創傷，心靈更受嚴重打擊，對父親的信任蕩然無存。此後她以報復父親為樂，只要能羞辱坎貝爾將軍，她就能得到安慰。當時坎貝爾將軍正欲退休，並是副總統熱門人選，在麗絲不斷的瘋狂舉動下，他威脅要法辦麗絲。調查至此，各項證據指向坎貝爾將軍本人，及多位高級軍官。

在布倫納鍥而不捨的追蹤下，兇手終於伏法，而為求仕途不惜犧牲女兒的坎貝爾將軍，也黯然淡出政界。

Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they purposely lose a soccer game against a South Vietnamese team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines.

Don Bolton is a movie star who can't stand loud noises. To evade the draft, he decides to get married...but falls for a colonel's daughter. By mistake, he and his two cronies enlist. In basic training, Don hopes to make a good impression on the fair Antoinette and her father, but his military career is largely slapstick. Will he ever get his corporal's stripes?

U.S. Marine Sergeant O'Hara has his hands full training raw recruits, one of whom, 'Skeets' Burns, is a particular thorn in his side. If Burns's lackadaisical approach to the military were not bad enough, he also makes advances on nurse Nora Dale, whom Sergeant O'Hara secretly loves. Nora is oblivious to O'Hara's feelings and is attracted to the handsome 'Skeet.' But an indiscretion turns her against him, and it takes an expedition to China and a battle with a warlord's bandit brigade to sort things out among the nurse and her two Marines.

A mosquito army trains for, then goes on, an attack mission.

Two Korean conscripts undergo Imperial Japanese Army training, much to the pleasure of their families.

An Oklahoma National Guard unit, comprised mainly of Native Americans, is called up for duty at the start of World War II.

Four recruits arrive at Kimberley station to undergo training at the local army camp. Soutie, Liebling, Tiny and PP soon become friends as they are put through their paces by the sergeant. They all volunteer for border duty, where they are joined by Chico, a black tracker, and are sent out on patrol. After they come upon a murdered farm family, their radio is destroyed by enemy fire and they are required to find their way back to base camp. In the ensuing skirmishes some of them perish.

In a humorous report, "Strife" magazine follows a bear who gets drafted and goes through the rigors of Army basic training.

As they undergo 12 weeks of intensive training, a group of young civilians is gradually moulded into soldiers. The Basic Training, a prerequisite for joining the Canadian Armed Forces, becomes the gateway to exploring the inner workings of a world governed by its own rules and values.